Twenty years, and we’ve only just begunInside ACCES

Raising a Giver, to ACCES, is donating the gift of giving back. In fact, this is the essence of Kenyanization – Kenyans helping Kenyans who in turn will help others.

ACCES is grateful to you, our loyal donors for believing in the work and philosophy of ACCES. Your support has helped shape thousands of Kenyan minds to think of providing rather than taking, serving instead of being served, and looking beyond themselves to the greater good.

By sponsoring programs such as 4K Clubs, Girl’s Clubs, and activities that require teamwork, group effort and group rewards, you have been instrumental in achieving spectacular results.

Since 1993, ACCES has witnessed astonishing evidence of those successes – land has been donated for schools to be built and money has been raised by people who are well below the poverty line. Food, wood, labour and many other necessary materials

LearnGrowGive

African Canadian Continuing Education Society

Raising a GiverBy Dale Albertson, ACCES Executive Director

have been supplied to further the good of the community. We’ve even seen poor parents pool resources to send children of other families to trade schools.

Post-secondary graduates are also supporting students, thereby completing the circle.

None of this would have been possible without your encouragement and financial support.

Now that ACCES has helped seven communities achieve self-sufficiency and independence, we’ll be working in seven new communities that will benefit from ACCES programs that have been refined through years of diligent evaluation and monitoring. We know that you’ll want to see the same successes achieved there too. We now have new opportunities to replicate education opportunities for needy, bright students and their families in the new areas.

May 2014

Grade 1 students at Tumaini

Giving Back: A Personal StoryBy Maureen MacDonald, ACCES Director A long-term goal of the ACCES post-secondary scholarship program is to develop a group of educated Kenyans who are willing to establish a pattern of helping other Kenyans in the same position they were in when they received assistance from ACCES. Or, as the Kenyans themselves say it, “assisted to assist”. It has worked. With more than 2,000 graduates working throughout Kenya, and more to come, the ripple effect of these bright, and now successful students is truly making an impact.

Carlestous is one of those graduates. ACCES Director, Maureen MacDonald, interviewed Carlestous on her last trip to Kakamega.

What can you tell us about your life as a primary student?

My father died in March of 1981, leaving my mother to raise me and my two older siblings on her own. Education was very important to her so she made sure we got up in time to get to school and had some little food to eat. She worked hard as a casual laborer to provide for us, but in class 2, she lost her job through a downsizing program. Her only option was to make local liquor, so all the way to class 8 we would be primary school kids by day, and by night we would go to the riverbeds to make local liquor to sell to traders. Surprisingly, at the end of every term or semester, everyone in our house would be number 1, number 2 or number 3 in the class. In 1996, I emerged at the top of the national exams in what is now Kakamega County, with an A average.

Will you Sponsor Velma?Velma is an Economics major at Multi Media University College, and she needs your support. On avergage, ACCES graduates help seven other Kenyans - some help many more.

Carlestous

Did that help you to get into a secondary school?

In fact, I was the only student from the district admitted to Starehe Boys Centre School, a special centre, not just a school. From 1997 to 2001, I was able to complete the program at the centre, free of charge with the help of donors, two from British Columbia. I scored an A-, the second highest score getting 11 out of 12 points for my final exams. I then received a letter calling me to a Bachelor of Law degree at Moi University.

What happened next?

My donor support ended when I completed high school, and I found myself without any means to support my college education.

How did you finally begin to attend university?

It was at that time I was introduced to ACCES, but the applications for scholarships had already closed. I spoke to one lady, who said she would see what she could do for me. Two weeks later, I received a note from ACCES telling me that I had received a scholarship, and would be supported by a family who had heard my story and wanted to support my education. I am so grateful for the support I have received.

What are you doing now?

I completed all my studies with very high marks

GROW

May 14, 2014Annual Surrey Luncheon

Eaglequest Coyote Creek:

7778 152nd St, Surrey, BC Noon to 1:00 pmTo reserve your seat call 604-688-4880, or email info@acceskenya.org.

