Kabondo Kenya

One of the worst impacts of HIV/AIDS in Nyanza province of Kenya is the alarming growth in the number of orphaned children. At the moment, over 1.9 Million children in Kenya have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS.

These children are a great burden not only to the extended families but also to the community and the nation. They are left with nothing to fall back on upon the death of their parents, as in many cases the parents sold their property or personal belongings to pay for medication costs and other needs during their illness.

Most of these children drop out of school, provide child labor, or end up in the streets of the local urban centers. Grandparents and extended families try to care for these orphans, but with great burden, and again in most cases against a background of abject poverty.

Our approach to this situation is through provision of a multi-faceted support system to orphaned families and their guardians.

Goal
To uplift the general welfare for HIV/AIDS orphans children through a sustainable and multifaceted approach.

Target population

1. HIV/AIDS affected orphans
2. Families/Guardians of HIV/AIDS affected orphans

Major Activities

1. Formal Education Support
Even though free primary education was introduced in 2003, it has not been effectively adopted. Children still require tuition fees, uniforms, textbooks, shoes, personal hygiene supplies and stationery in order to attend classes.

2. Small-Scale Business Towards Self-Reliance
The families will be given at least two goats, which will be a source of milk for the family. Once they multiply, the goats can be sold for income. The families will be provided with basic entrepreneurial and business management skills training.

3. Nutrition and Food
The families will be provided with basic skills in kitchen gardening/ For those families with minimal land, we will introduce an innovative method of growing small crops in sacks filled with soil. The project will also encourage the children to keep chickens, which will be a source of protein as well as provide income from selling eggs. The families will be provided with Ksh 1,500 per month to meet their basic food costs for the first 6 months.

4. Medical Care
Children within these families are prone to infections from waterborne diseases, malaria, typhoid, amongst others, as well as HIV/AIDS. The project will set a side funds to enable children that are HIV positive to purchase basic drugs.

5. Counseling for Guardians and Children
Experience has shown that guardians taking care of orphans are in dire need of counseling on how to handle children not their own. We will train both guardians and another 10 persons in basic counseling skills. These "village" counselors will counsel the children who are not able to communicate with their guardians and act as mediators between the them. They will also monitor the progress and performance of these children in school, as well as teach them how to manage stigmatization in school.

If you would like to assist this community, you can do any or all of the following:

1. Visit Give Meaning to make a financial contribution or donation:

http://www.givemeaning.com/project/Kabondo

2. Visit Nabuur and become an online volunteer:
http://www.nabuur.com/modules/villages/mystory.php?villageid=338

3. Send gifts in kind (school supplies, shoes, clothes, toys, personal hygiene supplies, etc) directly to the local representative Eric Ochanji at the following:

Eric Ochanji
P.O. Box 3527, 40100
Kisumu, Kenya.

4. Visit the community of Kabondo while on a trip to Kenya. You can volunteer in the community, bring gifts in-kind with you in your backpack, or just see the village for yourself. Kabondo is in Northern Kenya not far from the third largest city in Kenya, Kisumu, and near Lake Victoria. Please contact Eric Ochanji and let him know when you will arrive.

eochanji@yahoo.com

5. Visit Stuff Your Rucksack if you are planning to visit and find out what the community needs. You can bring any number of items in your backpack:

http://www.stuffyourrucksack.com/find/Recipient.aspx?RecipientId=77

6. Host a fundraising event in your local community to raise funds or items and send them to Kabondo. You can donate the funds via Give Meaning, as mentioned above or send them directly via Moneygram or Western Union.

7. Contact local, national or international organizations to see if they can assist the community of Kabondo.

8. Organize your local church group or school to form a 'sister' relationship or to 'sponsor' the community. This can develop into longer-term and more meaningful relationships between the communities and can bring people together.

9. Contact myself or Eric with any other ideas or suggestions to assist the community of Kabondo. There are hundreds of ways to help and much is needed....

EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS. YOUR SMALL CONTRIBUTION MEANS FAR MORE THAN YOU MAY THINK!