I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks to my fellow Kenyans and friends in the Diaspora for being with me and my family in our time of need.

Your support both moral and with your presence at the hospital church work and the daily journey as my husband’s health took a downturn when we were most opti­mistic was in invaluable both to myself and our daughter.

Your help with the funeral arrange­ments and final send off were para­mount in giving all who knew James a true reflection of his impact on each one of their lives but more impor­tantly that although he has left us for a better place, his memory lives in each one of us until we meet again.

Thank you for taking the time to attend the funeral. Your prayers, emotional and financial support are greatly appre­ciated. Your presence and words that day mean more to Ella and I than you probably realize.

May God bless you all.

Pamoja,

Betty Thuo & family.

KCWA regrets to announce the passing on of James Thuo.

The viewing of the body will be on Thursday, the 22nd December 2011 between 4.30pm — 5.30pm at Bowra & Odea, Cannington (1307 Albany HWY,Cannington).

The funeral service will be held at St Jude Catholic Church Langford (Pren­diville way, Langford) on Friday, the 23rd December 2011 between 9.00am — 10.00am. The burial will be at Fremantle cemetery. (Corner Carrington street and Leach HWY) on 23rd December 2011 at 10.45am.

For those of you that are able to get time to visit the family, the address is 14 Jamaica Crossing, Langford.

You can also support the family by depositing a contri­bution to the account below: BSB 736–224  Acc. No. 588247

NB: The bank details published earlier (19th December 2011) were incorrect. If you had tried making a donation to the family and have been unsuc­cessful please try again with the correct bank details i.e. BSB 736–224 Acc. No. 588247. We apol­ogize for any incon­ve­nience caused.

Let us come together in the Kenyan spirit and in prayers for the bereaved family in this time of hardship.

For more details contact: 0416455304

Do you know someone who is actively making a difference? Express your appre­ci­ation by nomi­nating them for a Kenyan Community in WA (KCWA) Community Excel­lence Award. Nomi­nating is an important way to thank the inspi­ra­tional  people and ‘quiet achievers’ who enrich our community.

The KCWA Community Excel­lence Awards:

• recognise indi­viduals in the community for their positive efforts within our community
• high­light the important role of indi­viduals in building strong communities
• provide an oppor­tunity for indi­viduals, family members, community groups and busi­nesses to express appre­ci­ation for the positive actions of individuals
• benefit the entire community, by 
  — encour­aging indi­viduals through raising awareness of how positive actions and atti­tudes benefit the whole community
  — calling attention to local issues affecting indi­viduals, and creating an oppor­tunity for community involvement

How to Nominate
You are invited to nominate a Kenyan friend, family member, community leader or colleague who you believe makes our community a better place to live.
Nomi­nation is by email:
Send your nomi­na­tions to: kcwa-contact@kenyawa.org
Subject line: KCWA Community Excel­lence Award
Name of the person making the nomi­nation (your name)
Contact details: include your name, email address and phone number.
Tell us about the Nominee: Name of the nominee,  Occu­pation, Contact number and Describe in 200 words or less why you have nomi­nated this person for the KCWA Community Excel­lence Award. Tell us how this person has made a difference. Describe how they have gone beyond the call of duty to work with the community to make things happen.

Eligi­bility
To be eligible people being nomi­nated should agree to have their story published following the announcement of the winners at the 2011 Kenyan Ball, 28 October 2011. We look forward to announcing the  three winners at the 2011 Kenyan Ball. For assis­tance or queries call 0402915775.

Nomi­na­tions for the KCWA Community Excel­lence Awards close at 5pm on Tuesday 25 October 2011.

It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of Hon. Prof. Wangari Maathai which occured at the Nairobi Hospital on the night of 25 September 2011 following a prolonged and bravely borne battle with cancer.

Prof Maathai was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, and was the founder of the GreenBelt Movement, an envi­ron­men­talist, civil and women rights crusader and a former Member of Parliament.

The death of Prof. Maathai is a great loss not just to her family but to Kenya and the entire world.

In order to give her the heroine’s send-off that she deserves the government of Kenya will accord her a State Funeral. In addition, Thursday, 29 September and Friday 30 September have been declared as days of national mourning in her honour, during which the Kenyan flag will fly at half mast.

Visit the Greenbelt Movement Website to read more of her life’s works.

The Kenya Community In Western Australia would like to extend a sincere thank you for the show of support received during the recently held ‘Kenyans In Western Australia for Kenya’ fundraiser. The event was a great success and together with your support we raised $5,093.00 (Ksh 500,300.00), which will go to the Kenyans For Kenya initiative. The money raised will help feed thou­sands of Kenyans who are currently in dire need of food and medical attention, as a result of the effects of drought.

A special thanks goes out to all of our generous sponsors and supporters without whom the fundraiser would not be possible: Jandakot Print, Niwakati Mpesa Services & African Treasures.

We’d like to thank and recognize the effort of all who made the evening possible. Thanks to Eric, Casty, Shufaa, Sandra, Robin, Diana, Chansa, Kanana & Wendy for preparing a deli­cious menu for all our guests. Stephen Kuria for providing his services as the ‘MC extra­or­di­naire’, Elmard for conducting the Harambee, Dennis Ogola for his expert photog­raphy, Vj Kevo for keeping the music flowing throughout the evening, and of course to all of our guests who added so much to the festiv­ities of the evening.

The Kenyan Community In Western Australia will be hosting the 2011 Kenyan Ball on October 28th, 2011 and intend to use the oppor­tunity to raise more money towards helping the drought relief effort in Kenya.

To learn more about the Kenyans for Kenyan Initiative visit: http://www.kenyans4kenya.co.ke/.

Please feel free to email us at kcwa.contact@kenyawa.org or contact us on 0402874956 if you have ques­tions, would like an update on our activ­ities, or wish to volunteer at one of our events.