Rafiki is Swahili for "Friend" and it was thought appropriate that this was combined with the originating Methodist Circuit of Wimbledon, to form the title of the trust, namely the "MCW Rafiki Trust". The objectives of the trust can be viewed here.

Toto is Swahili for "Baby" and Simba means "Lion". However, the project is not about saving baby lions in Kenya. The project title draws an analogy between the plight of the small lion cub in the film "The Lion King" and the children and young people of the Meru district of Kenya. The trust was set up to provide financial aid to the Wesley Empowerment Centre (WEC) in the village of Baraimu to help relieve the poverty and raise the education levels by helping very poor and/or orphaned children aged 4 and 5 years back to school.

Poverty Prevails

Baraimu village in Mbeu location of Meru District is an extremely poor area on the slopes of Mt. Kenya. It is a semi-arid area inhabited by landless ethnic groups from all over Kenya. For all their food and cash, families rely on small land parcels. As a result, most children have little to eat and most barely make it through the primary school level.

The Next Phase

The next phase of the project addresses the needs of the older siblings and parents by financing the building of a Multi-purpose Community Centre. This building will contain 2 classrooms, a storeroom and one guest room. The Centre will be used for training the villagers in carpentry, African craft and tailoring. These trades will help them gain some meaningful employment, formal and informal and in effect assist the children.

Costs

The project started officially in January 2004 with a seed donation from Martin Way Methodist Church. Apart from the £10,000 building and setting up costs, it is estimated that it will cost approx £7,500 to run the project each year. MCW Rafiki Trust is now a registered charity [Charity number: 1109473] and has the following as a board of trustees set up to manage all the monies raised: Chair - Robert King, Secretary - Mike Mortley, Treasurer - John Butland, Tony Loft, John Nyota.

The Trip 2005

Twenty nine people, mainly from Wimbledon, went to Baraimu between August 8-22, 2005 to build bridges with the people there, lend a hand where appropriate and to see for themselves the conditions. The hospitality shown by the villagers to their visitors was a very emotional experience. Those who have so little gave so much. Many a heart string was tugged by the generosity shown making the visitors more determined than ever to help raise funds to help the people of Baraimu.

Partnerships

As a church or a group you could adopt this as your overseas project. As an individual you could gift aid through or just write a cheque to "MCW Rafiki Trust". As a family you could be paired with a family in that village for mutual partnership. As a school you could adopt the school department and identify with it.

Our site is frequently updated to incorporate all the latest news. Please check back regularly to see the progress being made and the ways in which you may be able to help. You can contact us at by emailing our secretary at secretary@rafikitrust.org.uk