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    Below are just a few photos from my trip that have become part of my favorite group. They capture some of the reason why I, and every member of the group of forty three people that I worked with, took the time and made whatever sacrifices necessary to go.

    This first shot captures the essence of the purpose for the creation of the guitar dedicated to the orphanage there in Nairobi. It now houses only ten children who have not only been orphaned by the plight of AIDS, but who have also fallen prey to the disease themselves. They were excited to be able to hold and to touch the guitar even though they have no concept of the help that it may be in completing the facility that may house and provide a loving home environment for one hundred others who are in the same seemingly hopeless situation that they are in. The orphanage is aptly named the Tumaini Home For Children since the word Tumaini means Hope.
   I explained how you all took part by supplying materials and parts to make it a reality and it was just another testament to how we, as Americans, are willing to do what small things we can to help the Kenyan people and to ease their suffering. When you're there and can see the magnitude of the suffering, the size of such a contribution takes on a reality that can only come with true perspective, but many small efforts like this one can add up and will begin to make a difference that will be felt by thousands.
   The staff and children of the orphanage loved the guitar and asked that I forward a heartfelt "Thank You" to all who contributed.


    This photo was taken during a stop at a large slum outside of Nairobi. The sewage runs in open ditches on the ground and there is no electricity. The smell from the open sewage drains was almost unbearable and we remembered that it was winter and the temperature was only about 75 degrees. We were told that it is much worse during the summer months when temperatures exceed 110 degrees and the smell draws animals in from the surrounding forest and causes a whole new set of problems for the people living there.

    The children seem to have a joy that can only be exhibited by children in such horrible living conditions, but many show that there is something missing with their eyes as they smile. I could have been happy spending most of my time in Africa right here in this small play area outside of the makeshift school of the slums just touching and loving the children. They are funny and fascinated by us and our light skin with hair everywhere. Not alot of affection is shown by parents so a gentle touch was always welcome and quickly returned. They made me realize how much I've been able to do for my children...even in my trade. The whole situation is a sobering thing to experience and could never be communicated with just photos or words.




   This little hand found its way into mine within two minutes of our arrival to those slums. The first small group of children we came upon as we entered just brought me to tears and I had a hard time even staying on my feet as I was confronted with their living conditions. I immediately stooped down and touched this little girl's cheek and greeted her with a typical Kenyan greeting of "Jambo" and she peered out from under her little bonnet that she wore and smiled saying, "Karibu" or welcome. She was probably three years old and followed me for the entire two mile walk through the slums as we climbed steep and hills up and down the community with treacherous rocky sections where I carried her so she wouldn't hurt her tiny bare feet.

   Here she is in her little bonnet as she stopped with us along our walk through the slums.



Thanks again to all who helped to make the guitar a possibility and for being able to sense the need for it. I hope these and future photos that i post will make you feel some of the satisfaction that I do for taking the time to do it. My part in the project was no more important than the part any of you played as it came about.

   My airconditioning in the shop just died today so I'm unable to get out there until I can either get it straightened out or replaced. I'll have a bit more time later to post a few more photos and some commentary on other parts of the trip.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega GuitarsKevin Gallagher38932.4294791667

Thanks Kevin, touching photos and stories of the effort. Hope you are feeling better.

For once in my life...I'm speechless.
What an amazing story to have in your life.
Good on you mate!

Incredible

Everyday I am amazed more and more by the fine folks on this forum. The spirit of generousity and giving here is just amazing. I am truly honored to be associated with everyone here. Kevin, you have just provided one of the biggest and best examples! Thank you!

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

I wept.
Where can I send a donation to help the children.

Bob and all,
   If anyone would like to send a donation to directly benefit the children of Africa, You can contact World Servants to the attention of Tim Gibson. Tim was our World Servants director on this trip and he has been working in close connection with lots of people in Kenya for more than 15 years.

   Everywhere we went, people knew Tim and held him in great regard because of all of the work he's done to help the kids there.

   Everything you send will reach its destination. That's one of the greatest things about World Servants.

   If you send something and would like it to touch the lives of these particular kids in this orphanage or area, just let Tim know in a note that you know me and want to be a part of the work of the Tumaini orphanage or the Hawa Boys Home which is another facility that helps street boys to learn a trade and get into the work force in that area.

   I'll post some pics of my time spent there as well. The boys are living on the street after being orphaned. They fight for their food and their place to sleep at night and to avoid the human predators that would rape and exploit them while they do.

    Here's a photo of a 4 year old street orphan whose name is Michael. He bacame known to me and my colleagues as "Ice Cold Mike" after letting me know that he was cool when we met. He would wander into the government adminstration offices each day to beg for food and the people there would feed and clothe him, but he would end up back on the street to fend for himself each night...at four years old!! They brought him along as they came to attend the dedication of the building we'd worked on and, by the end of their time there, he would reach to grab my hand and bring me along everywhere he went on the jobsite. His story alone was enough to break my heart since I have four sons here at home that have enjoyed as many as twenty four years of love and care from my wife and I.

   If I could have arranged it, I would have had him move here to live with us in the US, but it's very difficult to get an African child out of Africa by adoption. In the meantime, he will likely be taken in by the Hawa Boys home to be cared for and educated.


At the Hawa Boys Home, the boys farm a ten acre plot to provide fruit and vegetables for use in the home, but each boy is also given a one hundred foot square patch of land to farm for himself. The home supplies the necessary seed, fertilizer and tools and the harvest is sold at market. At sale time, each boy gives half of the procees back to the home to replace their seed and suppies and the other half is deposited into their personal account to be used when they graduate and are to move from the home.

