Food
Our primary target at Eagles Wings is to give as many people as we can, at least one meal a day. Generally this will consist of whatever the staple food may be. In India, this would be rice, maize in Kenya, matoke in Uganda and bread or porridge in Siberia, Russia. Our desire is to help develop this. We want every individual child in particular that is supported by Eagles Wings to be fed a balanced diet daily.

In India, we have 250 kids under our care that we have committed to provide food for. They eat a balanced diet of rice, vegetables and curry every day, eggs twice a week, meat once a week and chicken once a month. Similarly, with our girls home in Elburgon, Kenya they are given a healthy diet that consists of fruit, vegetables and rice or potatoes every day, beef once a week and chicken once a month.

Eagles Wings always try and give the children special treats whenever we make personal visits. On Bruce’s most recent trip to Kenya and Uganda, he bought chickens for everyone for the evening meal!

We are also feeding children at a school in Kapsabet, Kenya daily with a balanced and nutritional diet.

Water
Clean water is essential for healthy living whether you live in the middle of a slum, or in a thriving village. For Eagles Wings, it is as simple as either buying bottled water for people in need, or to the other extreme of spending approximately £20,000 for a complete bore hole to be drilled through granite foundations in the Riff Valley of Kenya! Depending on the nation, drilling can be at a cost as low as £2000 but we must look at options that would be most beneficial in the long term, and cost efficient. We have spent time weighing the costs of drilling for water against purchasing water from local bore holes that are already in existence. Excessive drilling in Kenya is so expensive that this definitely seems to be the most efficient option. For instance, in Elburgon, we buy water from the local catholic school and transport it by tractor to where it is needed. In addition to this, we have sponsored bore holes in very arid regions of northern Kenya, and this has caused local villages and communities to be transformed.

We have found in trips that we have taken to these different nations that basic hygiene is not often considered when gathering water. In some cases they have only the nearby river or lake that may be stagnant, to drink from, wash clothes in and bathe in. Children as young as 3 or 4 are involved in the process of gathering water with broken, plastic containers or bottles. In extreme cases we do purchase bottled water, but we want to help them find suitable sources of water.

Clothing
Through much experience, Eagles Wings have found that taking clothes from the UK to give to people in other nations is not the best option. There is already a thriving business in Africa of selling second hand clothes of reasonable quality. We would like to enhance this and help these businesses within their own nation rather than bringing clothes in from the outside that proves to be expensive and difficult. This enables us to help mini industries develop and provide locals with employment. We have purchased school uniforms for many children, and much of this has been sponsored by children from schools in the UK.

HIV AIDS sufferers given new dresses

Eagles Wings have initiated 2 projects in India and Gulu, where tailoring schools have been set up. Supporters of Eagles Wings in the UK have provided funds for sewing machines and materials to be purchased and used on a continual basis. The tailoring schools not only mean that people are able to make and repair their own clothes, but provide employment and training skills as well.

Shelter
A unique quality of Eagles Wings as a charity, is our personal connection with our partners in each nation. This has enabled us to respond instantly whenever there has been disaster and chaos. In emergency cases we have been able to provide shelters and rebuild devastated and collapsed buildings. After the devastating Tsunami and cyclone that hit the eastern coast of India in Chennai and Chirrila, Eagles Wings responded immediately by rebuilding many homes made with brick and thatched roofs.

In Russia, we have found that big orphanages don’t necessarily work as this causes children and youth to become dependent on aid, and less motivated to find ways of supporting themselves for the future. We have begun to fund tenement homes where children will live in small family units and be provided with individual care and attention. This environment will be much more beneficial for them.

We are also funding a children’s centre in Gulu that provides emergency night accommodation.

Care
With every person we are helping in other nations, we want to make sure that we are providing as much as we can in the area of care. This ranges from providing toothbrushes for children, to having trauma counsellor sessions set up for individuals.

In our girls home in Elburgon, we knew it was essential to find and employ a social worker whose primary concern will be the well being of every girl taken in to our care. This provides a great environment and balance of learning personal skills and interaction with others, and a feeling of safety and care. When the girls first moved in, Eagles Wings had decorated the walls with posters sent from Disney, left a cuddly bear on each of the girls’ bed, and given musical instruments donated by a primary school in the UK for the girls to learn and have fun with.

In India, all the children at The House of Hope have been provided with necessities like toothbrushes and school materials. Eagles Wings have just paid for every child and staff member to be immunised, this will prevent common illnesses easily being picked up in that area.

In Russia, all the kids at the orphanages take holidays to the Black Sea as a recreational trip. Here they are free to have fun and interact in a different environment.