HOPE ORPHAN PRESCHOOL

Kahindi Kazungu: The quiet pupil

Wed, 18 May 2016 08:38:02 -0700

Kahindi is one of our brightest children. In this photo, Fred visited him at home to invite him to our preschool closing day in December 2012.

Kahindi is a quiet boy who has always done well in class.

Zuma, Kalimbo (brothers) and Rama: Our star students

Wed, 18 May 2016 08:35:46 -0700

Zuma and Kalimbo are brothers. In 2011, Zuma got an academic scholarship along with one of our other top performing children- Rama. These three children's stories are grouped together as their lives intertwine.

A bit of a rough start

2009: An early photo of Zuma's and Kalimbo's first house. This illustrates well the living conditions of some of our children. Sadly, their mother, because of her alcoholism, is unable to give them the attention they need.

A photo outside Rama's mud-house. From left to right are his mother, Lilian (his older sister, also on our primary school program) and his younger sister, Soteri.

On this home visit we tried to assess Lilian's situation. She is now a teenager and is being approached by boys offering her gifts to make her drop out of school. We're still working on a solution to keep her in school. We know that if we can get a sponsor for sending her to a boarding school, she will be able to get away from this situation.

Kalimbo's lucky escape...twice!

While playing at home, Kalimbo cut his chest in December 2010. The cut got infected and because it was not looked after regularly, the infection reached Kalimbo's lungs, triggering Tuberculosis. After noticing something was not right, our volunteers took him to hospital where Dr Jan Kubovy, a volunteer working with Doctor's World Wide, performed an emergency operation and got him back on his feet. We could not have paid the 1700 euros hospital fees without your generous donations.

In 2012, Kalimbo got bitten by a dog which we suspected was infected with rabbies. We rushed him to hospital where our sponsorship once again came to the help of the young boy. We really need to watch this little daredevil!

A very smart...Read More

Sakina: A story of hope

Wed, 18 May 2016 08:14:39 -0700

HIV, AIDS is unfortunately a more common disease among people living in the slums in Kenya. In early 2010, a doctor found that Sakina was HIV positive. As an orphan, she had not received any care for her condition and we were simply not equipped to further her treatment so we got her admitted to Tumaini Orphanage (Bamburi) who solely focuses on kids with HIV and provides them with excellent care. Sakina is now in good health and enjoys life as much as any other girl of her age. Fred often visits to monitor her progress (Sakina is in the red T-shirt)

Rahema: The one who keeps breaking her arm!

Wed, 18 May 2016 08:11:45 -0700

Rahema has completed KG1, 2 and 3 with us. 3 school years...3 broken arms! We were fortunate to be able to use our emergency care program and get her fixed...3 times! It seems the little one has a mineral deficiency so we bought her some calcium supplements in the hope that she stays away from tree branches.

We did also consider the possibility of domestic abuse but after some digging it seems that all of these breaks were due to her deficiency...and probably playful nature!

Mwaka & Kanoti: A happy end that keeps on giving

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:15:01 -0800

Mwaka and Kanoti's had a tough start in life. Mwaka was one of the first children (see photo below) in our pre-school (November 2008) and was one of the oldest children at the time (11). Kanoti, her younger brother is the youngest of the 6 children in their family. The other brothers are adults now. These kids are not orphans in the true sense of the term but when we met them, their father was terminally ill and their mother passed away soon after.

Their family

Their father, Salim Abdallah (sat in a blue shirt) had become seriously ill (Alzheimer disease as well as a bad skin condition and occasional paralysis of his legs). The mother, Kasahan Keah, was left caring for the children alone for over five years which she struggled to do with a mental illness and no work. Kasahan died in 2010 of mental illness.

Their aunt's house- Moroto slum

After their mother died, they went to live with their aunt in Mshomoroni (see photo below) but the house was already over-crowded and in a terrible condition. Their health was deteriorating and they were becoming wild street children. Fred highlighted that Mwaka was also at risk to be married off so somebody would take care of her. Our education and nutrition program was not enough for them. These kids needed a home and a family to look after them.

Applying for a place in GLO Children's Home

Alan spoke to the best orphanage in Kenya (thegoodlifeorphanage.com - GLO) which was founded and run by Kevin and Mary Maguire. He presented the case of Mwaka and Kanoti's urgent situation and how they needed residential care. They agreed to take them in. We then sent an application and sought approval from the Government Ministry of Gender and Social Affairs (Children's social...Read More