Community Focus Group (CFG), Pamoja Kenya, and GlobalGiving, were able to mobilize some of the survivors of the building which collapsed in Malindi last year., and held a thanksgiving networking and prayers on the 25th of January 2019, from 11am to 4pm at the Soul Harvest church in Malindi. Bishop Patrick Mathole, Founder and Presiding Bishop, led the prayers and psyho-social counseling of the survivor's present: Mr. Anwar Mohammed, Mr. Salim Sultan, Mr. Peter Ndungu, Mama Njeri, Mwende, and Mama Emmanuel.

Both Mr. Anwar Mohammed and Mr. Peter Ndungu. were using crutches because both their limbs were hurt during the disaster. Ms. Mwana Siti Amisiwas not able to make it for the prayers as she was still heavily incapacitated, therefore we visited her at her home and gave her a briefing of the meeting and took her food and drinks.

We had a few challenges mobilizing the survivors because we were only given names by the local administration and no telephone numbers of the survivors and some of the survivors that were mobilized due to their injuries were not able to make it for the prayers and we therefore only had 7 survivors attending and participating at the function.

The survivors discussed their lives before and after the disaster and requested CFG and Pamoja Kenya to take the following request to the donors and friends that they require: Medicine and since they are not able to work and have dependents, some financial support to be able to put food on the table. 

Over 1,200 delegates attended the conference where connections and friendships were made and strengthened.  This year the focus of the conference was Towards a Decade of Healthy Ageing – From Evidence to Action and over 400 abstracts were accepted into the program, making this the largest IFA conference to date.

Addressing inequalities through storytelling was the topic of the workshop our Executive Director, Pamela Ateka, was leading at the global conference, with the workshop participants from the United Nations. They were the leaders in the field of ageing.

The workshop participants are writing a book together.

Use this link for more information about the Conference.

 

The International Federation on Ageing (IFA) hosted the Addressing Inequalities Summit, a one-day pre-conference event that took place on August 7th in Toronto, Canada. It was an invitation-only event designed to foster discussion among participants who are interested and committed to eliminating inequalities experienced by older people within marginalized subpopulations.

Our Executive Director, Pamela Ateka, was invited as a panelist speaker at the summit, represented Community Focus Group (CFG), Kenya, and Africa at the summit.

Addressing inequalities was one of four themes that guided conversation during the IFA 14th Global Conference on Ageing. This theme was developed to bring attention to the needs of specific marginalized populations, as society often understates the fact that life experiences significantly impact and at times jeopardies the health and ability of older people to meet their basic needs.

 

Pam with Dr. Ritu Sadana of WHO and Dr. Jennifer Walker on a panel.

The International AIDS Conference is the largest conference on any global health issue in the world and provides a unique forum for the intersection of science, advocacy, and human rights. Each conference is an opportunity to strengthen policies and programs that ensure an evidence-based response to the epidemic. The 22nd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018) was hosted in Amsterdam, Netherlands July 23-27, 2018.

The theme of AIDS 2018 was Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges, which aimed to draw attention t the need of rights-based approaches to more effectively reach key populations. The first lady of Kenya, Margret Kenyatta, was also in attendance and at her session organized by the Elizabeth Glaser Foundation said the following:

As I reflect on the great gains Kenya has made, what is worrying in the last few years is the widening gap in terms of increased infections among adolescents, especially among young women. The challenges of some of the efforts made, for woman especially, mean that our investments in eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV may be wiped out in two decades.

Margaret Kenyatta, First Lady of Kenya

The Executive Director, Pamela Ateka, also a speaker, poet, and storyteller, received a scholarship as was invited to present at the Global Community events where she presented about Community Focus Group (CFG) and did a live presentation. Former President Bill Clinton was a Keynote presenter closing the conference.

 

As an organization from June 2018, CFG responded to the Solai/Nakuru floods tragedy in partnership with the Ford Motor Company and GlobalGiving. CFG was able to provide food and personal effects to over 50 families affected by the floods as well as support to the bereaved, psychosocial counseling was also provided by our counseling team for both the children and adults whose loved ones died in the floods. CFG working in Nakuru and the Town of Solai in Nakuru County Kenya after Floods of April 2018.

CFG through our Executive Director was able to participate at the Seed Stars Summit in Lausanne Switzerland. This was a wonderful networking event and we were able to make many contacts and it is our hope that the networking will lead to future collaborations. With 1,200+ people coming from 75+ countries, we had the opportunity to meet the brightest minds from emerging markets including entrepreneurs, ecosystem builders, media, corporates, investors, and government officials.