There are several ways you can help a child's life
here at the
orphanage.
You may
choose to
sponsor a
baby, or
one of three
levels of
child
sponsorship...
here at the
orphanage.
You may
choose to
sponsor a
baby, or
one of three
levels of
child
sponsorship...
You don't need to sponsor a child to help the lives of the children here. All donations, small or large assist in purchasing essential items, such as
clothes,
shoes,
& sports
equip-
ment.
clothes,
shoes,
& sports
equip-
ment.
po box 15416, nakuru, kenya, east africa. Tel: 254 51 2215794 Mobile: 254 722 221750
email: eam@africaonline.co.ke website: www.eastafricanmission.org
email: eam@africaonline.co.ke website: www.eastafricanmission.org
How did you get started?
May (my wife) and I were running the Mill Creek Manor Health Retreat when we met an American man who was the principal of a Kenyan Missionary School. The man was suffering from cancer. This man just intrigued me with all the stories of poverty and the basic way of life for the average Kenyan. This led into a trip to Kenya for me and a real learning experience to say the least. I returned to the USA and reported to May and our two children the things I saw. Within 10 months the four of us arrived at Nairobi airport in Kenya with a few dollars in our pocket and two suit cases each. Almost 10 years have past now, and we are thoroughly enjoying seeing the fruits of our labours in the East African Mission Orphanage (EAMO).
How many children do you have?
We are currently caring for 109 children. These are made of both boys and girls. Their ages range from a three month old baby to 17 year old boys and girls. The population is almost half boys and half girls.
Do you have any children staying at the orphanage that are not orphans?
By far the majority are orphans. Although there are some that have lost their mother to death, but the father is possibly still alive. We just don’t know where though. We do have some children on top of our own 107 orphans that are staying with us for the purposes of education. We provide all the basic requirements for these children too.
We also provide some schooling and health care to several children from the community. Due to our background in Naturopathy, we are able to provide Health Care to some children. We currently have a young girl attending school here so that we can help care for her ulcers. Her mother came and asked for our assistance. She had extreme ulcers, most likely from malnutrition. They were so severe that you could see the bone. She attends the school, has a nutritious lunch with the children and has the wound attended to.
How many babies do you have?
Currently we have 10 babies which are absolutely beautiful. Taking in babies has been a very exciting turn for us, as they are just totally different to grown children. Everybody loves a baby!
How long do you keep the children?
All children are taken by the District Children’s Officer to the local Court House for committal to our orphanage. The committal is for EAMO to have custody over these children until the reach the age of 18 years. Because our oldest has only just turned 17 years, we have not had to face a child leaving the orphanage as yet. Our goal is to try to give them trade skills in preparation for the day they leave the orphanage. Although, we really don’t think any of the children will want to leave the orphanage as it is their own home. We the management will continue to provide for any of the children once they reach 18 years. It is not a must that they leave at this age.
Where do the children come from?
They come in various ways like, the District Children’s Officer, the local Chief, the police, but the most common way is through the child’s Grandmother, or even the Great Grandmother. A typical scenario is, the mother of either 1-10 children dies and leaves all these siblings for the Grandmother or Great Grandmother to care for. Usually the Grandmother is struggling to put food on her table for herself, let alone a number of other children. The husband of the deceased has normally already left the home before the death of the wife due to lack of work and being able to support his family. When taking in children, we will often take in brothers and sisters too to keep the family together. In one case we have 5 from the one family.
How are you supported?
The orphanage is supported mainly by friends that we have known for years, and these friends promote with their friends, which leads to either one off donations or joining our sponsorship program. Sometimes we are supported by institutions that may either give donations for regular use or for a specific purpose, like a building project. Some of our past donors have been:
Australian Government
Barclays Bank
ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency)
Peppercorn Web Design
Hartland Institute
Living Valley Springs
How do I make a donation?
We are very appreciative of all donations. If you would like to make a contribution you can do so by the following ways:
Credit Card
Personal Cheque
Bank Transfer
PayPal
If I sponsor a child, how do I know that my donation is not going to be eaten up with administration costs?
When you take into consideration all the staff we need to pay - day and night guards, cooks and carers on rosters, maintenance men, office work, medical and dental care, education materials, and the purchase of food for all these - it is easy to see that the child sponsorship funds do not cover the running expenses of the orphanage. All of the sponsorship money goes towards the care of the children and if we did not receive the kind donations over and above the child sponsorships, we would not survive.
What have been some of the most wonderful things that have happened at the orphanage?
Off hand, I can think of three things that really stand out amongst many things that I could comment on. Wendy came to us when she was 2 years old. Her mum had died from AIDS. The Great Grandmother was trying to care for her. Wendy was suffering from TB and a weeping and oozing scar on her neck that just would not heal. She was very weak and tiny for her age, It was obvious that she was not going to live too long. I am happy to say that Wendy is alive and kicking, and I mean kicking! She is now 5 years old, and talk about an extreme change! She is just full of beans. A beautiful child indeed.
Next was Minnie, our first baby. At 15 months old, she looked like a prune. He mother had died, the sister was supposed to be looking after her, but it was obvious that she did not want her, so we took her in. She was the turning point for us. We had only been taking in boys and girls aged between 2 and 12. But now she started a whole new phase for us. Minnie is really healthy and happy now and on her way from being a shriveled up prune to a nice chunky adorable little girl.
After Minnie came more babies who have more wonderful stories, but the latest intake is not only a sad story in its nature but one with a wonderful ending. Lilly is 15 years old, who was being cared for by her father, as her mother had died. Her father raped her and she ran away when she found out she was pregnant. She ended up in remand prison, because the authorities had no where to put her. She is now in safe hands and very comfortable and secure. She already calls us Mum and Dad.
