Pastor Larry Frick and his late wife, Judy, have been involved in pastoring, summer camp conferences and missionary work on 5 continents. He has been General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God churches in Norway. He presented his work in the SIANY Child Development Center in Kisumu in Kenya (near Lake Victoria & the Uganda border), for which our Club is considering a Rotary Global Grant application.

He presented a video showing the impoverished conditions of the children in this center, where they were playing, reading books, sitting in the classroom, and eating food. The Center is in dire need of more funds to obtain food, supplies and basic equipment. The children have a piece of land to grow some of their food, but their only gardening tool is a hoe. Sometimes the staff members work without pay. The books are in English, but the major language in much of eastern Africa is Kiswahili (from the Arabic sawāḥil meaning “coastal dweller”), a Bantu language with some Arabic words from Arabian coastal traders dating back to the 2nd century AD.

There are 500,000 people in the slums of Kisumu, who have come from the villages in search of a better economic life. This center is the only place for many of them to get an education. The Center has 325 children M-F, and 194 more on Sat, with more of them trying to enter. They also teach adults about basic healthcare and childcare.

Dave Moyers said that, for a Global Grant project, we need to partner with local Rotarians & local leaders in the country involved, who would present a list of needs that we could consider. (Our Club has contributed $12-15,000 to the Rotary Foundation over the last 7-9 years. The Rotary foundation is rated 4*, the highest rating for an international charitable organization.)