On the spot

In Gathiga:

The Hope Home is in the heart of Gathiga, around 15 km north of Nairobi. Red dusty sand roads in the midst of banana and coffee plantations lead to Children’s Hope Home. The neighboring villages Wangige and Kikuyu have tarred roads with direct connection to Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya.
The Hope Home has a number of dormitories, one recreation room, a cooking hut, sanitary facilities, and a small office. Additionally there is some arable land, a couple of animal stables, a water well for the water supply, a room for storing food and other stock - unfortunately empty most of the time. Currently there are around one hundred children living in the Hope Home. They are looked after by Lucy and three mentors.
The children of the Hope Home like to play with self made garis, which are cars made of plastic containers, with balls, which they plait out of different materials, or other self made games. Many children speak good English, Suaheli and one or more of the local tribal languages.
Due to the high school costs not every child can visit the official local schools all the time. School uniforms are a rule in Kenya, which are additional costs next to the school fees and costs for learning material that have to be covered. The schools in Kenya are categorized in Pre-School, Primary- und Secondary School. Almost all children would like to go to college after graduating from school and are therefore highly motivated and willing to learn.

In Kihara:

Ebenezer Home in Kihara, about half an hour walking distance from Gathiga, deals specifically with HIV-infected children. Currently, Ebenezer Home takes care of around 30 children aged 2 to 21. The children are particularly disadvantaged and severely scarred. In the moment there is only one mentor and a trained nurse to care for them. The nurse is very lovable and works with great effort. Her medical and nursing skills are of big help. Ebenezer Home was just established in late 2010 and currently resides on rented grounds. The orphanage specially cares for HIV-infected children and therefore has to meet certain standards and needs certain equipment, which in the moment isn't the case. Along with other supporters, our own raised funds and funds from within Kenya we are planning to buy a piece of land and build a new orphanage with all the required facilities.