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Just read the "Happy Life" story - saving abandoned children on the streets of Nairobi. This is about a children rescue
Just read the "Happy Life" story - saving abandoned children on the streets of Nairobi.
This is about a children rescue centre in Nairobi started 14 years ago and has now expanded to caring directly for around 100 children across two sites. They have offered for adoption over 170 children. The city home is dedicated to younger children but the rural farm aims to have a large school (for local children as well).
I wanted to find some accounts of the challenges faced by organisations caring for the 2.4 million abandoned children in Kenya.
A fascinating read especially since we've been involved with Mercy Rescue Trust for nearly 8 years now. Happy Life is larger, has been running longer, was set up from the start with Kenyan administrators (advised and supported by a US-based team), has been involved with international adoptions (two case studies are presented in this small book) but the two charities share very much the same challenges.
The cost of $150 per child per month for the whole organisation seems comparable. They have an interesting setup of 'Moms' with 10 - 12 older children in 3 bedroomed homes trying to provide a family home for those children awaiting adoption. The challenge of how to care for the older children when you are legally their guardian is the part that drives the charity.
International adoption is something that Mercy Rescue Trust has never considered and it has been prevented out by Kenyan government rulings. Also Mercy Rescue Trust has tried to limit its size by purposefully not exceeding 25 children ... much to the annoyance of the local children's department.
Would be really good to link up with the team at Happy Life. I'm sure there is much to be learnt from their experience. They've had good success with regular volunteers. Happy Life is looking at setting up a clinic in their rural centre (at least they were in 2015).
Source: www.amazon.co.uk
children rescue happy mercy life adoption trust nairobi
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