Climate change is clearly being felt in the areas where GAM is developing its Samburu women's literacy project, which entered its third and final phase in January 2022. Since last year, in Lodoung'okwe (Kenya), we have been suffering from a major drought that is limiting the lives and wellbeing of our communities. This April, which is usually a rainy month, has been very dry. Some families have lost their animals, there is no milk, and many have had to migrate to other places to graze their animals. This situation has complicated the participation of the Samburu women in our training project, although, with great effort, they continue to attend their literacy courses whenever the situation allows.

On top of this, there has been a fuel shortage throughout the country for the past month; the price has doubled and this is having a huge impact on the communities. The prices of the little food they consume have increased by up to 50%. Those who have small shops in villages like ours are disappearing because of costs and debts. In addition, now in May the school year begins and families who have their children studying abroad have no way to send them. In short, it is a very complex situation for our communities.

Despite all this, the Samburu women do not lose their joy and hope that the situation will improve soon. Taking advantage of the school holidays and while their children were taking care of the herds, we organised for them, as part of GAM's training programme, a trip to Nairobi for exploration and training. An experience that they described as unforgettable and for which they are deeply grateful.

On the 5th of April, after a 7-hour journey, we arrived at an organic farm in the metropolitan area of Nairobi, where the beneficiaries of our project participated in a literacy and training workshop given by one of the teachers, Irene Lewanatoop.  The training sessions lasted until the 8th of April and culminated with a city tour, thanks to which they got to know the most emblematic places of Nairobi and the country. Most of them did not know Nairobi even from television. Travelling with them was really fun and when they discovered the different cultures in their country, they were impressed and grateful to GAM, because it had allowed them to fulfil their dream.

This activity has helped them, without forgetting their roots, to discover their country, to open their minds in a space far from everyday worries, and where, treated with dignity and respect, they can grow as women thanks to the training given to them by a woman from their own Samburu tribe. This trip allowed them to discover that they are not only Samburu, but also Kenyans, and that, although they are marginalised, this part of the country also belongs to them. This experience also allowed them to discover that female genital mutilation and early marriages are practices that many tribes no longer practice. The experiences gained from this trip and the training workshop in Nairobi also allowed us to appreciate who they are.

Thank you GAM for the support you give us with this project. Thank you, because with your generosity you help to transform the lives of others.
 
Jimmy Gil Ocampo
GAM representative in Kenya

On the 19th of March the GAM event "Tapas y Alegría" took place. Our objectives were achieved and we managed to raise, thanks to the work and dedication of our volunteers and also to the art of dance, money to support the GAM 2022 and 2023 projects.

The event was a success in every way. The hall was filled to capacity and we were all able to enjoy a carefully prepared dance performance offered by GAM volunteers, as well as some delicious tapas, accompanied by a good Spanish wine. Thank you all for your support and collaboration!.

​See you at Tapas y Alegría 2023!

​Here is a reminder of GAM's projects for 2022:

- "Samburu women's literacy programme (3rd and final phase)". Location: Lodoung'okwe (Kenya).

- "Endowment and refurbishment of the community hall." Location: Lodung'okwe (Kenya).

- "Water for all: drilling a well for drinking water." Location: Kounahiri (Côte d'Ivoire).

​More information about our projects at: https://www.gam-asbl.com/projects.html

While 2021 has continued to be marked by the pandemic, our community has faced other needs and difficulties. The most complicated of all has been the lack of rainfall, which has caused many families to migrate in search of pasture. In these situations, the women have to walk more kilometres with the animals, the water is not close, the animals are weak and there is no milk, a fundamental element in the Samburu diet. So it has been a very difficult time for our communities. All this has hit our Samburu women's literacy project very hard, as we have to be more patient, they have to walk further, they often arrive late and tired to the meetings or they can't get there at all. However, with the help of the teachers, it has been possible to consolidate two groups of women in each community, who continue with the literacy courses and other training spaces: in Nonkek, these two groups are supervised by Professor Ann; and in Lpus, by Professor Josephine. In addition, a new women's group has emerged in another village, led by Julita Lekoisa. In this way, we can grow and continue to offer our support, thus giving other women the opportunity to train and learn.

