The Lewa Children's Home provides orphans and vulnerable children with food, shelter, medical care, first-class education and a loving family environment. Thanks to an integrated model which includes a farm and a school, Lewa is a thriving model of self-sustainability. From the most heart-wrenching beginnings, children at Lewa are nurtured to become happy, healthy, responsible and independent members of society. We need your help to keep caring for these children who have nowhere else to go.
A total of 3.6 million of Kenya's children are orphans or abandoned. While AIDS is the biggest reason for being orphaned, others include poverty, abandonment or political and ethnic conflict. Traditionally, children without parents were given into the care of extended family. However increasing poverty has weakened this care system. Orphans are at higher risk of multiple deprivation, including poverty, less access to education and health status. As a result many are excluded from society.
Realising the issue and urgency Phyllis Keino started taking care of destitute children in the 1970s. What started with only a few children soon grew into a home. Abandoned and orphaned children are assigned to Lewa by the justice court, where they receive the love of a caring family environment and the structure and balance children need to flourish and become independent members of society. The Kipkeino school provides the children with an education and the opportunity of a better future.
Providing children with a loving home now will have a long term impact on their future and providing them with top-quality education equips them to become the leaders of tomorrow. Thanks to the Baraka farm, which provides food and income for the children, Lewa has become a model of self-sustainable development, inspiring many in the region and all over the continent. Training the community in dairy farming increases their employability and ultimately the economy of the whole community.
