Help Orphans & Needy Children in Kenya

In the 22 years that Diani Children’s Village has been in existence, the World around us has changed dramatically. Technology has made it possible for people to communicate seamlessly in almost real-time every second of every day. Society has similarly changed and old traditional family values have weakened rendering many children vulnerable to a less sensitive community.

As a result, to mitigate this increase in children needing shelter and care, DCV’s management decided, a few years ago, to devote some of its’ resources towards the rescue of children in need and where possible, reuniting them with their relatives. This type of intervention requires a great deal of time and resources as background and follow up checks have to be made long before and after children are reunited.

Educational support of deserving children was also an objective decided upon by the Management of the Home. Each case is decided after thorough checks by our social worker, and we would like to share with you some of the experiences that we have had.

SOLOMON He is the first of the youngsters to benefit from the DCV educational support program. Solomon comes from a small village close to Malindi. He had very good high school exam results. His dream was to become a doctor and come back to his local district to help his community. His family were only just able to pay for his secondary education by making great sacrifices, and there was absolutely no way they would have been able to afford any further education. With his good grades, he applied to and was accepted at the Kenya Medical Training College for a diploma in clinical medicine and surgery. Solomon did exceptionally well and has now completed his studies with top marks. He is now doing the compulsory one-year internship at the Government hospital in Malindi, after which he will be a qualified as a clinical officer.

NGINA & MARY We featured the story of Mary and her little sister Ngina ( Evelyne ) a few month ago. Their mother had been imprisoned under very unfair circumstances and the girls were left to stay with their grandmother and her boyfriend who unfortunately mistreated them. Once their mother was released she visited the Home and it was immediately clear to the social worker that she had a very good relationship with the children. After an evaluation period, the girls were officially reunited with their mother and older brother. Our social worker, Faith, has recently done a follow up visit and found the children happy and in good health. A family successfully reunited!

KEVIN, LUKE AND WILLIAM Shortly after issuing the previous newsletter in March, The Home received notification that the Children’s Department had found their families and had been conducting interviews and checks to assess the possibility of reunification. Our social worker also did some independent background checks just to be sure and found that the situation was suitable for the reunification.

When the process was underway, Faith accompanied the children to ease the anxiety of the children and also to give the families the latest information on the children. Everything went well and the children are now with the families. Careful follow up will be needed and we are prepared to send Faith in the next few weeks to do so.

It is a fact that in some cases families are of very modest means and having an extra child often puts a strain on the family finances. Where necessary and possible, the Home does support the families by paying for the education of the children. Payments are made directly to the schools.

So far, this model is working and we hope to be able to expand it to enable children to live with their families and build the close bonds that are so important in the long term.

It is our hope that you will continue to put your trust in the DCV Team as we try and adapt to a fast changing world and the increasing number of cases in need ofsupport and care.

 Diani Children’s Village Support Team