[Connecticut] Eastern Connecticut group fights poverty in Kenya

from The Norwich Bulletin

By RAY HACKETT
Norwich Bulletin

NORWICH -- Emely Silver of Norwich laughs when she tells the story of her husband, Wayne, sitting in the waiting room at a hospital in Kenya -- next to a goat.

Wayne had developed a kidney stone two years ago during a humanitarian visit to the African nation, and was experiencing quite a bit of discomfort.

"The good news," she said, "they took him before the goat."

Silver never tires of telling the story, because it represents a turning point in the organization she and Wayne started -- American Friends of Kenya.

The group grew out of the efforts of a small group of Connecticut residents collecting books to send to school children in Kenya's Thika District. It is in the northern highlands, dotted with small rural villages where poverty is endemic, electricity is unavailable and only a small percentage of children graduate from high school.

For those needing medical care, it's a two hour walk to the Githumu Hospital -- a 32-bed facility where Wayne was taken. It has one doctor, no nurses, is poorly equipped and has virtually no supplies.

"We learned we had a mission in the health-care field besides our work with the schools and libraries," said Emely Silver, a retired counselor at E.O. Smith High School in Mansfield.

Wayne Silver, a retired dean at Three Rivers Community College, is president of AFK. His wife is the group's executive director -- and the driving force behind the effort.

"She's the hub," said Kacey McCarthy-Zaremba, a member of the board of directors. "Her enthusiasm for this is so contagious, her passion is so great."

And rarely does anyone spend more than five minutes with her without becoming involved in the organization.

"I love retired elderly men -- with trucks," she said as she rummaged through boxes of donated books and medical supplies at the group's Willimantic warehouse -- one of eight they operate in the state. "What I would really like to find are some young retired men with trucks. This can take a toll on us old folks."

Since its beginning, AFK has shipped more than 150,000 books and 70 computers to Kenya. Membership has grown steadily, and now extends beyond Connecticut. The initial book collecting effort and support of local schools there, led to construction of the first library in the Thika District. It was the dedication of the library that brought the Silvers to Kenya two years ago, and cemented their resolve to do more for the impoverished nation.

"When we started, we started on a small scale," said Samson Mwangi Kimenyi, an original member of the AFK board of directors and professor of economics at the University of Connecticut. "But today we have a very big reach. And this is something that is very much appreciated by the people -- people who never had an opportunity to ever use a library."

Kimenyi and his wife, Irene, natives of Kenya, have become the organization's point people in the humanitarian effort. They travel frequently to their homeland, where their friends, family and close associates supervise every shipment, ensuring supplies and funds are used as intended.

Later this month, AFK will ship medical supplies being gathered in its Willimantic warehouse. This summer, more than 30 Americans from seven states -- teachers, librarians and nurses -- will travel to Kenya to help distribute the books and medical supplies. They will spend a week working at schools, libraries and hospitals.

Eddie Onyango, another native of Kenya attending Three Rivers Community College, also has become an important part of the team.

Onyango became aware of the organization when he saw photos of Kenya on the walls in the Gilford-Smith Library in South Windham.

"It's really making a difference," he said of the group's efforts. "There is so much the people there need. I don't know how to explain it.'

Onyango plans to complete his schooling here and then return to Kenya to work as a nurse.

"And then he'll become another conduit for us," Silver said.