   Recently a boy left the home after nearly twelve years there and had accumulated nearly enough to completely pay for the construction of his first home in that farming account. He was the first resident of the home when it opened more than twelve years ago and has studied computer programming at the technical school on Nairobi. A great incentive for the boys who once lived on the street to work hard and take care of themselves and a great education for them that goes well beyond the classroom.

    Here's a photo taken as we sat and played the African guitar while we visited and worked at the home. Several of the boys play guitar and the house guitar only had two strings on it. I left them all of the twelve extra sets of strings that I'd taken along and just hoped that my original set lasted the trip...which it did. I'm hoping to be able to get a pair of or more student or reasonable quality entry level guitars to the home through World Servants since music is such a large part of their culture and is a great way to express themselves while living there.



    You can contact Wprld Servants at www.worldservants.org or drop an email to Tim Gibson for specific giving direction at tgibson@worldservants.org . Tim may just direct you back to the general donation area, but he is a great guy who has a real heart for the African children and people.

Thanks,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega GuitarsKevin Gallagher38932.4930092593

Superb story Kevin. Thank you very much for sharing it with us...

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

That's the kind of story that makes me wish i could just leave my day job, pack up and go but i serve here in some sort of way. Kevin, you're a bearer of good fruits, humanity deserves more men like you, Gob bless you and your crew of the very finest people!

Regards

Serge

Kevin,
You are indeed a blessing to those people. May God bless your life and help you continue to bring hope to the less fortunate children in Africa.

Those pictures brought tears to my eyes! Its hard to beleive that in the 21st century children are still allowed to live in those conditions...

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Kevin...Thanks for sharing...and caring. Your dedication is inspiring!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Kevin, thanks for sharing with us. It is really a pleasure to know someone who is so caring for those less fortunate. I only hope that it is contagious. Good on ya!

_________________
Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

Wow!!!
Amazing work. This is what life is all about. That is why I do mission work
as well.
All of us can find a way to help others!!!!

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

Kevin, that is touching. Thanks for going, and thanks for sharing the trip with us. I'm a bit fuzzy on the details--did you go in conjunction with World Servants, or some other organization?

Steve

_________________
From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Thank you for sharing your story, Kevin.

_________________
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Kevin,

Those photos are superb. You and the folks with which you're working are truely heros!

Steve,
   I actually went on the trip with a radio station called WORDFM and was the worship leader/pastor for the group, but they work in close connection with World Servants while selcting and coordinating trips and projects.

   They take lots of trips that are not connected in any way with them, but the African and Asian trips are because of the depth of experience that World Servants has in those areas.

    Both are organizations with true integrity and a real concern for the people that they reach out to help. The WORDFM is a relatively small station compared to many that do such work. As a matter of fact, the leaders met with a nice size group of other radio station sponsored group leaders while in Nairobi and were pleasantly surprized that our group was more than double the size of the next smaller group. We had forty three listeners who traveled more than ten thousand miles to help and they had alot of questions as to how such a small station can motivate such a large number of people to make the size commitment.

   Donations can be to these African efforts through the station as well and it may be easier to do so. Their web address is www.wordfm.org and Dave Baker is the guy you'd want to talk to concerning missions donations.

   I'll be there at the station to be on the air on Friday morning between 8 and 9 AM. A bunch of our group will be either in attendance or calling in to reflect on our experiences during the trip.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

Thanks, Kevin!

Steve

_________________
From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Awesome!

Thanks Kevin

Mike
White Oak, Texas

I have a pretty thick exterior that is tough to penetrate. But this thread really touches me. I am proud to be part of this online community - it gives me hope for our future to know there are still people with the compassion, fortitude, and insight to make a difference!

Thanks Kevin! You've made my day a bit brighter!

-Mark

_________________
Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

trippguitars.com
OR
Find me on Facebook

Kevin, thanks for letting us in on this experience, both profoundly painful and deeply inspiring. And a huge thanks for your efforts in helping where help is so desperately needed.

It so happens we just got a mailing from an organization called Musicians for World Harmony (to which we've donated before) which may interest you and many others here. It was started just a few years ago by a great musician from Uganda named Samite (SAH-mee-tay) Mulondo who happens to have settled right here in Ithaca. Here's a quote from him that's on the web site:

"In my life, music has helped me to recover from my own traumatic experiences during Uganda’s civil unrest and years as a refugee. When I returned to Africa to film the documentary “Song of the Refugee,” I saw how refugee children in Liberia, Ivory Coast, Rwanda and Uganda came alive when I sang to them and they responded with a song of their own. I looked into the eyes of these children and saw their spirits lifted with just one song and realized that music is a powerful healing force. I know we can make an impact on these children in the same way. I am committed to it, and I look forward to the opportunity to bring light into their eyes again."

So, recognizing that children suffering the effects of poverty, war, and the AIDS epidemic need more than food, shelter, and schooling, the mission of the organization is, essentially, "to bring love and joy back into these children’s hearts through the healing power of music" (quoted from the web site).

Here's the link:

http://www.musiciansforworldharmony.org/message.html

Here's a great way to integrate our love of music and knowledge of its power with our compassion for people whose daily reality is unimaginably horrifying to most of us. Please check it out -- they could sure use our support!

Thanks again, Kevin.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/