Dear Reader,

Merry Christmas from the Geno Project. If you are still looking for Christmas presents why not donate on their behalf and we will issue you with a Christmas gift receipt. We at the Geno Project believe there is no better gift than the gift of education.

In this newsletter:

- Campbell Mathieson tells his story about his trip to Kenya we introduce you to Roselyne Oloo

- who started off as one of our students but is now helping us administer the charity in Kenya.

It has been 5 months since our last newsletter and a lot has happened since then. Now in addition to the 66 secondary school scholarships we are also supporting 13 students at University. From our 66 secondary school students, 15 are currently taking their final exam and we are hoping to support as many as possible through University. We are wishing our students all the best in their final year.

This month the students at Osika Primary School will also receive their results of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). We wish our students all the best and we are hoping to sponsor between 10 and 15 through secondary school.

If you would like to support us with these scholarships you can donate by clicking the Donate button above. We at the Geno Project are also looking to take on a social media volunteer. If you are aware of someone who would be interested in taking this on pro bono please get in touch with us at the email provided below. We appreciate all assistance and financial support.

Find out more about the Geno Project please visit our website at www.genoproject.co.uk. Here you can read about what we do, donate and find out how else to get involved. Alternatively you can get in touch by email at info@genoproject.co.uk.

Your Geno Team
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Big Men by Campbell Mathieson

I cried more tears than water in the well. I had never seen people so happy. The intensity of a number of powerful emotions took me by surprise and overwhelmed me. I had never seen people so happy.

Entry into the remote Kenyan village of Osika brought the climax of my rollercoaster of feelings experienced during that trip: a trip which took me, at age fifteen, to bold Berlin, dubiously dazzling Doha, and curiously quirky Kenya – which caused me to meet with a range of emotions which were to alter my thinking considerably and render me humble, proud and more mature. Situations beyond any I had previously encountered led to me to adopt a fresh view of people, their backgrounds and their circumstances.

My journey began by saying goodbye to my mother and younger brother at Glasgow Airport from where I would take a flight on my own for the first time. After two and a half hours high in the sky I arrived in Berlin, the home city of Paul (a total stranger to me) and the man responsible for me over the next ten days. After almost losing my luggage, Paul’s wife drove us to his office in the city centre where I was to meet the ‘big man’. I was full of anticipation and looking forward to meeting him as I had heard so much about his remarkable fiscal and charitable work and additionally, about his expansive personality: justifiably, he is the ‘big man’ for many reasons. Although he was a guy I had never met in my life, being a long-time friend of my father’s meant that we had the potential to be pals. We instantly clicked and for the rest of the trip existed in harmony together. A night in the city allowed me to see Berlin’s famous landmarks and gain a feel for the German capital. I found it to be a very intriguing place with an incredible amount of history, not all of it uplifting. However, in comparison with locations to come, it presented recognisable surroundings to the ‘wee boy’ from Troon.

On arrival in Kenya, we boarded a more basic craft from Nairobi to Kisumu where we stayed the night next to Lake Victoria – an imposing and unforgettable sight. Here, also, we had the necessary rendezvous with Solomon, literally a ‘big man’. He stood six foot tall, broad-shouldered, with an ear-to-ear smile that, no matter what might befall him, could never be wiped away. He was to be our driver, constant companion and tower of strength throughout the mission. Despite his degree of advantage in relation to his tribe, he nonetheless used his somewhat privileged position to give back unselfish levels of pastoral care, laced with concern and good humour, which was to be an inspiration for me, resonating as it did with my ambition of becoming a doctor. I watched him with a mixture of wonder and admiration.

I can remember vividly Solomon’s battered saloon conveying Paul and I through a dancing, chanting, cheering, grinning, leaping river of humanity that parted and then reformed around the car as if it were a boulder in a stream. In this way, like a regal motorcade, we drove into the heart of Osika. My tears added to the river. I still don’t know if they were tears of happiness or something else. All I know is that I experienced a very unique combination of feelings which I will never forget: joy, shock, sympathy and an overwhelming feeling of disbelief. How can these people be so happy in their situation, happier than anyone I have ever encountered before? The ten minutes spent dancing with the tribe was a significant one in my life so far; it realigned my life’s compass and my outlook on what it takes to live happily. It was an initiation into freedom – a curtain opening on a fresh emotional perspective. I was soon to learn during this opening ‘ceremony’ that the residents of Osika viewed Paul as a Hero, the saviour. Each villager had a story to tell regarding how Paul had transformed his or her life and that of their irregular, sprawling village with its basic mud huts interspersed with grazing livestock. This struck me to the very core of my being with a heartfelt and everlasting impact.