Speakers: Carlestous Shifwoka, ACCES Graduate, & Leigh Sauder, ACCES Director

June 14, 2014ACCES AGM2441 Christopherson Road, Surrey, BC

2:00 to 4:00 pmPlease call the ACCES office at 604-688-4880, or email info@acceskenya.org if you plan to attend. All members are welcome. You are a member if you have donated $50 or more.

September 6 - 12, 2014October 4 - 12, 2014ACCES Vision Trip

If you are interested in a safari, and then a three day excursion to see the work of ACCES in Kakamega, please contact Safari Partners at:2360 Pine StreetVancouver, BC V6J 4R7Toll Free 1.888.717.2327Local 604-730-1133www.thesafaripartners.com,or call the ACCES office.

Calendar of Events2014

and was admitted to the bar in 2008. I have been practicing law for four years. In order to give back to my community, I provide pro-bono work, representing children in the courts. I’m also paying the fees for some few ACCES students and serving on the ACCES Kenya Advisory Committee, which to me is a great honour and privilege. That is the least I can do.

Come hear Carlestous speak at our May Luncheon Event.

Grade 4 students at the old school in Emasarsa, where a new school now stands

Partnerships are a Win/winBy Donna VanSant, ACCES President

Building partnerships is a major strategic goal for ACCES. Teamwork, collaboration and joint effort to achieve common goals is what propels us to success, and ACCES is privileged to have many partners in Kenya, and new ones developing in Canada.

A Canadian partnership where compassion and caring meet to support ACCES student Jacklyne Khatenje, is Pistachio, (www.pistachio.com) a trendy up-and- coming women’s store which has helped launch ACCES into the new world of “fashion philanthropy”. Storeowner Janie Anderson believes that “working together can change the world”. We know that Pistachio has given Jacklyne an opportunity for a lifetime.

Safari Partners is another Canadian partnership that, as you can see in the events column to the right, will be enabling people to see the work being done in Kenya after a safari, as well as have a portion of their trip costs going to support those activities. Chris Ronneseth, owner of Safari Partners, knows the value of the work in Kenya, and in this way, Canadian partnerships are a true win-win for everyone.

Jacklyne Khatenje

African Canadian Continuing Education SocietyCharitable Registration # 13983 1770 RR0001604-688-4880 info@acceskenya.orgwww.acceskenya.org @acceskenya

7 x (

Please note: ACCES has moved to a new office

At the end of July 2013, ACCES moved to:

#400 - 601 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4C2 Telephone: 604-688-4880

New Mailing Address:

PO Box 44986 RPO Ocean Park, Surrey, BC V4A 9L1

Please use the mailing address for all written correspondence, and change your address book to ensure that your letters and donations make it to ACCES!

It’s official. All seven ACCES communities are now independent, and have “graduated” from the programs and activities they’ve been engaged in since 1998.

Your support has helped to build five state of the art schools, community fishponds, greenhouses, banana groves, and vegetable fields. You’ve sent more than 1200 kids to school every year and kept them healthy. That’s something to be proud of !

It also means that ACCES is spending zero dollars on them, and is able to concentrate on the seven new communities that are in dire need of ACCES programs. Your support is needed now more than ever before.

Vancouver News

“Change is the end result of all true learning.” - Leo Buscaglia

Education gives Kenyans the power to choose their future

In Canada, we often take for granted the fact that, for the most part, we can choose our own future. With compulsory primary and secondary education, even non-college educated people can still choose from a variety of careers and make a very good life for themselves. Yet, for many thousands of Kenyan children, a life of poverty is their only future, because they are prevented from attending school due to the abject poverty of their families. In a very real sense, when you support ACCES programs, you are giving Kenyans the power to choose a different, and better future through education. Thanks for your support.

Follow ACCES on Social MediaFacebook search: African Canadian Continuing Education Society

Twitter search: @acceskenya

ACCES still wants you!

Summer is coming, and ACCES is asking for your help to raise money and awareness through small events and activities. Fundraising events like garage sales, music concerts, afternoon teas and outdoor activities such as biking or hiking can all raise money for ACCES programs in Kenya. Maybe you have some fundraising ideas of your own! We would love to hear about them. Please contact the office to learn more. We can help get you started.

sustainabilityindependance______________)=$0