Yard sale funds 50K meals for people in Kenya

The Mikinduri Children of Hope Foundation has raised thousands more dollars to fund its charity work in Kenya, after its annual yard sale Saturday in Charlottetown.

Makena Ambassa, moved from Mikinduri, Kenya more than a decade ago. When she arrived, she started the foundation to improve living conditions in her hometown.

Ted Grant, the foundation’s chief organizer, said all proceeds from the annual yard sale go to help the cause.  

The funds help provide much-needed food, infrastructure and health care, helping to lift Mikinduri out of poverty.

"Rough math, we're feeding something like 50,000 meals from this exercise," he said.

"I used to think that poverty was not having any money. Having been to Kenya now 18 times, I no longer believe that. My definition of poverty now is not having any options."

Ambassa said the work that Islanders have done for her village is overwhelming.

"People that we started with, they are still there and they’re still doing so much," she said.

Ambassa travelled home with the last group of volunteers. With her young daughter by her side, she took in the sight of her hometown that she said has changed for the better.

"I cried all the time to see what the foundation has done, things that I had never seen before — the cookhouses, the schools, renovations, the water — everything was just like, I cried all the time and people were like 'Why you crying?’ Crying out of joy," she said.

Ambassa said there is a lot of work yet to be done there.

Mikinduri still needs a good hospital and her foundation is working alongside Farmers Helping Farmers to grow nutritious, sustainable crops.