Mental Health Services for Children in Kibera

Over the past couple of months, we have been working to raise funds through Global Giving to be able to hire a much needed counselor to work with the orphans and vulnerable children we serve in Kibera. We have done this in several ways: by creating a project on Global Giving; by budgeting a portion of the salary for the counselor in proposals; and by talking to potential donors about the great need.

Unfortunately, our project on Global Giving hasn't attracted much support. In fact, we have received just 1 donation. Our initial concern of posting a project to pay for a salary -- albeit a hugely important one -- has thus far been realized. We know it is hard to attract support to pay salaries and also hard to attract funding for mental health services as they may not seem as needed as food or education.

But we haven't given up. We know it takes staff to actually provide services to our children. And we know that mental health services - particularly for children who have experienced abuse - are vital. These services are critical for helping children to overcome past trauma and abuse and grow into healthy adults. So we continue to talk about this great need.

We are thrilled to be able to report that through a grant competition with Global Giving UK, we have raised about half of the funds needed for the counselor. And we are underway with talks with a small foundation that would support another portion of the salary over the next year. We are hopeful that by the beginning of the year, we will have earned enough to cover the salary for the 2016 calendar year. In the meantime, we are going to continue to publicize our project and talk to as many people as we can about the great need for such services for the vulnerable children that we serve.

Links:

• St. Vincent's Website