LONG DISTANCE ADOPTION PROGRAM

KIBWEZI CHILD CARE PROGRAM

“Caring for the Needy in our Society”

Program sponsors: IRFF-ITALY / Urafiki-Kenya NGO. February 2010.

ORPHAN CHILDREN FROM KIBWEZI PRIMARY SCHOOL PRESENTING A MUSICAL POEM

Introduction

The Long Distance Adoption program herein referred to as “Kibwezi Child-Care Program (KCCP)”  is one of the major development activities initiated 2007  by IRFF Italy in partnership with the URAFIKI (IRFF)-Kenya  NGO, a non-profit organization (locally registered in Kenya as Urafiki Wa Kutoa Misaada ya Kimataifa – Kenya).

The Program location is in Kibwezi Division, Makueni District, Eastern Kenya (see Fg.1.1). The ongoing Long Distance child-care Adoption program is a community-based development activity in Kibwezi division. This program  is in support of the current District Development Program (DDP) for 2008-2012 in the larger Makueni district that broadly focuses on poverty reduction.

Statement of the problem

Due to poor infrastructure, poverty, diseases and HIV/AIDS scourge, the number of orphans in the district has increased tremendously. According to a number of surveys recently done in the district, a woman in the productive age (20-49 years) has an average of 4 children. The cumulative diagnosed AIDS cases in the district since 1989 has about 3,000 women with AIDS, some of whom are already dead. According to the District Development Plan (1994-1996) it has been estimated that Kibwezi and Wote divisions had the highest number of AIDS orphans with Kibwezi making up to 63 per cent of the reported cases. Such data gives a justifiable need to initiate an orphans program in Kibwezi division.

Due to this large number of orphans in the district, the traditional coping mechanisms of integrating orphans into extended families will no longer be adequate to meet the orphan’s needs for education, health, clothing and nutrition. The Kibwezi Child-Care Program (KCCP) comes in to meet this community need and intends to inject more resources that will be re-directed towards the support of these orphans.

Objective of the program

The United Nations Convention on Children’s Rights guides the objectives of the Kibwezi Child-Care Program (KCCP). These rights seek to ensure that children develop well, mentally, physically and socially. The program recognizes that children represent humanity’s future. The sacrifice and efforts that we make today are made for our children’s well-being and posterity. The program recognizes that the future of the world lies in our children’s hands.

The level of support that the KCCP program will undertake will broadly be focused on:

• Education
• Health care
• Food, clothing, and shelter needs.

Program management

The KCCP program caries out the orphan program management as follows:

• Guardians are encouraged to form committees at the locational level. These local committees liaise with URAFIKI-Kenya through a established program structure in monitoring and running of the orphans program.

Community based organizations (e.g., like “Hands of Mercy” based in Kibwezi town) are utilized for their collaborative support and implementation of the program.

Program methodology

The details of the nature of support in this program is as follows:

EDUCATION  

Children to be provided with:

• School uniforms – a set of uniform: shirt, blouse, skirt, short, socks and shoes     
• Textbooks and writing materials

Each child is provided with the above-mentioned items at the beginning of each academic year. The issued out textbooks are usually returned back to the field program coordinator at the end of the academic year for re-issue to another deserving child.

Writing materials are usually distributed to the children at the beginning of the term depending on individual child needs.

The program coordinator follows the academic performance of these children in their respective schools by liasing with their head teachers, and reports accordingly to the central management committee.

To promote an all rounded well fare of the orphaned children in this program, efforts are made to incorporate education programs for the guardians on topics related to HIV/AIDS awareness, and good management practices this helps the prevention and mitigation of the HIV/ AIDS scourge.

HEALTH

The KCCP works closely with Kibwezi health center as the central point for the children’s medical needs.  For those children requiring further medical attention not available at the Kibwezi health facility, the prevailing government referral system applies (example – Makindu sub district hospital, Machakos district hospital and Kenyatta national hospital)

The field program coordinator accompanies the sick child to hospital at all levels. The children’s hospital medical expenditure invoices are settled by at central management committee.

