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The Tenderfeet students and teachers at the Riruta school, 2008.
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Tenderfeet kids love visitors. Here Craig Garratt from Busselton, Australia visits the Kibera location
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Mama Margaret, who started the Tenderfeet school in 2000, provides a safe haven for the children.
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This burned out church in Kibera is a remnant of the post-election riots. Tenderfeet survived the riots, but it was a very difficult time for everyone.
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Teacher Karen is one of the pillars of the school, providing a great education through thick and thin.
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Mama Margaret cheerfully prepares a meal for the children. It's a challenge with a kerosene stove.
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Mama Margaret chats with friends of Tenderfeet Fritz Brown and family during a recent visit.
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Tenderfeet kids get involved in the learning process.
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The school is located in East Africa in the city of Nairobi, Kenya.
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Children at the center are served what may be their only meals of the day.
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Click on the image above for a video tour from November, 2005, of Kibera and the Tenderfeet school.
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Organizational Announcement about the Tenderfeet Foundation
Tenderfeet has enjoyed a great relationship with Lahash International which started in 2005. Through the advocacy and hard work of Lahash, Tenderfeet has gone from being on the brink of closing, to enjoying a wonderful facility to serve the children of the slums.
It's been a challenging journey, but God has been faithful and shown His wisdom throughout. All the while, the Lahash leadership and finance team has shown the love of God through their efforts and steadfastness.
Since 2006, most of the coordination and fundraising has taken place from Houston, Texas while the financial database and wire transfers have been handled from Portland, Oregon.
Starting in October 2009, discussions began on spinning off the Tenderfeet portion of Lahash as a separate organization to be headquartered in Houston. In other words, all activities related to Tenderfeet would take place exclusively in Houston and handled by the new organization, rather than being spread out over two cities through Lahash.
The goal is to increase the organizational efficiency so that both donors and the Tenderfeet project itself can be served in the best way possible.
This organizational change is mutually agreed upon and there are nothing but positive feelings shared by all. Mama Margaret fully supports this change.
Spinning off the new organization has been a time-consuming process, because it includes applying for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, setting up online donation, as well as coordinating the many steps of a transition plan. Now that process is complete.
This new organization is called the "Tenderfeet Foundation" and has achieved 501(c)(3) status.
The Tenderfeet Foundation will be responsible for the fundraising and partnership with Tenderfeet. It provides a mechanism through which donors can be enabled to assist in Tenderfeet's mission to serve the needy in the slums of Kenya. In terms of the sponsorship programs, the children being assisted, and the operations of the school -- nothing is changing whatsoever.
For any current Lahash donor that wants to continue helping the school, contributions can be made through the Tenderfeet Foundation at this link: Tenderfeet donation. The Tenderfeet Foundation will be using the same online system (Groundspring/Network for Good) that has been used by Lahash.
To cancel your Tenderfeet sponsorship through Lahash, please log into the account page and cancel your recurring Lahash donations. Of course, if you are sponsoring Tenderfeet as well as other Lahash projects, please only cancel those contributions going to Tenderfeet. Starting in September, any donations made through Lahash will be assumed to be for Lahash programs only and will not be forwarded to Tenderfeet.
If you would like to discuss this on the phone, please call me at the number 713-584-3975, or you can email me at dmitchell@lahash.net. My new email address is dax@tenderfeetkids.org and you can reach me that way as well.
I'm glad to answer any questions or discuss any concerns.
Check Out The Tenderfeet Blog
Read the Tenderfeet blog We have given it an easy to remember web address of KenyaFriends.org.
Be sure to tell your friends and family to visit and see what's happening at Tenderfeet!
Recent stories include news about the Riruta school relocating, and photo slideshows showing the results of uniform and desk fundraisers.
Tenderfeet updates are now available on Twitter!
Click here to go to the Tenderfeet Twitter page. This is a convenient way to follow short, informal updates on the school and kids.
What is Tenderfeet?
Please click on the image The school has two locations. The original location is in Kibera, Africa's largest slum. In early 2008, part of the staff and students relocated to nearby Riruta, about 5 miles from Kibera. This was necessary for safety reasons due to the ethnic violence following the riots of the December 2007 elections.
The school was founded in 2000 by Margaret Nyabuto and currently has 30 students in Riruta. In addition, 32 students from the former site in Kibera are still attending school in Kibera (pictured here).
Tenderfeet partners with the non-profit charity in the US called the Tenderfeet Foundation. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, all donations are tax deductible under article 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.
The school is supported entirely by donations, mainly through the Ten for Tenderfeet program. Would you like to help Tenderfeet? Please click here to make an online donation.
Shadrack's Successful Surgeries
The happy news is that the funds to pay for the surgery were raised. The surgery was successfully completed on March 28, 2007. In February 2010 he had another setback and surgery, but he has made great progress in his recovery.
Tenderfeet Children's Center provides a warm learning environment for extremely needy children. Almost all of these children are orphans or have only one caretaker. Many have lost a parent or parents to AIDS, while others were abandoned.
Tenderfeet provides the opportunity for an education, which would not be available otherwise. The school also provides two meals a day for the kids -- which for some may be their only chance to eat all day.
Hope is Alive with Mama Margaret The school is administered
by Mama Margaret Nyabuto, a courageous woman who has served children in the slums for 20 years.
In order respond to the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS and poverty, she formed the school in 2000 and
now has 3 teachers educating the children of Tenderfeet.
She has faced tremendous setbacks and obstacles in the past few years, including being evicted three times in one year due to unscrupulous landlords, dealing with her own financial struggles, having her life and school threatened during the riots, and her own father was killed by thugs in 2007. Nevertheless, she has persevered for the sake of the children.
Margaret is convinced
that long-term holistic projects that care for the emotional, physical, and
spiritual needs of the residents - especially the children - is the best
hope for the slums. The Tenderfeet Foundation, a U.S.-based non-profit organization, partners with Mama Margaret in bringing health, education, and
spiritual guidance to the slums. You can help feed these kids
Please find out more by clicking here. To make a secure online donation, please click below
U.S. donations are tax deductible under article 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.
Margaret Nyabuto and Tenderfeet Foundation president
to sponsor Tenderfeet
A wonderful success story of Tenderfeet is that of Shadrack Otieno. Shadrack is a former students of Tenderfeet. He was facing a serious medical challenge, which required brain surgery.
Dax Mitchell in Kibera
16506 FM 529, #130
Houston, TX 77095
713-584-3975
dax@TenderfeetKids.org