But, we cannot forget the changes that we have seen in all our children over these past 10 years. Each face that you can see flashing on this website has a story to tell that would give you goose bumps. But now they all have their basic needs met, and are happy and loved as one of our own!
May (my wife) and I were running the Mill Creek Manor Health Retreat when we met an American man who was the principal of a Kenyan Missionary School. The man was suffering from cancer. This man just intrigued me with all the stories of poverty and the basic way of life for the average Kenyan. This led into a trip to Kenya for me and a real learning experience to say the least. I returned to the USA and reported to May and our two children the things I saw. Within 10 months the four of us arrived at Nairobi airport in Kenya with a few dollars in our pocket and two suit cases each. Almost 10 years have past now, and we are thoroughly enjoying seeing the fruits of our labours in the East African Mission Orphanage (EAMO).
How many children do you have?
We are currently caring for 109 children. These are made of both boys and girls. Their ages range from a three month old baby to 17 year old boys and girls. The population is almost half boys and half girls.
Do you have any children staying at the orphanage that are not orphans?
By far the majority are orphans. Although there are some that have lost their mother to death, but the father is possibly still alive. We just don’t know where though. We do have some children on top of our own 107 orphans that are staying with us for the purposes of education. We provide all the basic requirements for these children too.
We also provide some schooling and health care to several children from the community. Due to our background in Naturopathy, we are able to provide Health Care to some children. We currently have a young girl attending school here so that we can help care for her ulcers. Her mother came and asked for our assistance. She had extreme ulcers, most likely from malnutrition. They were so severe that you could see the bone. She attends the school, has a nutritious lunch with the children and has the wound attended to.
How many babies do you have?
Currently we have 10 babies which are absolutely beautiful. Taking in babies has been a very exciting turn for us, as they are just totally different to grown children. Everybody loves a baby!
How long do you keep the children?
All children are taken by the District Children’s Officer to the local Court House for committal to our orphanage. The committal is for EAMO to have custody over these children until the reach the age of 18 years. Because our oldest has only just turned 17 years, we have not had to face a child leaving the orphanage as yet. Our goal is to try to give them trade skills in preparation for the day they leave the orphanage. Although, we really don’t think any of the children will want to leave the orphanage as it is their own home. We the management will continue to provide for any of the children once they reach 18 years. It is not a must that they leave at this age.
Where do the children come from?
They come in various ways like, the District Children’s Officer, the local Chief, the police, but the most common way is through the child’s Grandmother, or even the Great Grandmother. A typical scenario is, the mother of either 1-10 children dies and leaves all these siblings for the Grandmother or Great Grandmother to care for. Usually the Grandmother is struggling to put food on her table for herself, let alone a number of other children. The husband of the deceased has normally already left the home before the death of the wife due to lack of work and being able to support his family. When taking in children, we will often take in brothers and sisters too to keep the family together. In one case we have 5 from the one family.
How are you supported?
The orphanage is supported mainly by friends that we have known for years, and these friends promote with their friends, which leads to either one off donations or joining our sponsorship program. Sometimes we are supported by institutions that may either give donations for regular use or for a specific purpose, like a building project. Some of our past donors have been:
Australian Government
Barclays Bank
ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency)
Peppercorn Web Design
Hartland Institute
Living Valley Springs
How do I make a donation?
We are very appreciative of all donations. If you would like to make a contribution you can do so by the following ways:
Credit Card
Personal Cheque
Bank Transfer
PayPal
If I sponsor a child, how do I know that my donation is not going to be eaten up with administration costs?
When you take into consideration all the staff we need to pay - day and night guards, cooks and carers on rosters, maintenance men, office work, medical and dental care, education materials, and the purchase of food for all these - it is easy to see that the child sponsorship funds do not cover the running expenses of the orphanage. All of the sponsorship money goes towards the care of the children and if we did not receive the kind donations over and above the child sponsorships, we would not survive.
What have been some of the most wonderful things that have happened at the orphanage?
Off hand, I can think of three things that really stand out amongst many things that I could comment on. Wendy came to us when she was 2 years old. Her mum had died from AIDS. The Great Grandmother was trying to care for her. Wendy was suffering from TB and a weeping and oozing scar on her neck that just would not heal. She was very weak and tiny for her age, It was obvious that she was not going to live too long. I am happy to say that Wendy is alive and kicking, and I mean kicking! She is now 5 years old, and talk about an extreme change! She is just full of beans. A beautiful child indeed.
Next was Minnie, our first baby. At 15 months old, she looked like a prune. He mother had died, the sister was supposed to be looking after her, but it was obvious that she did not want her, so we took her in. She was the turning point for us. We had only been taking in boys and girls aged between 2 and 12. But now she started a whole new phase for us. Minnie is really healthy and happy now and on her way from being a shriveled up prune to a nice chunky adorable little girl.
After Minnie came more babies who have more wonderful stories, but the latest intake is not only a sad story in its nature but one with a wonderful ending. Lilly is 15 years old, who was being cared for by her father, as her mother had died. Her father raped her and she ran away when she found out she was pregnant. She ended up in remand prison, because the authorities had no where to put her. She is now in safe hands and very comfortable and secure. She already calls us Mum and Dad.
But, we cannot forget the changes that we have seen in all our children over these past 10 years. Each face that you can see flashing on this website has a story to tell that would give you goose bumps. But now they all have their basic needs met, and are happy and loved as one of our own!
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