In order to maintain the participation of mothers of young children in education programmes, other elements need to be put in place to motivate them to persevere. Hence the importance of developing strategies that allow us to offer other elements of training and growth. In Nonkek, for example, before the dry season, we set up two productive projects with the two women's groups. We gave them five goats, so that in a few months these goats will procreate and the women will be able to benefit from the breeding of these animals. Although due to the drought we have not yet been able to see the expected results, the goats are doing well and when the rains come we will start to see the fruits. For this work we have put Irene, a young woman from the community who has already finished her university studies in social work, in charge of this work and who is helping us in the projects, especially with the women, providing them with training and accompaniment. The drought and their lack of availability has prevented us from carrying out some activities, such as the human formation trip to Nairobi. We hope that, with the arrival of the rains and when the peak of the pandemic is over, we will be able to carry it out.

This time of drought has pushed us to take action for them, since food is scarce, we must support them and, on school days, give them a snack. In spite of all the challenges we face at this time, it is nice to see how in the midst of need they unite, help each other and even go together to sing at the river asking God for the grace of rain.

In December, we celebrated Christmas with them and their families and in each community there has been a lot of joy and welcome. We have given the women in the programme a gift of art from GAM asbl, a piece of cloth that they use to dress themselves.

So, friends and benefactors of GAM asbl, we want to thank you for the help you offer us, the teachers and all the women involved in the project.

Jimmy Alexander Gil Ocampo
Representative of GAM asbl in Kenya

TAPAS Y ALEGRÍA

We present to you the event "Tapas y Alegría" which will take place on 19 March 2022, after three cancelled attempts due to the COVID pandemic.

The aim is to combine the art of dance with the joy of sharing delicious Spanish tapas in a relaxed atmosphere, while contributing to continue supporting GAM and its sustainable development projects in 2022.

​Tickets are on sale now. You can purchase them by contacting us through our social networks or by sending us an email. Seating is limited and a Covid Safe Ticket will be required at the entrance. We look forward to seeing yout here!

​In 2022, GAM asbl will support at least 3sustainable projects:

- "Samburu women's literacy programme (3rd andfinal phase)". Location: Lodoung'okwe (Kenya). Objectives: to provide Samburu women with adequate training to enable them to start a family business and to meet the schooling needs of their children. Empowerment of Samburu women.

- "Endowment and refurbishment of thecommunity hall." Location: Lodung'okwe(Kenya). Objectives: To repair the facilities of the multi-purpose community hall for training and human promotion sessions, as well as to equip it with the necessary material to facilitate the meetings of the local communities. This is an unprecedented project in the region.

​- "Water for all: drilling a well for drinkingwater." Location: Kounahiri (Côte d'Ivoire). Objectives: to supply drinking water to the Reception Centre, financed by GAM in 2019, and to part of the population of Kounahiri. To improve the living conditions of the local community.

More information about our projects at: https://www.gam-asbl.com/projects.html

Christmas is coming and with it the last days of December. Consciously or unconsciously, we take stock of the year 2021, marked once again by the pandemic and its consequences, both health and economic. It has undoubtedly been a difficult year, in which the mistrust of some and the desperation of others have led to a generalised exhaustion from which no one knows when we will recover. However, all this should not prevent us from looking forward to 2022 with hope and excitement. Quite the contrary.

As I have stressed on previous occasions, I firmly believe that we must have (or develop) the capacity not only to be resilient, but also to overcome adversity. Take the example of GAM. In 2021 we had to cancel many of our activities and almost all of our scheduled events, except for the annual dinner, which finally took place on 13 November. We changed the date of two of our events several times in order to postpone them, but not to cancel them. However, in the end we had to exercise prudence and cancel them in the hope of finally being able to organise them in 2022.

However, despite the fact that we were not able to carry out most of what we had planned, it has been a fruitful year for our association. Both projects have been successfully completed and we have received generous enough donations and contributions from our benefactors to be able to meet the needs of all our beneficiaries. The support and dedication of GAM's friends, benefactors and volunteers (who by the way are becoming more and more numerous) has been impressive. We could not be more grateful. Solidarity and generosity have far outweighed selfishness and indifference.  And that is what we are left with.

Therefore, when we take stock of this year, a complicated one for all of us, let us not forget to do so by changing our perspective and transforming, as far as possible (although there will always be situations that are difficult to deal with) the negative into the positive and turning hate into love.

​To all a very Merry Christmas and may the year 2022 bring you light, health and hope.
 
