ACEF’s activities began in 1983 when Kenya experienced a severe drought in the arid land of Turkana, Wajir and Marsabit. Due to the lack of rain, many suffered from starvation. This initiated a relief operation by Tenrikyo missionaries and relief corps volunteers, who delivered food and medicine to the people of Kenya.

Since then, the development assistance activities have included the digging of wells, construction of schools and medical clinics, and has expanded to areas within Tanzania and Uganda.

Headquarters for ACEF are located in Embu, Kenya and operate under the direction of Rev. and Mrs. Yasuo Shiojiri who has been in Kenya since 1990.

Below is the outline of the various activities ACEF is affiliated with and currently supporting in Kenya.

Activities:

MERU District, Kambakia village:

The MERU CHILDREN’S CLINIC was open for 15 years, from 1993 to 2008. Tuition assistance for children in poor families still continues.

EMBU (10 acres of land):

EMBU CHILDREN’S CLINIC was established in 1997 and includes a dental clinic, pharmacy, laboratory, x-ray diagnostic center, and a maternal child health and family planning nurse. Each month, an average of 1000 people visit the clinic, with the dentist being especially busy.

The staff consists of 16 members including dentists, dental hygienists, physicians, pharmacists, nurses, examiners, x-ray technicians, accountants, administrators, paramedics, maintenance crews, and public relation personnel.

TENRI ACADEMY was established in 1999 as a day care center, which eventually grew into a private primary school. There are a total of 250 students enrolled (110 boarding students), with 8 academic grades ranging from 6 -14 year olds. This school is special because they have 50 students who were orphaned by AIDS.

There are 14 instructors led by head teacher James Kariuki Njogu who has worked at Tenri Academy for over 11 years.

EMBU TENRI TECHNICAL CENTRE was established in 1999. Courses available include: automobile maintenance, woodwork, metalwork, welding, and dressmaking. Currently, 150 students have joined the courses and among them are 30 AIDS sponsored orphans. The school provides boarding for 70 students and is supported by a faculty comprising of 12 instructors led by Principal Michael N. Nthiga who has worked at Tenri for over 10 years.

ENA division (10 acres of land):

On the enormous Ena compound, located 30 minutes by car south of Embu, there is a Health Center, Maternity Center, computer lab, and “Organic Agricultural Research Lab.”

KOAETEC (Kenya Organic Agricultural Education Technology), an organic farming environmental training center, was established in 2007 under the EM (Effective Microorganism) technology. This technology assists in the management of town garbage and recycling projects.

Periodically, “Organic Agricultural Seminars” are held where a gathering of 40 to 60 participants would spend up to 3 days researching and discussing topics on organic agriculture and alternative fertilizing.

The ENA Health Center was established in 2005 and later the maternity room in 2007. Within the Health Center, there is a clinic for internal medicine and surgery, as well as dentistry. At the Maternity Center, approximately 10 to 15 newborns are delivered each month. For deliveries that require surgery, the expectant mother is transported to a larger hospital by an ambulance, which was brought over from Japan.

MBEERE, MAKIMA division (24 acres of land):

The Mbeere farm is located approximately an hour drive east of Embu. Since 2005, the purpose of this farm has been rural development by promoting tree planting, and cultivating mango and papaya plantations in arid regions.

Even within the neighboring countries, Mberre is an especially dry region. Despite arid conditions and difficulty cultivating the land, the land was purchased from low income families in need of money to send their children to school. The 14 acre farm was cultivated and now consists of 700 mango trees and serves as a model farm that “with water, delicious fruit can be grown.” With the addition of 10 more acres, 3000 young trees were planted, expanding the farm to a greater size.

NAIROBI, KIBERA:

Nairobi: Capital city of Kenya where airports, embassies, and other necessary institutions are centrally located.

Nairobi has both bright spots as well dark spots. The dark spot is mostly in reference to the 800,000 people living in the Kibera slums. Not only are the slums littered with garbage resulting in bad sanitary conditions, but there is also an HIV epidemic plaguing the people living there. The flow of sewage and drainage is controlled by the Kibera dam. The sewage is extremely harmful and can cause skin problems upon exposure.

In June of 2004, a plan was developed to improve living conditions in the Kibera slum. The 2nd phase of the plan, which started in June 2008 is the “Water-Hyacinth Project”, composting organic waste and promoting plastic recycling. Hyacinth removal is the process of enclosing water weeds with a rope and clearing them away with a hoe one enclosure at a time. The hyacinth is then loaded into a truck with the use of a bulldozer. By January of 2010, the steady progression has led to the removal of one quarter of the weeds.

BORE HOLE and Safety Furnace Project:

A machine developed for efficiently digging wells was made available in October of 2008. Support to start drilling wells and also the development of safety furnaces for safe energy continues.

AIDS Orphan Support Project:

Last year, as a result of Tenri Academy Principal Kariuki enrolling three orphans, five additional orphans from Mother Teresa’s Orphanage have successfully enrolled at the request of Mr. Aloys Kamwithi (Huruma Rescue Mission NGO) of Kenya who currently resides in America. Through the sponsorship of the same American NGO, additional orphans from Mother Teresa’s Orphanage were brought in bringing the total number of orphans studying at Tenri Academy up to 30.

“Though there are a large number of Christian schools, the fact that our school was selected in support of the ACEF is something we feel very proud of. We feel that a number of factors such as the establishment of our clinic, our complete faculty, the quality of our staff, and our educational program played a role in our school getting selected. In addition, at our technical school this year, there are 14 students we are providing scholarships to who, despite outstanding grades, unfortunately could not pursue higher education due to poverty.

In Kenya, there are 300 million people currently infected with HIV and there are 1.2 million AIDS orphans. Supporting the orphans’ life, their education and the support for their independence continues to be a main priority for our organization and future goals of development.” –James Kariuki

How to help support our children and their future with education:

Tenri Academy Orphans: $300 per year to support one child's tuition and boarding.

Technical Students: $350 for single student in the technical side with the addition of $300 for boarding fees. Total cost for supporting one student’s vocational education is $650 per year.