Boston Children Centre orphans

The Kayole Slum is a slum village 30 km from Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The overall economic situation in this area is desperately poor.  Orphans are badly affected by poverty, illiteracy and lack of food and medical care. They can die from common diseases like malaria, cholera, anemia and HIV/AIDS.

It's believed that one out of three children in this village is directly affected by HIV/AIDS. As a result of HIV/AIDS, a handful of orphans who have no one to turn to are flocking to the streets of Kayole. As they struggle to find food, they miss out on getting an education that can provide them with a future.  We have identified a total of 106 children in this community who miss out on school as they go in search of food on the streets. While public schools are free in Kenya, they are not available to many children, leading communities such as Quarry to open Community based schools to try to provide them with education. For just $200 a year, an orphan can get a school uniform, one meal a day, and most importantly, an education--but this is out of reach for most orphans/destitute children.

View video of the the Boston Children Centre on Youtube.
Part I
Part II

 Through our baseline research program we discovered 21 of the neediest orphans with no one to care for them. These children have dropped out of school to find jobs to support their younger siblings. Almost all of these 106 former street children would like to rejoin school, but have no means to.

Background

Boston children centre originated as community based School. The School started  sponsorship program under the stewardship of Stephen Okwaro.

Having been brought up in Matopeni Slum, Stephen was identified by the community as a mentor to act as a role model to salvage children who were old enough to go to school and had not joined school due to economical constraints, lack of uniforms and other scholastic materials which were a must for those who wanted to attend public schools.

 

  In the process of helping these children, Stephen and the development steering community of this slum decided to start a learning center to care for the growing number of orphans, and children who were destitute or had other needs. The School’s efforts started modestly and it has faced many setbacks in achieving its ultimate goal of providing adequate care for all the deserving children in this community.
Stephen has been working to provide the level of care that the children of Matopeni/Quarry deserve and require.		  
  Since 2002, Boston Children Centre has attempted to provide education, food and care to the orphans and destitute children in the village of Quarry/Matopeni. Stephen is now requesting assistance in sponsoring Boston children that will provide the children of Matopeni and Quarry the aid they need to survive and read.