Amílcar Ferro B.
President of GAM asbl

The first (virtual) meeting of GAM asbl with its partners in the South took place on 19 October 2021. Due to technical problems, not all GAM partners in the African countries were able to connect, but we were able to count on the presence and valuable intervention of our representatives in Côte d'Ivoire and Kenya.

The meeting was an opportunity for GAM's partners in Brussels and those working and implementing GAM projects in the countries of destination to get to know each other and exchange new proposals for collaboration to help GAM projects reach our beneficiaries more accurately and effectively.

​Three projects are already proposed for 2022: two in Kenya and one in Ivory Coast. We are currently in the process of shaping them to fit in form and content with GAM's objectives and strategy. We will inform our benefactors about the details of these projects shortly. 

With our partners on the ground, we have agreed to organise virtual working sessions every three months in order to jointly analyse the progress of the projects and to get their feedback on their impact on the local communities.

Another aspect discussed at the meeting was the establishment of alliances with other organisations and the presentation of projects to calls for proposals from development agencies and, above all, from the European Union in these countries, through its Delegations. We have been informed that the next calls for proposals of the EU will be published in the first quarter of 2022.

The meeting was very enriching and favoured a dynamic exchange of interesting ideas and proposals among all GAM's collaborators, which will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the design and implementation of the association's projects and, ultimately, on our beneficiaries.

​Thanks to this meeting, we were able to exchange the different visions and expectations among the partners from the different regions, which helped to create a more global, complementary and enriching vision within the framework of which the north-south relations will be strengthened and the effectiveness of the work and support of our association GAM to the most vulnerable populations will be enhanced.

Organisation of the GAM asbl Annual Lunch

On 13 November we were able to organise the GAM Annual Lunch in order to raise funds to finance GAM's projects in 2022. After having to cancel all our events in the last year and a half of the pandemic, we were finally able to bring together GAM volunteers and benefactors for this long awaited event.

On this occasion, and due to the current security measures, we decided to have two shifts: a lunch at noon and a dinner in the evening. The format and organisation of the event was a success and we managed to bring together, always respecting the imposed measures, friends, collaborators and benefactors of GAM around the traditional paella.

​GAM would like to thank our volunteers and benefactors for their participation in this event. We will soon inform you of the benefits obtained and of the GAM projects that will be launched in 2022 thanks to your collaboration and generosity.

We have received two new project proposals from our partners from the South to be implemented in 2022.
The first project aims to carry out a "Drilling for drinking water to supply the population of Kounahiri", in Ivory Coast. The objective of the second project is to "Equip and refurbish the community hall in Lodung'okwe", in Kenya.
Both proposals are currently being evaluated by GAM, in order to ensure that they comply with the objectives and strategy of our association.
Together with the 3rd phase of the "Samburu Women's Literacy Programme" in Kenya, there are currently three GAM projects planned for 2022.
You can find more information about our projects on the GAM website: https://www.gam-asbl.com/projects.html

​The 3rd GAM event has been definitively postponed to 19 March 2022.

Finally, as a precaution, it was decided to cancel the GAM Barbecue 2021.
​We hope to be able to celebrate the next GAM Barbecue together in June 2022!

​The first (virtual) meeting with our partners from the South will take place on 19 October 2021, with the aim of consolidating North-South links, coordinating GAM asbl projects more effectively and jointly exploring new lines of support that will enable us to be more effective and provide more appropriate solutions to the problems of the most vulnerable in the different areas where we work.

​Karalia Lempe is one of the women attending training classes in Nonkek, Kenya, as part of the "Samburu Village Women's Literacy Programme", supported by GAM, which is currently in its second phase (2020-2022).

Karalia is 30 years old and has 5 children: Simon (12 years old), Lemon (10 years old), Francis (8 years old), Nelson (6 years old) and Julia (2 years old). Her husband died shortly after the birth of their fifth child.

In Samburu culture, the traditional marriage establishes such a strong bond between the two parties that even death does not break it, so much so that if she were to have another child, it would be considered the child of the deceased husband, as she still "belongs" to him.

As a widow she is totally unprotected. However, as her children now belong to her husband's family, she is allowed to live in his "manyatta" (the "manyatta" is the hut in which the children of a family live with their wives).

