NAME OF ORGANIZATION: Shepherds Orphanage & Educational
Centre.
LOCATION: Situated off Spine
Road in Kangurwe Slum Kayole Estate.
MAILING ADDRESS: P.o
Box 14675- 00800- Nairobi
MOBILE: 0722 957640- 0726 246478
E- MAIL: soec2006@yahoo.com
CONTACT PERSON: -
Mr. Wasilwa Lusweti.
Project Coordinator S.O.E.C
Mobile: +254 722 95 76
40
-
Mrs. Judy Wanjiru,
Home
Manager S.O.E.C
Mobile: +254
721 44 13 91
WHAT IS S.O.E.C?
Shepherds Orphanage & Educational Centre is a children charitable
Organization that deals with provision of care, protection, child rescue, and
education of orphans and Vulnerable children O.V.C.
S.O.E.C was founded in the year 2004 by Mr. Wasilwa Lusweti and John M. Macharia as its vision bearers respectively. The aim of
starting this project was to curb the problem of the increasing number of
children that were seen loitering within the neighborhood
and the surrounding slums.
Mr. Lusweti
Mr. J.M. Macharia
The project is registered with the ministry of Sports Culture and Social
Services in Dec. 2004 as a COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATION in the name of
Shepherds Orphanage & Educational Centre.
BACKGROUND
As a result of increasing cases of HIV/ AIDS that led to increase of Orphans
and Vulnerable Children who became prone to vices such as peddling drugs and
prostitution at an early there arose the need to come up with a children of
this caliber to contain the situation
In addition to the fore mentioned cases, S.O.E.C was also founded to act as a
rescue centre for children who are physically or mentally abused as a result
of being abandoned or neglected by their less caring
parents.
MISSION STATEMENT
To provide shelter, care, and basic education to Orphans and Vulnerable
Children.
VISION
Empowering children with the basic knowledge to enable them contribute
positively towards our national development and also to provide vocational
training to those children who cannot excel in academic
field.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
-
To provide shelter to the Orphans and Vulnerable children.
-
To educate and care, for O.V.C’s so as to
enable them improve their lives in future.
-
To guide and council O.V.C’s so as to have
good moral behaviors in the society when they grow
up.
-
To protect and prevent O.V.C’s from all
forms of child labour and child abuse.
-
To rescue a girl-child from early marriages sexual abuse and
exploitation.
-
To provide parental care, education and build a good childhood
foundation.
LONG TERM OBJECTIVES
-
To open up more branches strategically so as to cater for the
increasing number of O.V.C’s national wide.
-
To mobilize, sensitize and educate the community about the dangers of
HIV / AIDS child labour and sexual abuse.
PROJECT ACTIVITIES
-
We provide feeding programme to all O.V.C’s
at the centre.
-
We provide shelter, basic education to the all children at the centre .
-
We offer free guiding and council ling services to the O.V.C ‘s against all social vices that affect the
community in general.
-
We provide basic medical needs to the O.V.C’s
-
We encourage freedom of worship, expression and practice of cultural
beliefs to the O.V.C’s.
O.V.C’s having lunch at the centre
SPECIAL EVENTS
We operate a child-help-desk at our centre in collaboration with Africa
Network for Prevention and Protection of Child Abuse and Neglect ANPPCAN.
We celebrate and mark both national and International events such as World
Day against Child Labour and the Day of the African Child among others.
We carryout educational exchange programmes with other well established
institutions within Nairobi
area as away of improving our children’s learning skills.
WHO HAS BENEFITED FROM OUR PROJECT?
S.O.E.C is a Home for over 40 O.V.C cases who recites within the centre and
has an extra burden of caring for other 50 children that are provided with
lunch and educated as Days scholars. S.O.E.C also supports 5 widows in he neighborhood who both affected
and infected by HIV / AIDS pandemic.
O.V.C’s in a Makeshift classroom
at the centre
MONITORING AND EVALUATION
Utilization of funds and resources are done through Board meetings
whereby minutes are passed to endorse proper use of funds and resources.
The top brass management work hand in hand with the concerned donors and
funding reps. To ensure transparence and
accountability in departmental discernment of funds and resources
The Centre’s Management administration is briefed in advance about the forth
coming of funds in various departments and are
wholesomely involved in the exercise.
S.O.E.C welcomes representatives from donor- community to carryout monitoring
and evaluation exercises for the funds released.
