Update: September 2007
We are feeding more than 1500 children in the slum of Mathare Valley. Most children in the slum are either neglected are abandoned, others have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS, criminal acts or incarceration. Very many orphan children have been referred to our children’s home by social workers, local chiefs, government officials, individuals, children coming by themselves, and others but due to lack of the facilities we have not been able to have them in the orphanage.
The 80 children in the orphanage are total orphans who do not know anywhere else as their home and do not know anybody else as their parents. The incidences where very many children who deserve our God commissioned services are turned away because of lack of facilities for them have encouraged us to start Alice Villa in Kariobangi Orphan Children’s Home. This is under construction and we are praying that God will open more ways to help us complete the construction and even raise the running cost of the new home which will open an opportunity for twenty four more children.
Achievements
A greater impact is being realized in terms of behavior change among the young people and a desire to put extra effort and succeed in all that they engage in. this is achieved through Social development, spiritual development and Leadership and mentoring programmes. For example the Reach for life training that trained 48 children on sexual purity and was issued with a specially designed Bible with extra writings and studies on sexual purity. These children meet once a week in Bible studies and discuss sexual purity.
The feeding program has enabled many children from poor families that cannot afford three meals a day to at least find two meals in a day. The meals served (fruits, eggs, porridge, ugali, fish, meat, beans and brown and white rice among others are served in different days) are of high nutritive value and good for the health of the children.
Self awareness has notably increased among the girls that enable them to battle the girl specific challenges while at the same time providing capacity to overcome the same. weekly trainings to sensitize girls on issues of personal development, expose girls to seminars where emerging issues are explored, and avail informative materials to the girls on various topical issues. This has led 200 girls in need of sanitary towels receive them monthly, 250 girls are able to access the undergarments necessary for their comfort, 100% decrease in teenage pregnancies, and 60 girls were trained on self defense skills, recognizable academic performance by a majority of the girls, increased confidence among girls, and at least 250 are trained weekly on issues of personal development.
With your support, we can continue to provide Christian care for the ever increasing numbers of children who have lost mums and dads to HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses and have nobody who really cares for them. Mathare Valley is a violent and unpredictable place and vulnerable children have no one to turn to.