The future of widows is very uncertain in these cultures and places, as they married very young, never went to school, their life is pastoralist and depends on raising goats and cows, so these women are generally left to live alone in high levels of exclusion.

Karalia, like all the local women, fetches water every day, carrying a “pimpina” of water and firewood for several kilometres. She herds the herd with her children and, despite her many daily chores, she makes time to take part in the training sessions given by teacher Anne as part of the GAM asbl literacy programme.

Karalia was the first woman in Nonkek to learn to write and read syllables and has always shown great interest in the courses. She is one of the most committed women in the GAM project.

Amílcar Ferro Becerra
President of GAM

Karalia, with her daughter Julia and teacher Anne

The annual GAM barbecue will not take place in June as planned, as the venue does not guarantee the social distance required by current security measures.
We have therefore decided to postpone the GAM barbecue to September 2021.
You can find more information about our projects and activities on the website of the association.
We look forward to seeing you all after the summer!

All these months seem strange to me, as they passed without leaving us too many points of reference. Life seems to pass more slowly since a year ago, the weight of the consumer society has weakened. Only children seem to be growing faster than ever, in a world where life is slowing down and revolves around the fight against a common enemy, a particularly active virus. Only nature seems to maintain its usual pace.

We have all stopped attending parties, birthdays, family gatherings... Christmas, the first of January, and more recently, Easter Day, have come and gone as they do every year, only this time more quietly, more gently.

But this should not deceive us. This life to which we were accustomed is slowly beginning to return. Although it will probably never be the same as before. Indeed, it is the occasion to introduce some changes, some progress.

All these changes cannot be evoked in a few lines; radio, television, the press will do much better. Vaccines have proved their effectiveness; we must now prepare to restart the global machine. But not with a passive attitude. It is absurd to imagine a transformed world. There will always be rich and poor. And, unfortunately, GAM will continue to have its raison d'être. The most disadvantaged will not be abandoned; to move forward with the most disadvantaged is to move forward.

Bruno Hachez
GAM asbl volunteer

​The Samburu culture has been pass down from generation to generation thanks to its rich oral tradition and the long hours that pass under the shade of the trees or the gentle breeze with the light of the new moon, but the world keeps turning and the changes continuously  happens at a higher speed. We want to continue to maintain the shade of the tree as a place of encounter and communion, but we increasingly need more and better equipped places,  new "areopagus" like Paul in Athens.
 
It is for this reason that we are deeply grateful to GAM and its support for the construction of the Training center for leaders here in Barsaloi. It has been several years since the reception and training center became operational for our leaders and pastoral agents, but also for all the neighboring villages; this space plays a fundamental role in the formation, preparation, prevention and projection of religious, social, political, economic and development life of our community.
There are many and varied meetings, seminars, encounters, trainings that takes place there.

​From the Barsaloi mission we take full advantage of this space for the planning and evaluation of all our activities, pastoral councils and groups find in this space the best environment for their preparation and formation;  but it is not only the parish that has benefited from this project, constantly from the government and many other non-governmental organizations use this space for the realization of their meetings, training and seminars.

Through this Hall, various meetings had taken place, such as hygiene and health seminars, led by an NGO called Amref, to political and democratic formation of our leaders by the Justice and Peace Committee and the Diocese.

We have also had the possibility to host meetings from committees for the formation of small businesses and micro-credits with another institution called Bomas to emergency meetings to instruct and dodge  the effects of the increasingly frequent droughts.
The adult training school, especially women, has found there a space to share and continue with their training outside the classroom, as well as the environmental clubs we have in each of the public schools.

Women, children, young people, elderly people, warriors and men from the Samburu community have had the opportunity to participate in many and varied meetings in our training center.

Over the years, the frequent use, the strong heat and the constant threat of the termites make us start a project to reform some of the structures of our center in the short and medium term, such as tables and chairs, some of the doors and electrical connections, plus some of the beds and shelves in the bedrooms. We trust in the providence of the Lord that always manifests itself in the generosity of men and women of good will.
This has not only been a hall for doctrine and training, it has also become a space for freedom and equality, where gender, age, language, or educational level are not barriers to expression but on the opposite they are bridges for communion and dialogue.

Thanks again to all of you friends of the GAM Association and again we invite you to continue to be linked with all our projects in favor of development and the proclamation of the Gospel of the abundant life, but with quality and justice as Jesus wants it for all of us.