When I visited the local primary school (where I gave a motivational talk to final year students) and met numerous villagers, I came to realise that I was among people with a great deal in common with me. They were living in primitive conditions but were people who displayed a dignified pride in themselves, in their culture and in their intelligence. No sign of inflated egos or fake personas which are all too easy to find in the developed world. Although we came from almost exact opposite situations, it was so easy to share their existence: to be with them, mix with them, talk with them, eat with them, travel with them and relax with them. One man in particular, Naftali, actively demonstrated the way all humans should be through his generous actions and open communication. Initially, when we met, he was wearing a red and white retro Rangers strip, and I uncertain as to how to react, fell into a straight-forward level of shared humanity. We chatted for hours on end over the next three days and I was humbled by his immediate sense of friendliness towards me – the mark of another ‘big man’ with an abundance of courage and the bearings of a true friend.

After driving round various high schools and universities where Paul was sponsoring children and students, meeting more of Osika’s residents and inspecting its single-crop subsistence system, my stay in the village was over. I hoped to see the villagers again someday and take away with me the many implicit lessons I had learned. (As a bonus, I did not contract malaria from my collection of mosquito bites!)

All too soon, Paul and I found ourselves wishing Solomon farewell at Kisumu Airport and made it back to Nairobi. It was here I thanked Paul for his kind support and generosity in taking me on the trip with him and we connected one final time with a manly hug. My flight back to Glasgow signalled the end of an emotional journey around the globe and heralded the opening of a new inner world for me wherein I carried the missionary vision of the big men of Osika.

Roselyne Oloo

Hello everyone

I am Roselyne Oloo, 23 years old. I graduated from university of Kabianga with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management. Currently I am working with Geno team here in Kenya.

My dad has two wives, with 16 children. My mum is the second wife. I am the fourth born in the family of 8, my dad retired when I was only five years old.

I started schooling at Osika primary school in the year 2000, life was not easy, too much strain in order to survive. I had no hope in joining any secondary school due to the situation at home. At that time I did put very little effort in my studies. When I joined class seven, Mr. Solomon Ariko came and gave us very good news about our impending sponsorship, he told us about his friend Paul Macdonald. I was very happy and all my dreams seemed possible to me, I knew I had to work extra hard in order to grab that opportunity. Competition was so stiff because our class had many clever girls. I had to revise on my tactics to be the best girl in our class. When we did our final examination in class eight, I emerged the best; I believe God answered my prayers. I was awarded a full scholarship from the Geno Project.

I joined Dudi Girls High school in 2008, we were more than 200 girls in form one, I wondered how I would manage to compete with all these bright girls, I knew I had to work extra hard to perform better, my performance was always amongst the best. In 2011 I sat my final year examination, that’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education. I qualified and was able to join the University of my Choice. I joined university of Kabianga in September 2012 and completed my first degree in 2015.The Geno Project has helped me very much; I have reached this far due to the support from the Geno Project. I am very thankful indeed. I still have a desire to achieve a master’s degree and Ph.D.

The opportunity the Geno Project gives to children within Homa Bay County is marvellous, I feel it deep inside my heart, and we have 66 students in high school and 13 students in University, what a wonderful opportunity for the students to nurture their potentials. In addition I have started a girls group at Osika primary school to motivate and inspire young girls to have great dreams, to value themselves, work hard and make great and tremendous changes in the future. It also helps in solving emotional, psychological and physical problems the girls have. I chose to help girls because they are going through a lot of challenges.

Bravo to the Geno Project team for this marvellous job you are doing, my special thanks goes to Paul and Solomon, may you get a double blessing from the work of your hands. You have moulded me into a useful human being.

My plea to you is to request you, the well-wishers to donate funds to help the less fortunate students realise their dreams through education. Thank you.