IT ALL STARTED WITH MY OLD CITY

SHIRTS

In 2010 my family were lucky enough to go on holiday to Kenya. I had heard the
children in Kenya went crazy for football shirts so I took with me Manchester City
shirts that I had outgrown. Before I gave them to the kids on the beach that get money
and gifts from tourists, I asked around to see if there was a nice charity or school that
would benefit and really appreciate having the shirts. We met a lovely, warm hearted
man called Asava who took us to a school called Port Reitz, a school for physically
and mentally disabled children in Mombasa.

Many disabled children in Kenya go to Port Reitz and there are about 300 altogether.
Children at the school have different disabilities like spina bifida, cerebral palsy and
mental illness. The head teacher is called Mercy and she is a wonderful, happy
person. Mercy being a pupil many years ago, dont you think it takes courage to run
a disabled school when she is disabled too?


Mercy and I in 2010
With sights that scarred at the back of your mind like children dragging themselves
along the floor and feet scraping along the rocky surface, all you can do is watch but
with money those children can be sat in wheelchairs and saving their feet from nasty
cuts and gashes. They do have some wheelchairs funded by sponsors but the
majority are broken or damaged. The basic food given to the children is maize and
rice and there are few medications which can mean if a child gets malaria,
unfortunately they may die.
We decided to sponsor a child so we contacted
Wendy and Sandra, who started a foundation,
FRIENDS OF THE PORT REITZ SCHOOL in 2009
to raise money for the school. She knows the
children and their personalities so well she finds
similarities between both the child and the person
sponsoring them. Wendy matched me and Clinton
Mutuku. Clinton is 14 now and suffers from spina
bifida. He never stops laughing and we sometimes
talk to him on Skype.
This set aside, Mercy could never stop
laughing as could none of the children in the
school. This was one of my inspirations to get
part of the school. Its not that I felt sorry for
Mercy; its that I could sense she was
struggling even though she was laughing
which makes me feel the need to help.

Clinton on his birthday
When I came back I was determined to raise money for this fantastic school. I talked
to my headmistress Mrs Lowe at Greenbank and nominated Port Reitz to be the
charity for our charities week at school. I also presented the charity in a talk to my
junior school. Mrs Lowe really took forth our passion by sponsoring a child but not
just that, she had hope and belief in the school. She and her husband visited the
school to help the teachers and children. Since then great things have started to
happen like more teachers going from Greenbank and a wall has been built around
the school to keep the children safe and dont you think it is nice to know that every
single penny goes to the school?

Margaret Beetham was the founder of Port
Reitz School in 1965. She was a missionary
who had gone to Kenya for 3 years and
ended up staying for 15. She originally
went to Kenya to Teacher Training College
but when she saw a disabled child dragging
themselves a mile and a half to school every
day she knew she would have to do
something. And do something she did....

Can you imagine one little thought that
raced through Margarets head nearly 50 years ago evolved as she raised funds from
churches around the world to build Port Reitz School, and save the society of the
disabled children in Kenya? This school really connected the hearts and love of 300
children at Port Reitz. There is a saying, alone we are a drop, together, we are an
ocean. There may have been difficulties but they will get through this together.

What a coincidence, that
Margaret, the founder of Port
Reitz lives 10 minutes down
the road in Cheshire, her
sister, Alison lives in Cheadle
Hulme.

To sponsor a child is 110 per
year and that supplies maize
and rice every day, also 500ml
of water per child (including
cooking), education and 4
uniforms.

The day the water tank came
My ultimate aim is to get all of the 300 children sponsored. Considering there are
only about 100 sponsored at the moment, it is going to be a difficult challenge ahead.
My hope is to go to the anniversary party in Kenya with all 300 children sponsored in
the summer of 2015.
Margaret, a few bricks and a dream
This April I was lucky enough to meet Margaret Beetham, now in her 80s, living in a
nursing home in Cheshire. Margaret was also the first Head Mistress of the School.
When I visited Margaret and got her up to date with whats happening at Port Reitz,
just before I left, Margaret said I just cant stop giggling.

The fact that Margaret lives just around the corner has really inspired and driven me
to get the children of Port Reitz sponsored by the local people of Cheshire, for not
only the sake of the children but Margarets sake as well.


My visit with Margaret Beetham

This is not like other charities where you are just asked to give money, when you
sponsor a child Wendy will talk to you to match you up with a child. The child then
knows somebody is out there helping them.

Please contact me if you think you can help.

Thanks so much.

Harrison

harrison.wood@portreitzschool.eu

The website for the foundation is http://www.portreitzschool.eu