GlobalGiving.org: Care for 15 orphaned and abandoned Kenyan babies

December 2011 Update from St Andrews Baby Unit

Kirsty McLullich — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:37:14 GMT

Latest Arrival

Looking back, 2011 has been a great year for the St Andrews Baby Unit it Kenya and as the year draws to a close, it is ending on a high note. Since the unit opened its doors at the end of 2007, the aim has always been to provide shelter for babies and infants who have been orphaned, abandoned, neglected or are in need of care for some other reason. For those who don't have families, or whose families are unable or unwilling to look after them, it was hoped that foster families could be found with the prospect of fostering leading to adoption. 2011 has been the year where we have seen systems put in place and our first two foster placements going ahead. Reports have been received this week that the first boy to be fostered has successfully completed three months of fostering and the family is seeking to apply for adoption. This is fantastic news and we hope that 2012 will see more children enjoying life as part of a family. Another achievement this year has been the enrolment of six children from the St Andrews Baby Unit at the Kandara Children's Home ECD (Early Childhood Development) Unit. Located within the same compound as the baby unit, the ECD Unit prepares young children for school and also caters for their first three years of primary education. The advantage of this particular unit, another project supported by Vision Africa, is that the class sizes are very small so students get plenty of attention. In recent months, the language skills of the toddlers from St Andrews Baby Unit have developed immensely as they have started conversing in Kiswahili as well as their mother tongue Kikuyu. Learning at such a young age will stand them in great stead as they progress to primary school. 2011 has seen two new arrivals at the St Andrews Baby Unit. Priscilla's mother was unable to take care of her when she was born so after a few weeks in hospital it was decided that she would be better place at the unit in Kandara. The hospital continues to provide formula milk for her and she is a healthy young baby. Just last month, the latest arrival was brought in at less than a week old. His mother had abandoned him at a clinic and couldn't be traced so the authorities decided to place him under the care of matron, Lucy, and her team. Mwaura is a healthy little boy and becoming more alert as each week passes. Another success story his year has been baby Emmanuel. Born on Christmas Eve last year, Emmanuel was just a few weeks old when he was brought in to the St Andrews Baby Unit. For several months, he remained very underweight despite the care and attention he was being given. Things slowly started to change and now Emmanuel is a bright little boy who is very alert and seems to enjoy being in the company of the other children while he sits watching them. Without your support, children like Emmanuel, Priscilla, Mwaura and the boys who have been fostered wouldn't have the care and support of the St Andrews Baby Unit. Everyone who contributes something really does help ensure that these children have brighter futures. On behalf of the staff and babies we would like to say thank you to everyone who has supported the unit in 2011 and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Sitting Pretty

Seasons Greetings

Happy Times

Kirsty McLullich — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 06:54:29 GMT

All smiles - her old photo represents the project

Happy news to share – as reported in our last update, a local family had expressed interest in adopting a child from the St Andrews Baby Unit. The process took a lot longer than anticipated but a few weeks ago, the paperwork was signed off and the new parents collected their little one and took him home to start his new life as part of a family. Foster care is the first step and if all goes well, which we anticipate it will, the family can proceed to full adoption. We hope this is the first of many adoptions that will be facilitated through the St Andrews Baby Unit.

The food crisis in Kenya has impacted on the baby unit as it faces the rising prices of basic foods. The diet of the little ones has not been compromised though and we are very grateful to everyone who has donated through Global Giving as this income really does help ensure that the quality of care remains high and the children are unaffected by the current situation. Members of the local community continue to support the unit with donations of food when they harvest from their land.

The past three months have seen some changes to the baby unit. Australian volunteer, Carla, returned to Kenya after a few months at home in which she had raised funds to help the babies she had been helping to care for last year. Her funds have been used to create a shade over part of the outdoor play area and add shelving to the indoor play area and store room making the place much tidier and safer for the children. In addition to this, the baby unit now has a dedicated water tank to collect rainwater from the roof of a building. This water will be of great help to the mothers who have to hand wash all the clothes an nappies for the unit.

At the moment, the Kenyan economy is struggling as the exchange rate against the USD and sterling £ is so weak. For us, it means that your donations go further as we get more shillings for every $ or £ donated. We really do appreciate your support and hope you agree that the babies are looking happy and healthy as a result of your efforts.

