Children – The center has a capacity of 38 children on fulltime care from the ages of now 5 weeks to 16 years. Each child has a unique background and a unique story. Majority of the children are below 8years meaning they all need special and personalized care. Eleven of the children are HIV positive and are on anti-retroviral drugs. Our centre is the only one in the region that opens its doors to babies and to children who are HIV infected. Every week we get calls and requests to accommodate more children but we are not able to help due financial constrains – despite the fact that the house can accommodate 80 children.
Staff – to enable us provide quality care to the children we need skilled, motivated and capable house mothers. We currently have 4 of them though we need to have 8 of them. Many come and just stay for a very short time and they leave for a greener pasture where they are paid better wages that our minimal wage – we can only afford to pay 7.00,00 Kenya Shillings whereas others pay above 12.000,00 shillings. Some of the mothers are also very vulnerable with so many problems e.g. we have got one who is caring for more than 10 grand children from her diseased children.
Food – we rescue the children who are already malnourished, sick and the newborn babies. They require nutritious diet that will enable them recover from the different situations of health. The babies need formula milk and that is quite very expensive here in Kenya. To be able to give the current children some decent meal, we need over 100,000 Kenya shillings a month.
Personal needs – This include; toiletries and things for personal care and grooming. The babies need baby diapers and that this are very expensive. We have 10 children below 4 years who need diapers night and day. Since we cannot afford them all the time we are forced to use pieces of cloths and washing them is a nightmare and a big issue.
Education – the children from the age of 4 years and above are in school. Education in Kenya is semi-subsidized for primary schools though the other levies are still unaffordable for poor people. The kindergarten, secondary and all aspects of post secondary education are all paid for. The most valuable thing we can give to the children we care for is education. When they have a course or a skill, this will enable them get a job and a salary that will enable them to sustain themselves in the society. Many have relatives that are unwilling to care or provide for them so it is better when they can take care of themselves. Our children are now growing and we have a number of them now going to secondary and in need of vocational training. This is a big challenge due to financial challenges that we are facing.
Reintegration – In carrying our work, we rescue the children from the pathetic and life threatening situations and children who are at risk. Those that are very young like the abandoned babies are given a healthy life start-up care. Those who have been through problems like abuse, trauma, malnutrition etc are taken through rehabilitation programs. During this time we work to find their family members and identify relatives who are willing to journey with us in the care of the children. This requires time, money, legal actions, trainings, follow-up and visiting. When a healthy relationship has been established, the re-integration process is started and finally the child returns back to the family. There are those who must remain here due to the difficult nature of their situation so we try to plan for their education or skill development that will enable them transit to the community after the age of 18 years.
The adolescents need the transition and empowerment trainings and counseling sessions. These will enable them cope with their age related crises and to transit to the next stage we.
Healthcare – Almost half of our children are living positive having been infected in childhood. They are on anti-retroviral treatment (ARV). The ARVs are given free but all other treatments are paid for which includes; lab investigations and scan which must be done regularly, treatment for opportunistic infections, nutritional supplements etc. These are quite expensive especially when the child develops severe opportunistic infections. The other children too get sick from time to time. We require a health insurance to cover all the children and staff and this requires almost 50,000.00 shillings.
Clothing & foot wears – The children require school uniforms, shoes and personal clothing. A child requires 3 pairs of uniforms a year and this costs approximately 3.800,00 shilling per pair per child. Shoes wear out quickly coz during the wet seasons the roads are very muddy and this destroys the shoes fast.
Others – We moved to the new house when it was not yet equipped with the basic household items and so we have been putting in one thing at a time: The other areas of need include:
- Fittings and furniture – There are no cabinets or drawers for children’s clothes. We use plastic bags that do not last and they create a mess as the little children have to learn to handle them
- Office equipment – this include safes, office tables and cabinets, computers and printers etc
- Beds and bedding – we have a few beds that are not enough for the children and some have to share. Mattresses, pillows, blankets, mosquito nets, sheets etc are required.
- Kitchen – in the kitchen, pots, serving dishes, plates, cups, cutlery are needed. We also require deep freezers and fridge to preserve the children’s food. Due to hot weathers and lack of fridge for preserving, the children’s food get bad easily and quickly and this sometimes causes the babies to get diarrhea.
- Water heating – due to the big number of young children, we boil water for washing them. The firewood is very difficult to find and expensive to buy. We require a solar water heater – its hot hear and solar heater would be cost effective coz once it is installed it does not have other cost and this will safe on the firewood leading to protection of the environment.
Any financial contribution or support will allow us to carry out the said activities and in so doing we shall be able to give better care to the children thus improving their lives and the community at large.
Community of Hope 