KCCP organizes free Health / medical camps in the program Division at least once in a year. In such camps, KCCP utilizes the opportunity to provide health education to the community at large. During these camp activities, children are examined by volunteer medical personnel lead by the Program Director. At these medical camps, the health needs of the orphaned children are adequately addressed.

FOOD AND CLOTHING

KCCP organizes annual Christmas Party event for the orphaned children. During this event, the children are issued with various gifts in form of cloths, shoes, toys etc. that will come in the form of donations from well-wishers and the community at large.

Program implementation, monitoring and evaluation

This section summarizes the verifiable indicators that are used to measure the progress of the program.

Administrative structure

Donations/ contributions

Children Benefited from the program     =    18 Children

For a success continuity of the program Urafiki –Kenya kindly seeks for support locally and internationally from donors and well-wishers. These items are quantified in the table presented below:

Requested donations or contributions from well wishers

PROGRESS REPORT – YEAR 2009

ITALY – KENYA IRFF LONG- DISTANCE ADOPTION PROGRAM.

MUTINDI M.

Mutindi is now 20 yrs old. She has just completed her secondary education i.e. form four (4^th form) at Mikuyuni Secondary School. Her examination results will be coming out next year in February 2010 and hopes to join the University or other training college thereafter. Being an orphan, she has faced a lot of problems in her up-bringing. She is a hard working girl and she looks forward to excel in her studies. She aspires to succeed in life in order to support her old grand mother and to assist her local community to make their lives much better.

She is a girl who truly needs assistance in order to achieve her dreams in life. We wish to thank the adopted parent CLAUDIO CIORLI for the offer to make a positive difference to the education of this girl.

TEDDY M.

Teddy is now 16 yrs old. He has just completed form one (1^st form) of his secondary education. Being the only child, her mother left him and disappeared. Teddy currently lives with her unemployed grandparents. Teddy his doing very well in his studies and looks forward to excel in his studies in order to support and bring her mother back home and to live a decent live. 

Teddy is a genuine case that needs parental love and financial support to achieve his dreams. He was very happy to have received a parent to adopt him. He requests STELLA SOLA to make a visit one day to Kenya and share some moments together!

NZENGYA M.

Nzengya is now 18 years old and has now completed his secondary education at Kiaoni Secondary School. By February 2010, he will receive his examination results that will enable him to proceed for higher education at the University. Nzengya is a bright and very hard working student and always aims to do his best. Nzengya was born in a very poor family background with no financial support. His schooling has been a great problem. Before adoption, Nzengya used to walk for more than 10 km from home to school. This made his concentration to studies at school rather hard and difficult.

With the help received from his adopted parent – Dr. Trimarchi, Nzengya has now completed his secondary education. His performance at school has been good. Once his examination results are out, Nzengya now needs financial support to pay his college fees and to meet his basic personal needs. The adoption program wishes to thank Dr. Trimarchi for making this wonderful and positive change to the life of this promising student.

ROSE M.

Rose is a 17 years old girl schooling at Kiaoni Secondary School. She has just completed her first year in secondary education (Form 1) and she will be joining form two (form 2) next year i.e. in 2010. Rose is a well behaved girl; she works hard and takes her studies seriously. She aspires to work and study hard in order to help her younger brother and sister. Her Mother is an unemployed single parent without a permanent job.  Rose has a great dream to complete her secondary education and to qualify to join the University for Specialized Studies.

IRFF- Kenya chapter wish to thank the adopted parent, Francesca Lange for the financial support towards the education of this well deserving student.

MATINGA_ BOOKS DONATION ACTIVITY BY URAFIKI KENYA NGO_2022

MATINGA PRIMARY SCHOOL

BOOKS DONATION ACTIVITY BY URAFIKI KENYA NGO.

DATE: 6^TH AUGUST 2022