Friendship league on second charity mission to Kenya |26 August 2006

The week-long mission from August 20-27 forms part of a three-year project, which started in December 2004 and is scheduled to end in August this year.

The mission is conducted in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Kenya called Helpage Kenya. The aim of this organisation is to work with the poor and the old from rural villages in Kenya.

The chairperson of the IFL, Marie-Nella Azemia, said that these people are the less fortunate of the Kenyan society and they have barely any support from the government and other organisations. Their living conditions are very harsh and they depend mostly on donations from charitable organisations.

“The mission of the IFL is to extend friendship,” Ms Azemia said. “And this is by being with the villagers, talking to them, participating in and helping organise cultural activities for them such as singing and dancing.”

She also stated that the main objective of the mission is to distribute and donate several items that the Seychellois public and members of different NGOs have contributed and collected locally.

The items include second hand clothes including winter clothing, shoes, and toys as well as a number of gunny bags, which are of great need as high up in the mountain villages it is usually very cold. 

“Another reason for the IFL mission is to be able to do something more concrete on the humanitarian aspect. It is another way of showing that we care and share in the suffering of those less fortunate who are not very far from us,” Ms Azemia pointed out.

She said that the IFL through this charitable gesture and action wants to show that all human beings should live together in peace despite their many differences.

She said that the three-year mission has been a great opportunity to meet with different people, share their joy and suffering and try to bring some comfort to them in one way or another. The cause and mission of the IFL from Seychelles has been greatly accepted by the people from the rural villages and also by Helpage Kenya.

She said it is important to note that members of the IFL should know the real value of friendship and that part of their mission is also to educate and show others what friendship is, as well as the real value of volunteerism which is very important among NGOs.

Ms Azemia also took the opportunity to thank Kenya Airways for accepting to reduce their airfare and for helping them with excess luggage.

During a meeting that she had with the airline’s reservation manager, the IFL chairperson thanked her for working alongside the IFL during the course of their mission.

She also thanked the members of the IFL for their devotion to the humanitarian mission and hoped that the gesture will be followed by other NGOs.

She continued by thanking other NGOs, members of the public as well as the IFL members for helping with collecting and getting the items ready.