After much consideration it is with great regret that we, the Australian Board came to the conclusion that Lavenda Education and Health Foundation could no longer continue under its current system and structure. Due largely to the unwillingness of the land holder, Jeffrey Njuguna, to transfer the land ownership into a neutral entity, the project has had to be officially closed. The Board was unable to continue to raise funds from sponsors under the current structure.

Lavenda is now a deregistered organization and as such we can no longer continue to operate legally. As you may be aware from November 2009 no further debits from your credit card accounts have taken place, and we have not undertaken any offical fundraising for the last 5 or 6 months. No further debits from sponsor’s credit cards will be made. All available funds have gone into finalizing any outstanding debts inclusive of payments to all staff
and creditors in Kenya. Our final tax return will occur this financial year and all accounts will be closed on finalization of our last tax return. Please note that if you were donating via a direct credit directly to Lavenda’s bank account then you will need to contact your financial institution to cease this immediately. We do not have the authority to stop direct credits set up by a sponsor’s institution into our account. Once the Lavenda account has been closed, any credits still coming into the account will automatically be returned back to the original institution.

As mentioned to you previously, we have been working with the help of ex Lavenda staff in Kenya to source the best outcomes for the children. We are continuing to communicate with Sido, Ann and Joyce, (three staff members who were working at Lavenda), who are staying in touch with the guardians of the children from Lavenda. They have advised us that most of the children have been placed into local government schools however we are still waiting for final confirmation of this. Others are still waiting for further help and are continuing to communicate with Sido, Ann and Joyce.

Dee and Dan Rutherford, two of our previous Board members, are currently making arrangements to travel to Kenya next month. There they will set up a new organization to house and educate a small group of the neediest children from Lavenda, the majority of who are orphans. Sido, Ann and Joyce will all be working closely with them on this project.

The Board has worked tirelessly on the strategies above to ensure that as many children as possible have been given a pathway for their future.
 As a result of Ruth and Jeff’s wonderful vision over a decade ago to start Lavenda, we have all developed various relationships with many staff and students in Kenya. Lavenda may no longer be in operation however the relationships formed during that time have allowed us to continue to help many staff and students through ongoing communication and cooperation.

Ruth, Leon and Trish will also be looking at developing new organizations to further fulfill their dreams of helping disadvantaged people in Africa.
Your support and sponsorship has been cherished and we wish to end this chapter by sharing with you that while it did not end as we envisaged, it accomplished much that we can all be proud of. Many children have been given an education, fed regularly, and housed in a beautiful location. The lives touched and changed have been numerous and we will return in the near future to begin again.

Please direct individual enquiries to Trish Hanekom  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Asante na huweza wewe kubarikiwa.
(Thank you and may you be blessed)

Yours faithfully,
The Australian Board.
Ruth Njuguna, Patricia & Leon Hanekom and Dee & Dan Rutherford