We are delighted to have reached our original target for this project and extremely grateful to everyone who has contributed. However, as we continue to support the St Andrews Baby Unit, we are going to roll the project on and continue to raise funds for this unit which really is changing lives and giving young children a brighter future.

Enjoying the shaded play area

Matron with one of the little ones

St Andrews Baby Unit Shares Good News

Kirsty McLullich — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 07:08:57 GMT

Infants from Baby Unit in Their First School Photo

Last month saw the St Andrews Baby Unit hit its capacity of fifteen babies with the arrival of Priscillah – a one month old little girl whose mother has been unable to take care of her since she was born. Priscillah is a very healthy little girl and has been doing well since she arrived to occupy the last available cot. Little Emmanuel, who was mentioned in the last project report, has also shown great improvement in recent weeks and is becoming much more alert and gaining weight. When I visited last weekend, his mother had passed by to spend some time with him – she is currently in secondary school but will resume his care when she finishes school next November.

A small group of the older toddlers have taken the big step and are now attending school each day during the week. Vision Africa set up and supports an ECD (Early Childhood Development) centre within the same compound as the baby unit so the little ones are able to attend the baby class each day but still go “home” for lunch. They are really coming on a treat under the care of the teachers and are starting to learn new songs and develop their language skills.

Another great piece of news is that progress is being made on the first adoption of one of the children from the St. Andrews Baby Unit. A family from the local community is working with the authorities to apply to foster a little boy with a view to eventually adopting him...this is the standard process in Kenya. For babies or infants who have no family to which they can be restored, adoption is the best outcome we can hope for. We look forward to seeing how this first one goes and hope that more local families come forward to adopt some of the other children who have no hope of being restored to their family.

Once again, we would like to thank everyone who has supported this project through GlobalGiving. With fifteen babies to care for, your donations are vital to help us buy food, toiletries and everything else babies require. We truly appreciate all that you have done.

Wednesday June 15^th is BONUS DAY on GlobalGiving. Every donation received by this project will be matched at 30% by our dear friends at GlobalGiving. Please spread the word to your friends, family and co-workers and help us make the most of this very generous offer.

Together we can create brighter futures!

New arrival

St Andrews Baby Unit starts 2011 on a high!

Kirsty McLullich — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 07:17:03 GMT

Picnic in the Park

Greetings from the St. Andrews Baby Unit in Kandara, Kenya!

2011 has started well for the baby unit after they ended 2010 on a high. The unit is based in the grounds of Kandara Children’s Home which has a recent tradition of an outing for the children who are left in the home over Christmas. This year, they were joined by all the babies, for many of whom this was their first experience of being on a vehicle as they travelled by bus to Nairobi. The day out included a picnic in a local park and a walk in Nairobi Safari Walk which is part of the National Park. This was a great experience for the little ones who enjoyed a day spent with the older children and all the sights and sounds of a new environment.

Shortly after the trip, the latest addition to the family arrived. Little Emmanuel was just two weeks old when he was brought in to the unit. His mother is a fifteen year old girl who has been orphaned and is under the care of her grandmother. As the girl has a scholarship for secondary school and has already completed two out of the four years, her grandmother was upset about the pregnancy and refused to take care of the baby once he had been born. For two weeks, his young mother relied on support from the local community to help clothe him and care for him. Then the decision was made that he could stay at the St. Andrews Baby Unit while his mother finished school. As she is in boarding school, she will be able to come and visit him during the holidays to maintain a bond with him and keep an eye on his progress. The relevant authorities have been consulted and the arrangement is working well.

The local authorities were also grateful for the unit as a place to provide emergency care for a young girl of about eighteen months at the start of the year. Having been abandoned by her mother and left in the care of a sister of about eleven years, the local authorities placed her under the care of the unit while issues with her family were resolved. This meant that she was cared for in an environment more suited to a young infant than a traditional children’s home could offer. She has now been restored to her family.

