Beginning Life with Hope

Since our last report, we have received fourteen abandoned children in our centre. We have managed to place nine children into orphanages in the last two months. Children with no developmental or medical issues find orphanages faster compared to those with issues. Our long term kids, Lydia, Sarah and Dinah are still with us and constantly become a challenge for us to find orphanages for them! Their rate of development has been impressive to us and to visitors who come and see them after a short period of time.

An occupational therapist we recently hired specifically to work with Lydia continues to help her learn ways to express herself and communicate using a donated ipad. Sally Test Pædiatric Centre pays half of her salary and some families’ pays the other half. Some of the money we get through our donors through Globalgiving enable us pay for such salaries.

Past donations we received has also helped us purchase items to be used by the abandoned children. Purchasing such items in bulk has made it possible for us to access them at fair prices. We now manage to purchase diapers, formula milk, baby wipes, cereals and long life milk that last us for a month. Thank you for your continued partnership that continues to enable us bring hope to our abandoned children in Kenya.

The Sally Test Pædiatric Centre is continuing to give hope to abandoned and neglected children within Eldoret, Kenya.

Since April this year, the STPC has cared for twenty one (21) abandoned children.  Most of them spend six weeks to a few months in our Centre before being placed in children’s homes or families. That allows our workers to help these lost children learn to trust their caretakers and their world again.  However, children with special needs have become a challenge for us because of the lack of local homes able to care for them. Let us tell you about three of these:

Lydia

This child completed her second year in the hospital this May. She has seen many abandoned children come and leave the STPC.  Her cerebral palsy makes it hard for the District Children’s Office and our social workers to find an appropriate place for her. 

Caring for Lydia has given us a chance to see her amazing potential!  Staggering around STPC, she finds happiness in the only home she has known.  With a lack of words to communicate, she is bright and a quick learner! With a donated iPad, Skyped coaching, and an enthusiastic occupational therapist and volunteers, Lydia is learning to use Augmentative Communication to make requests and express her feelings.

Sarah

Developmentally delayed, it is difficult for Sarah to learn!   She is approximately 13 years of age and has been in our care for almost 2 years.  Sarah is a noisy addition to our Centre as she loudly communicates both displeasure and a great deal of joy using less than ten words.

Dinah

Dinah’s mother abandoned her at birth after realizing she has spina bifida and hydrocephalus.  With a VP shunt, Dinah is a happy one year old who functions quite well within her limits.  Her welcoming smile is most contagious and accepting.

Donations we received through GlobalGiving helped us buy formula milk, cereal, Cerelac, fresh milk, diapers, clothes, clean water and more.  With GlobalGiving's donations we can continue providing hope and happiness to these young ones.  Asante sana - Thank you -for extending these - and other - little ones a hand and helping us a quarter way to our goal!

• Long Term STPC Kids (DOCX)