Independent Auditors can be hired to audit our accounts if need arises.
We operate our project’s account with DIAMOND
TRUST BANK
KENYA LIMITED
Aga Khan
Hospital Branch Nairobi. Our Account NO. is
0 5 0 1 1 2 3 0 0
1.
The signatories to the account are:
Mr. John M. Macharia
Chairman
Mr. Wasilwa Lusweti
Secretary.
Mr. Zulfikar Dhanji
Treasurer
Mrs. Naznin Dhanji
Patron.
OUR APPROACH
S.O.E.C identifies needy children cases by use of extensive research carrying
out case studies with families affected and infected.
We conduct one-on-one interviews with foster parents
guardians to collect data on child/children in question.
PARTNERS
We are proud to be associated with the following institutions which among
others have contributed positively to the growth of our project.
1.
Lions Club Nairobi
Parklands
2.
Kenya
Red Cross Society
3.
ANPPCAN Regional Office
4.
Aga
Khan Junior
Academy
5.
International
School of Kenya
CHALLENGES
Despite of the efforts that we have put the project we still faced with
the following challenges:-
-
Permanent buildings structures
-
Adequate basic medical care
-
Enough beds and beddings, desks
-
Inadequate dormitory facilities for both boys and girls
-
Inadequate space for classrooms, and there essential facilities
-
Lack of funds to put our volunteering working staff on payroll
A kitchen cum dinning room at S.O.E.C
Criteria for admitting the child/children in the centre.
Currently the Centre has a total of 70
children 40 of whom recites at the Home are Day scholars.
v
The children admitted at he centre are both
vulnerable and Orphans.
v
The Centre admits children of both sexes ranging ages of 3- 12 years
v
The Centre admits both able and disabled children even though extreme
cases of disability are
avoided due to limited facilities to cater for the cases adequately.
v
The social worker identifies a needy child through his/her case study.
v We have to obtain a
letter from the Divisional children’s Officer or the Area Chief certifying
that indeed the child needs assistance.
v The child must
produce latest medical record as prove of his/her medical status upon
admission.
v The children admitted
at the centre are between ages 3-12 years, however in rescue circumstances
this criteria is overlooked.
v Burial or death
certificates must be provided to the centre if a child being admitted is an
orphan.
v A child must be in
company of a parent or a guardian during the child’s placement at the centre
to give to the placement authority a genuine
information about the child.
v None refundable fee
of ksh. 1000/= is
charged upon admission to facilitate documentation of he child’s records in
the Home. However in child’s rescue cases, or children who are brought to the
centre through the Government outlets the fee is normally waived.
v The Administering
Authority who in turn hands the child to the home management for placement
only carries out admission of children. The same sequence is followed when
the child leaves the Home.
N/B. The maximum number of Children admitted from a house hold does not
exceed two.
Institution Children’s Capacity.
Currently the Home houses 40 children both Orphans and Vulnerable
children and intends to accommodate more when it finally moves to
its new ground.
The
school has 30 children more as Day scholars who are also included in the
Home’s feeding programme.
Measures to enhance Children’s Health.
I. The
Centre’s management ensures that the children are fed on balanced diet .
II. The
personal hygiene of each child is observed closely by responsible personnel.
III. The
children are immunized against inflectional diseases such as polio, measles
etc.
IV. The
children are also assisted by reputable organization such as Lions Club of
Kenya, the Kenya Red Cross Society that conducts regular Eye, Ear and
Diabetes clinics free services to our children.
V. The
children also undergoes regular V.C.T check –ups for
TB and other HIV/AIDS related cases.
VI. The
Centre is also visited regularly by health government officials who carryout
extensive medical check-ups.
Measures to promote children’s Education
(a) The management
ensures recruitment of qualified teachers to deliver quality education to our
children.
(b)
The Centre networks with other established educational institutions
such as Aga
Khan Junior
Academy and International School of
Kenya in educational exchange programmes.
(c)
The children are also taken out on educational trips within and around
the country.
(d)
The children are regularly put on Continuous Assessment Tests
popularly known as CATS.
(e)
The centre provides all basic writing materials and other educational
facilities to the children.
(f)
Since the Centre has the 8-4-4 Candidates this year, it has enrolled
them to one of the most successful tuition centre in the neighbor
hood as a way of ensuring excellent performance of our children in this
year’s KCPE exams.