This year has also seen another volunteer arrive at the baby unit. Carol is an experienced health visitor and trained nurse who is spending five weeks working with the babies. Within the first two weeks we a have seen a great improvement in the development of baby Anne who was the latest arrival mentioned in the previous update. Anne’s development has been severely delayed due to being born prematurely and the fragile state she was in when she first arrived. Having gained weight and taken her first solids on the first day of the new year, it was time for her development to move to the next level. With Carol’s help, she has now started to improve and can transfer objects from hand to hand and kick her legs. We look forward to watching little Anne’s progress in the coming months.

Without the support of donations like those received through GlobalGiving, it would not be possible for the St. Andrews Baby Unit to exist. Thank you to all those who have supported this project and helped ensure that the young babies who live there have brighter futures ahead of them.

Please share GlobalGiving with all your friends, family and colleagues...and remember that March 16^th is a matching day when all donations will be matched by GlobalGiving at 30%!!!

Enjoying the ride

Exploring a new environment

Christmas Greetings From St. Andrews Baby Unit!

Kirsty McLullich — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:36:28 GMT

Merry Christmas

On behalf of the staff and babies at the St. Andrews Baby Unit in Kandara, we’d like to wish all our Global Giving supporters a very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.

Looking back on the year that has passed, there have been some remarkable achievements. The babies have all been in good health and have made terrific steps forward in their development. The biggest toddlers are now able to feed themselves and are progressing well with potty training. As we mentioned in our last update, the first attempt at this didn’t go so well but with perseverance on the part of the staff and a volunteer they have now made good progress and are in the habit of using the potties. They have even had to add another little girl to the training group as she was copying all the older ones and trying to join in!

Joe, Patrick and Irungu are the latest babies who have mastered the art of walking. That means that out of thirteen babies only two are not yet mobile. One of these is Baby Anne who we introduced as our latest arrival in our October update. I’m happy to report that Anne is doing very well – she has gained weight and looks much healthier than when she first arrived. The other is Eric who is almost there and just needs a little more confidence. I’m sure that by the New Year, he’ll be up and about and causing more chaos for the staff.

In recent weeks, an extra housemother has been taken on to help in the care of the babies. With thirteen little ones needing 24 hour care, there is a lot of work to be done, especially now that so many of them are mobile. It is anticipated that some of the older ones will join a nursery class in the New Year to ensure that their development continues and they are given every opportunity to grow. This will also allow the housemothers more time to work with the younger babies during the day.

The support from the local community has been very good this year. Just last weekend, a family arrived with a donation of food items. It was their son’s first birthday so they decided to celebrate by holding a party in the baby unit for their son and all the other little ones. There was a cake, party hats and all sorts of fun to be enjoyed as well as the donations which will be of great use. The unit is now known in the community and it is great to see people taking an interest in caring for the infants who, for one reason or another, have nowhere else to go.

Our thanks go to everyone who has donated to this project throughout the year. The donations received through Global Giving have really been a tremendous help in allowing us to keep the baby unit open and running smoothly. We hope that this level of support will continue in 2011 and we can ensure that the little babies who had no hope now have a chance of a brighter future.

Christmas Baby

Latest Addition and Stories of Independence

Kirsty McLullich — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:09:56 GMT

Latest Addition

In our last update from the St. Andrews Baby Unit back in July we mentioned some volunteers who were spending time at the St Andrews Baby Unit. We can now report that they have made a tremendous difference and been of great help to the housemothers.

The majority of the infants are now able to sit at the table and feed themselves, some need only a little supervision and there are only a few who require to be fed. This saves the housemothers a lot of stress as they were previously trying to feed five children each at the same time! On a visit this week I discovered that the little girl who was taking her first steps in our last update is now one of those trying to feed herself.

Another achievement has been in terms of potty training. It took a few attempts as the children were at first scared of the potties then thought they were toys! Thanks to volunteer Carla’s persistence a good number of the older babies are now using the potty which has helped the housemother who was previously washing all the towelling diapers!

There has also been a new arrival at the St Andrews Baby Unit since our last update. Baby Anne was four months old when she arrived and weighed less than 4kg...very underweight for her age. Her mother had been ill for some time and passed away a few weeks after giving birth. Anne’s grandparents tried their best to care for the young baby their daughter left behind but they were frail and unable to cope. After going through the relevant processes, Anne was brought to the unit and when her family visited a week later they already noticed a difference and that she had gained weight. Under the watchful eye of mother Lucy and her team, Anne has continued to gain weight and can now sit up in a Bumbo seat and enjoy watching the other children as they move about the room. This latest addition was a great reminder to us of what a valuable asset the unit is to the local community.

