Watoto Wa Kenya Orphanage

 

Introduction

 

This report has been complied by the Camp Kenya Trust as a means to plan and raise funds for the improvement and development of the Watoto Wa Kenya Orphanage.
The orphanage is currently on rented property with little infrastructure, we hope that with financial help we will not only be able to improve the orphanage but on day be able to build the orphanage on its own land.

The proposed project has been developed not only to renovate the buildings but also to help improve the clinic facilities and also to help with the tuition and well-being of the children that live there.

 

Paula and the children

 

Paula

 

Paula is the Director of the Watoto wa Kenya children’s home and is a registered nurse by profession. She first came to Kenya in the year 1999, she lived here among the Kenyan people for some time, she went back to America but returned to Kenya in 2003 with the hope of starting her own orphanage. Paula says she came back to Kenya because three children melted her heart, Mwanasha, Mwaka and Mwanakombo.

 

Paula is the only trained medical personnel at the Orphanage and deals with up to 100 patients herself a day. She looks after 20 children with unfortunate backgrounds, her 9 members of staff and their families as well as volunteers.

 

When Paula first started looking after four children when the orphanage was first set up she bought medication for them with her own money, as her orphanage has grown and more local people hear of her clinic, so has the need for medication, when she is donated any medicne she is able to give it out for free, however she buys all medicinal material from a local pharmacy in Ukunda, the naerest town, with her own money and prescribes it at the same price.

Paula has two friends in the United States that donate money every month, with this she provides for the children and with the rent she obtains from her house in America she pays the rent for the orphanage and the wages of her staff.

Paula is a Christian; the children at the Orphanage are taught from the bible and encouraged through Christian values and beliefs.

 

Background

 

The Watoto wa Kenya children’s orphanage was established by an American well-wisher after encountering many destitute children while on a missionary service in Kenya. The Center (commonly known as Wema – which means “well”) was started in 2003 with only 4 children. Today, it is a happy home for twenty children, 10 girls and 10 boys.

 

The Orphanage is located 15 km from Diani beach on the foot of Shimba Hills in the heart of the community whose main activity is subsistence farming with limited income.

The Watoto Wa Kenya children’s home

The clinic at the orphanage

WEMA is currently situated on rented property and consists of the main house, accommodating the young children, Paula and the girls, a boys dormitory as well as a clinic which is run by Paula on a daily basis, and which caters for over 100 cases from the locals a day. The clinic is a huge blessing to the local community who would have to walk about 15 km for treatment otherwise.

 

The children living at WEMA come from very different backgrounds and are either orphans or children that have been disowned or neglected; most have never known love or friendship. The ages of the children vary from 8 years to 20. Some of the children have surpassed the age of going to school and are surprisingly in the lower classes, as they never had the opportunity to go to school when they were younger.

 

Camp Kenya’s Role

After Visiting the Orphanage Camp Kenya identified Watoto wa Kenya as a viable and very needy project where volunteers can directly contribute to sustainable projects and directly impact on improving children’s welfare and the home in general.

In consultation with the Director, several projects have been identified for support and are as follows:

• Refurbishing the home’s structures
• Introducing chicken farming so that the children will benefit from an improved diet as well being able to sell the eggs/chickens to improve the finances of the home.
• Replacing the mud walled chicken hut with a more permanent concrete structure
• Extra tuition for the children who are already going to school despite being too old for their standards due to lack of previous schooling.
• Creating a child friendly and happy atmosphere in the home – e.g. tree house, swings, playground etc.
• Assisting in the clinic for those volunteers with want to join medical institutions or who already have medic knowledge.
• Beatifying the home, utilizing different individual volunteer talents.

 

The mud build chicken hut as it stands today

Volunteers are divided into groups of a maximum of 10 and will spend about five days at the orphanage within their volunteer itinerary during which they will be given tasks and work directly under Paula, the orphanage director.

It is Camp Kenya’s desire to see the home progress and even find its own land to develop proper structures and dormitories for these children and other as there are so many more needy cases out there who can not be assisted due to limited resources. Through Camp Kenya’s “Responsible Tourism” policy our vision is to inject professionalism and improve infrastructure at the orphanage thus providing important additional hope for the children without detracting from the directors long-term vision.

 

Finance

 

This document is deigned to be a guideline to help raise the necessary funds needed to undertake the projects stated but more importantly to give the utmost support to Paula in her work with the children of WEMA and indeed her work in the Clinic. Any medicinal materials are much appreciated along with any donations.

 

Supporting funds are expected from all those that visit the Orphanage and wish to donate as well as from existing Camp Kenya, Day excursion and Life clients.