Plans
to promote children’s participation in recreation, sports, and
cultural activities.
- The
centre has formed various clubs in which children participate as away of
building their personality.
- The
children participate in sports and games such as football, netball,
Athletics etc.
- Cultural
activities at the centre includes Drama, choir, Debate and Christian
Union C.U as a religious club.
- The
centre also engages in tapping and promoting of children talents e.g in Arts, music, and reciting of poems among
other recreational activities.
Interaction
between the management and the children
- Children
are informed about their welfare progress by the management regularly.
- Children’s
complains are listened to and amicably solved by he management without
fail.
- There
is consistence interaction between children and the management that
based on friendship and parental love.
- Children
have a free passage to reach the management whenever they are pressed by a need or a problem.
- Children
are guided by rules and regulation that are set up by the management as
a way of bringing up a disciplined future generation.
Prevention and protection against child abuse and neglect.
Ø
The centre identifies cases of children who are in school going age
but are engaged in child labor or
sexual exploitation and enrolls them to
school free of charge to enable them acquire basic academic knowledge.
Ø The centre’s
management works in collaboration with Organization that advocates against
worst forms of child abuse and neglect as ANPPCAN, World Vision and CLAN
among others as a way of protecting our children against any vices in the
society.
Ø The centre
management ensures that our children are kept a way from other children in
the community to avoid the formation of peer groups that can engage them in
bad habits of sniffing glue and taking drugs.
Ø The centre
sensitizes the children on the dangers of taking drugs, illicit brews and
sexual activities to ensure moral and upright growth in our children.
Ø Children are
advised on dangers of rape, sodomy and fornication that can result in
contraction of HIV/AIDS or other sexual related diseases or un wanted
pregnancies.
Emergence
procedures and fire precautions
Children are trained on how to deal with emergences such
as;
-
Nose bleeding,
-
Snake bite,
-
Bee-bite
-
Fainting
-
Knife or panga cuts
-
And dressing of blisters on their wounds.
The children are also trained on how to deal with fire
breakouts in the Home eg:
q
How to escape from a house that is on fire ,
q
How to fight the fire,
q
How to sound fire alarm,
q
How to avoid and prevent fire breakouts.
Religious
Observance
Children placed at he centre are free to practice
their religious rites.
We admit children from all religious backgrounds and from different Christian
denominations.
Even though all our children worship in one church, non-followers of that
Church are free to attend the church of their choice.
The centre has a chaplain who conducts spiritual lessons on a weekly basis.
All in all our children are brought up on principles based on spiritual
foundation.
Contact between the children and their next of kin.
q
Children once placed at the centre are allowed to visit their parents/guardians after 6 months.
q
Guardians or next of kins are allowed to
visit their children once a month.
q
Children can only be allowed to visit their next of kin while in
company of a relative who is registered by the centre as the child’s guardian
during the time of the child’s admission to the centre.
q
A guardian who visits his or her child is expected to treat other
children equally as a way of showing love to all children at the centre.
q
A guardian can only take away a child with permission from the
Administrating Authority, although the
exercise is carried out by the Home Manager.
q
The management has contacts of the next of kins
whose children are placed at the centre.
q
Official visiting days for our children is on weekends however a
guardian with a pressing need can still drop by the centre and will be given
a chance to see his/her child.
Complains and Resolutions.
- Children’s
complains about dissatisfaction on any provision are listened to by the personnel concerned and are solved
amicably.
- Children
are informed about who to turn to depending on the nature of their
cases.
- Children
are informed about their rights once they are placed at the Centre.
Placement Plans Review
The placement plans are reviewed every year as per the progress of the Home
and School in acquiring new status.
The Administering Authority normally carries out the arrangement after the
centre’s management has reached deliberations.
Accommodation
§ The
centre offers accommodation to O.V.C’s of both
sexes
§ The
matron and other house leaders reside at the centre for the purposes of
children’s security.
§ Children
are provided with necessities such as food, clothes and clean water for their
day to day requirements.
Centre’s Policy.
The policy of the centre in relation to ant- discriminatory practices states
that every child has right to enjoy life regardless of his/her color, tribe,race,
or physical appearance or whether physically or mentally retarded.
The centre sees to it that every child is treated equally at all times and in
all provisions since every person is equal in the eyes of God. e love and
cherish our children since we go by our motto which says in Kiswahili; “Watoto watunzwe” (Lets take
care of the children)
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