Care and Education for Orphans

It is estimated that there were 2.6 million OVC in Kenya in 2012, of whom 1.8 million were orphans and 750,000 were vulnerable. Among orphans, 15% were double orphans. Over one-third of all the OVC were aged between 10 and 14 years. Households with ≥1 OVC (12% of all households) were usually in the lowest 2 wealth quintiles, and 22% of OVC households had experienced moderate or severe hunger. Receipt of OVC support services was low for medical (3.7%), psychological (4.1%), social (1.3%), and material support (6.2%); educational support was slightly more common (11.5%). Orphan hood among children aged <15 years increased from 1993 to 2003 (P < 0.01) but declined from 2003 to 2012 (P < 0.01)[1].

Here is life (HL) C.B.O is a registered Community Based Organization which is committed to developing, initiating and executing of personalized livelihood and support programs to those affected and infected with HIV and AIDS within Mathare and Soweto slums.Here’s life was registered in 2012 and began operations in 2013. Here’s Life CBO is located in Mathare slums three kilometers out of Nairobi CBD. It is one of the largest slums surrounding Nairobi County with a population estimate of over 262,131[2] and Embakasi east has a population estimate of 222,072[3]

Since 2013 Here’s CBO has grown financially from Three million Kenya shillings to about fifteen million Kenya shillings. A majority of the funding has been from Individuals, Go Philanthropic, Limited Companies and In-Kind from the community this enabled Here is Life to manage the deficit although not 100%. The budget has been steady with an increment of about 50% each year since 2013 but the deficit has been managed through our partners.

Currently we anticipate a growth of 30% in 2019 making our budget grow to over Ksh 23 million against available funding of Ksh 5 million that is promised. Here is Life would be glad for additional funds to carry out the following activities during the year 2019.

Education Support: Here is Life runs two centers namely Ngota Upendo School in Mathare and Emmanuel learning center in Soweto. The centers support needy children with an opportunity to access education. Emmanuel learning center has about 70 children and Ngota Upendo School has 165 children. The children are either affected or infected with HIV/AIDs and some are orphan or vulnerable children (OVCs). These Children cannot afford meals at home or the additional cost associated with the free primary education in government schools. We provide free sanitary towels to girls every month, offer nutritious porridge at break time and meals for lunch and supper every day. In addition a follow up home visit is usually done for the children affected or infected with HIV and AIDs every month.

Health Care Support: Here is life provides home based care and other services to 800 households which includes 450 children. Health care support is also provided in the two learning centers for the children. The care support is usually offered through a number of medical practitioners and community health workers volunteers. Most of other critical health care are usually referred to Lions health center Mathare where Here’s Life has a contractual agreement. Here’s Life creates awareness and sensitize the community on health matters of great concern to their wellbeing. In our outreach programs, we go door to door to provide information on health programs such as free medical camps or clinics, Nutritional support to malnourished children, HIV & AIDs, Polio vaccinations, free treatment for children under 5 years, Pre-natal and Antenatal care in line with the Government initiative to offer free maternity care in all Public Hospitals, and free cancer scan for women.

Youth Information and Resource center: Recently Here’s life established a youth friendly information & resource center with the overall objective to build the capacity of young people in Mathare and Soweto to respond to the challenges of development, HIV/AIDS and reproductive health. The Centre host a number of community outreach programs, cleaning activities, free computer training, hygiene awareness sessions and onsite activities. The Resource Centre consists of a Cyber Café which enables the youths to access information on the Web, a library stocked with local news papers, books on health issues, Reproductive Health, Hygiene and Sexually Transmitted Infections, Human Rights and DVD’s /Videos on HIV/AIDS. There is a board Room used during capacity building activities to its members and partners; the room holds a maximum of 10 people. The center also hosts the administrative offices for Here’s life.

Water and Sanitation: Here is Life envisions improved knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) in environment, health, water, hygiene and sanitation in community. We are motivated by our belief that a clean environment promotes healthy community. Through this initiative we organize cleaning of dump sites, Provide latrines in the centers for the children and provide clean water at the centers for the children and neighbouring communities. Here’s is life intends to construct community sanitation areas (Latrines/Bathrooms/washing area all inclusive) covering about 50 households in the villages through this initiative. Our outreach program has bore more fruits within the targeted surrounding especially in hand washing campaign awareness.

Women Empowerment:Our efforts are geared toward providing lasting solutions to curb hunger and poverty amongst our beneficiaries and the community. Here’s Life CBO has been bringing women together and equipping them with skills and knowledge in income-generating activities to enable them start sustainable projects for self-sustainability. Most of the women targeted by this initiative were depending on handouts and begging in the streets.

Here’s Life CBO came in and worked to help them change their mindset. It's then that we started a micro-finance program has enabled the women to start several projects which earn them some money to be self sufficient and provide food for their families. This has happened without any external funds and only through group and personal initiatives. With a small parcel of land and using roadsides reserves they are adopting small-scale farming, growing papaya (pawpaw) trees, tomatoes, sukuma wiki (Kales) and Arrowroots. Some have been able to start grocery shops and roadside food stalls. The program currently has 103 widows and 100 vulnerable women who are affected and infected with HIV and AIDs.

HIV and AIDs Awareness: Most children in our programs are infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. They are also vulnerable to numerous infections due to poor hygiene. Here’s life will offers care and support services to orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs). In this program we offer HIV prevention intervention, which is done by initiating youthbehavior change projects, offering information on prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT), Increasing access of youths to Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT), Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART), Reproductive health (RH) and Family Planning (FP). Reports from Here’s life baseline interviews indicated a major gap in the availability of quality youth friendly services as a key contributing factor hindering accessibility toprevention, care ,treatment and support services for young people in Mathare and Soweto. The programs aims at mobilizing youth and women as key partners in the fight against AIDS by promoting prevention and behavior change.

[1] Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey (KAIS 2015)

[2] Nairobi County Integrated Development Plan, 2014.

[3] Nairobi County Integrated Development Plan, 2014.