Marquez Donations Delivered to Kenya

A donation of nearly 500 pounds of clothes, books and toys collected by students at Marquez Elementary was hand-delivered to Cura Orphanage in Kenya earlier this month. Cura is home to 50 children, as young as 4, who have lost their parents to AIDS.

Former Marquez students, siblings Daisy, 12, and Jamie Robertson, 11, witnessed first-hand what life is like at Cura and were moved to respond to what they had experienced.

After sorting through their own belongings for clothing, shoes and books to send back to Kenya, they turned to their peers at Marquez.

“When we started asking other kids at school to donate clothes and shoes and things, we had to start emptying the box every day,” Daisy told the Post after seeing the overwhelming response from the community. “It’s great because everything helps. When you have nothing, every little thing is something.”

Although Kenya’s weather is mostly mild, Cura sits almost 6,000 feet above sea level and during the rainy season endures cold night temperatures and extremely damp conditions.

“The kids have no heat; they run around with muddy feet all day and have no hot water. They have never had a hot shower and they wash their clothes by hand in cold water in a bowl,” said Daisy and Jamie’s mother, Sarah Robarts.

Having grown up in Kenya, Robarts became involved with Cura five years ago after reconnecting with one of the regular volunteers and the father of a childhood friend. After visiting Cura herself, she returned on several occasions with her own children in tow.

“It was surprising to hear from my kids it was the highlight of their first trip to Kenya. It was wonderful to see my kids, then 5 and 6, going off in groups with the Cura kids and connecting, singing, dancing, kicking a ball around, laughing and drawing for hours,” Robarts said. “Kids are so honest with each other. I couldn’t believe what my kids learned. They didn’t want to leave.”

At first, Daisy said it was difficult to see living conditions that stood in such contrast to Pacific Palisades. Children play on the broken remains of a rusted swing set and sleep on wooden bed frames lacking mattresses. Dinner is often a weak pea soup and a starchy, cornmeal side called ugali.

“I think there are so many people who have everything they need in the Palisades but they are angry and upset. The kids in the orphanage are so happy even though they have nothing. They’re just happy to be alive,” Daisy said.

As the school year came to a close last June, Daisy, Jamie and classmate Sydney Shear, boxed up the remaining donations to be delivered via Turkish Airlines and Tribe Hotel.

“We knew we had to do something and I’m glad we really did,” Jamie said. “I was happy to give my things away and I’m glad our friends and kids from school were too. Sorting through all of the donations and knowing these things were going somewhere they were really needed felt so great.”

With the help of their older siblings, Tommy, 17 and Mallory, 15, Daisy and Jamie organized the donations into 10 industrial plastic bins, which made their way to the rural village outside Nairobi.

“I think we all take for granted that we will come home to parents and a roof over our heads and a million other things,” Robarts said. “It’s important for our kids that grow up in this abundance to witness how other children live and more importantly how joyously they live – such smiles and yet we whine away about our problems.”

For more information, visit www.curaorphanage.org.