Out of Africa

07 May 2013, 11:57 am
Speciality Bites by Paul Hargreaves

I am now back from Kenya having had, thanks to many of you, a very fruitful time during the last week at the orphanage near Lake Victoria

I was there to implement a number of agricultural projects which are funded by the money we raised last year at our Summer Ball. These projects, in time, will generate income to cover some of the needs of the children out there and gives the centre a more sustainable future.

I was slightly nervous on my way there as I had no idea whether some of the initial plans had been acted upon and what I was walking into, but the week was successful beyond my wildest expectations.  In the week, I had around 40 hours of meetings and planning time, working on spreadsheets etc. and interviewed and appointed a farm manager and project manager.  We now have a plan in place for the next 6 months and l know a lot more about dairy farming than I ever thought I would.  I have even been to see the cows that we will be buying in a couple of months and met the father of the calves!  As well as a zero-grazing dairy unit, we are building greenhouses to grow tomatoes and onions and other crops that will income generate this year, whereas the dairy won’t kick in until next year.

This is a slightly more personal blog than normal, but I just wanted to thank all of you who supported our ball last year very generously, which has made all this possible.  I can’t begin to tell you how grateful our friends were in Kenya, and it is very, very humbling to be there and be treated with far more respect than I deserve.  Clearly there is a lot more to be done, but this is a very important start, and the fund-raising continues with our Supplier Conference this year on 10th July and our Summer Ball is already in the diary for next year – July 4th 2014.

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