Another way that the unit helps the local community is by offering reliable day care services for working mothers. As with all Vision Africa projects, the St. Andrews Baby Unit had to undertake some form of income generating activity rather than be 100% dependent on charitable assistance. During the daytime, mothers can pay a small fee to leave their baby in the capable hands of the St. Andrews staff while they go out to work.

The donations we receive from our supporters through GlobalGiving are always put to good use. As you can imagine with 13 babies to care for the ongoing costs for food, toiletries, cleaning materials etc soon mount up. Your donations go a long way to helping us ensure that our babies are well cared for and have a much better start in life than their families’ circumstances would allow. Thank you for your care and support!

Feeding Time

New Faces and First Steps

Kirsty McLullich — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 09:47:10 GMT

Feeding themselves

What a difference a few months can make – especially in the lives of the babies at the St. Andrews Baby Unit in Kandara, Kenya! There have been a few new faces, big steps forward in the little ones’ development and some new toys to explore too.

The first new arrival was a ten month old baby whose mother has learning difficulties. After struggling to cope with her baby for some months she was in total despair and went to the river where luckily she was found before she threw her child in. It is hard to understand this level of desperation but we are thankful for the passersby who saved the infant and for the housemothers who have taken the little one under their wings as part of the “family”. Once again, the unit has proved to be a sanctuary for a baby who had nowhere safe to live.

The other new faces have been three volunteers who have spent time helping the housemothers with their work. Laura was the first to arrive and was thrown in at the deep end. She spent two weeks trying to teach the older infants to feed themselves. Previously each mother would be trying to spoon feed five children at once so this training would really help to free up their time! With Kerry arriving for Laura’s second week, the two of them made great headway and around 8 of the children started feeding themselves!! Lucy, the matron of the unit, told me that this has made such a great difference to the staff and that having the volunteers has meant the mothers haven’t felt as tired and are seeing great benefits.

Not long after Laura left, Kerry was joined by Carla – a paediatric nurse from Australia – who will be staying in Kandara until October. As well as continuing the independent feeding, Carla and Kerry have been trying to potty train a few of the older ones and also find time to do some activities with the babies. It looks like there might be some finger painting and drawing done in the near future! We are very grateful to all the volunteers for the valuable contributions they have made.

Another big breakthrough has been with one of the little girls who has taken a little longer to develop than the other children due to the fact that she was very malnourished before she came in to the unit. Over the past few weeks she has really started to shine and come out of her shell – she has even started walking with a current record of 9 steps unassisted. This little one’s picture is the avatar for this project. Please take a minute to compare that photo which was taken not long after she arrived with today’s update ... you will see the impact that donations through GlobalGiving and other channels are having on disadvantaged babies in Kandara, Kenya.

Thank you for all your support – without it the St. Andrews Baby Unit could not do the great job it does. Your donations allow us to buy the food, toiletries and other items required to care for these beautiful babies and give them a brighter future.

Having fun with a new toy

First steps - big changes!

Outdoor Progress

Kirsty McLullich — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:54:36 GMT

Playing outside

After a visit to the St. Andrews Baby unit at the weekend, I wanted to share a couple of pieces of news.

As mentioned previously, all the food for the unit is now prepared specifically for the babies by the housemothers of the unit. Going one step further, they have now prepared an area of land so that they can grow their own vegetables. After a donation of seeds, they created seed beds and planted spinach, kales and carrots. They have recently had two other pieces of land dug ready for transplanting the seedlings.

Another great step forward is the creation of an outdoor play area for the little ones. A section of ground adjacent to the unit has been concreted and fenced in with a gate on one side. This new play area makes it easy for the mothers to take all the children outside at once to enjoy sunshine and fresh air. Currently, they are using mattresses and a play carpet to soften the ground but we are looking to source suitable flooring to finish the area off.

It was lovely to spend time outside with the little ones at the weekend and to see the great progress the unit is making. Thank you to all those who have supported this project.

