THE CENTRE
The Children's Centre will welcome all bona fide orphans and children in need, after a vetting process overseen by a Board Sub-Committee. There will be no discrimination in terms of gender, race, tribe, religion or medical condition.
All children aged 16 years and under would be welcomed into the Centre, and boarders would move out at the age of 18, equipped with, at the very least, basic education and trade skills that would enable them to thrive on their own. We will help them find jobs, once they leave, through an Alumni Committee of Volunteers, who will stay in touch with other children that have gone on to build successful lives and might be expected to give back in whatever capacity they can.
The plan includes five classrooms to accommodate various levels, equipped to teach basic education and trade skills, such as sewing, pottery, electrics, plumbing etc. To be clear, this is not to be a school, but rather a facility that will provide additional tuition by volunteers after school. They will be teaching to get the children up to standard, and better prepared to attend state schools appropriate for their age groups in the vicinity. We want these children to excel! There would be two common rooms, one for the older children and another for the younger ones, which would also be a playroom for those too young to attend classes. One of the common rooms or classrooms would convert into a prayer hall or room on Sundays.
It is envisioned that the Children’s Centre would be initially designed to board on a full time basis up to eight children in each of six dormitory type rooms – a total of 48 children altogether. Four of the dormitories would be for the younger children and for every two, there would be a self-contained unit for a caregiver (Dorm Master) who would reside on the premises. Each of the dormitories would have its own washroom facilities comprising showers, wash basins and toilets (the orange areas in the sketch below), with plenty of windows for natural light.
The Children’s Centre would be set in around two to three acres of grounds, to enable expansion at a later date.
The gardens would comprise of play areas, vegetable patches to be maintained by the children and within the larger plot of land, an area to grow maize and a fenced off portion for chickens and a couple of dairy cows. All of these farming activities would be maintained by the children, teaching them both life skills and life values.
The Centre would use solar power, draw water from its own borehole and to the extent that it can, use recycled materials in its construction. The children will be taught to recycle garbage, food and waste, building an awareness of - and appreciation for - environmental care.
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In this Centre, we want our children to build strong foundations: to become confident, competent and kind individuals who understand the value of self-reliance, or responsibility, of hard work, of resourcefulness and of caring for others.
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We initially plan to raise Ksh 30 million, in the form of cash or good and services in order to purchase land, construct the Centre and equip the completed classrooms and living areas. Thereafter, any surplus if any, will be applied to an endowment fund for the benefit of the running of the orphanage.