Vegetable Garden

Play Area

Latest news from St. Andrews Baby Unit

Kirsty McLullich — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:33:05 GMT

The first quarter of 2010 has been a good one for the St. Andrews Baby Unit in Kandara, Kenya. No new babies have been brought in recently so all the children are over six months old. Even the three smaller babies are catching up and starting to become much more alert and demanding more attention. They now spend the time in the large open space with the housemothers and other children which is helping them with their development as they try to copy their older "brothers and sisters".

Of the eight older infants, seven are now walking comfortably and most of them are able to run around the unit playing. This makes a lot of work for the housemothers who are followed about or have to chase the young ones back to where they are supposed to be as they try to escape out the door. Because of this, plans are underway to create a safe area where the children can play with ride on toys and run around playing in a large contained space under the supervision of the housemothers. This will also help the mothers as they will be able to put the smaller babies in the same room as the older ones but they will be separated by a small fence to ensure their safety.

Another change in the unit is that the dedicated housemothers are now cooking for the babies. Previously, food had been cooked by the main kitchen for Kandara Children's Home and was a variation on what the older children were eating. Now, as well as having more variety in their diet, the babies are taking fruits and eggs on a regular basis. The matron of the baby unit, Lucy, is happy with this change and feels that the babies will benefit greatly from it. When I was there last weekend I got to sample the rice and vegetables the older ones were taking for lunch and was impressed at the standard of the food and how they find time to prepare and cook it!

All the babies are currently in good health and are making progress in their development. Any visit to the baby unit requires high levels of energy as there is always someone to play with or someone wanting lifted so they can have a look out the window or just a wee hug.

We would like to thank everyone who has supported the St. Andrews Baby. As we rely on donations to maintain this project, you really have made a difference in the lives of these little children. Please check out this short video from the baby unit so you can see where your donations are going.

Links:

Video

New Developments

Kirsty McLullich — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:23:50 GMT

Happy with Christmas Gift

As you walk in to the St. Andrews Baby Unit in Kandara these days, it’s a very different place compared to a few months ago. Instead of a room full of babies in cots and one or two learning to walk or talk, there are now eight infants in the main room and just three younger babies in cots. This also means that the noise levels have increased as the eight scream excitedly and try to say their first words.

The baby unit has proved to be a valuable asset to the local community and has taken in a number of babies who have been orphaned or abandoned in school playgrounds, by the river or in the marketplace. All babies must be registered with the local authorities before being brought to the unit and the proper procedures followed in order to ensure all documentation is up to date and the baby has no relatives able to care for it. Once they reach the unit, no matter what their background is they are guaranteed the shelter and care that they need.

Thanks to a Vision Africa supporter, a nurse now pays a weekly visit to the baby unit and checks over each baby. Despite the high levels of care provided, we were saddened to hear the news that a second baby had passed away due to the viral pneumonia that swept through the local area claiming the lives of a number of small babies. Baby James was rushed to hospital at the first signs of illness and received good medical attention but unfortunately he wasn’t strong enough to survive. He had been living in the unit for nine months and his loss was felt by the staff.

With a number of the babies having been there for several months, it is encouraging to see them develop and take their first steps in the safe environment of the baby unit. The main room has also been given a facelift by volunteers from the UK who painted some characters on the walls during their recent visit to the unit. With eight small children spending their days in this room, it is great to have the brightly coloured characters to stimulate them...when they are not throwing toys at each other or using small chairs to support them as they race around the room.

One thing that has not changed is the hard work of the staff members who care for the babies. With eleven children to feed, change, clothe, bathe and entertain a shift in the baby unit takes a lot of effort. For those readers used to the modern conveniences imagine, if you can, having eleven babies, no disposable nappies (diapers) and no washing machine. All clothes and towelling nappies are washed by hand every day.

As any parent will testify, babies might be small but they incur large costs. The St. Andrews Baby Unit is partly funded by a cot sponsorship programme which, when fully subscribed, will bring in approximately half of the anticipated running costs. We are therefore very grateful for all donations received through GlobalGiving and donors can be assured that their funds will be put to good use.

Together we can help create brighter futures for these precious babies.

Learning to feed himself

Improvised Baby Walker