Provide a loving home for orphans in Kenya

Supporting needy children at the Kipkeino school

Lewa goes from strength to strength - not only does it care for dozens of children each year, but it has established a well-renowned school: the Kipkeino School, and a successful income-generating farm - Barka Farm.

Together with Lewa', we managed to secure scholarships for the most-needy children from the local community, enabling them to attend the Kipkeino Primary and Secondary Schools. While those from the children's home attend schools free of charge, local children have to pay fees, so these scholarships ensure one year of free education. An accompanying move was to make sure all those attending had school uniforms and supplies - these were mainly for new students and included school bedding/towels, toiletries, slippers/shoes & gumboots. 

Making Lewa and its farm self-sustainable

When the Baraka Farm was established many years ago, it aimed to create an income for the home and make it more self-sufficient. Since then lots has happened and it became a well-known cheese producer in Kenya. However, money has always been short and many repairs have been put off for years. This year we were finally able to focus on those repairs and improvements, to hopefully increase the production even more.

Making cheese-making safe and sanitary 

Thanks to additional funding we were able to secure, the Baraka Farm was able to update its cheese-making facility. It completed a total overhaul of the cheese cold room temperature control system. The original refrigeration system was installed over 13 years ago, and was no longer working properly and couldn’t maintain a consistent temperature, so the quality of the cheese suffered. 

The farm bought also bought a new/higher capacity air compressor, which removes all the liquid from the curd and helps to form the cheese. This replaces the previous one which was over 10 years old, was too small and was constantly breaking down.

Rebuilding the Farm Factory

Finally, the farm was able to repair the farm’s factory floor, sections of which were in disrepair and needed to be fixed. They removed all cracked/broken tiles from the factory floor, cleaned out the damaged areas and placed new tiles. 

All these repairs and new equipment means that the Farm can produce good quality cheese at all times.  

We know that these are difficult times for many of our donors, but Lewa always tells us how much they appreciate your support. Thank you again!

In our last report, we told you about the children’s home, and in this one, we want to tell you about progress in an important part of the home – the Baraka Farm. 

This photo shows you the Baraka Farm, which provides food and milk for the children at the Children’s Home and the Kipkeino School. The farm is going from strength to strength and is on the verge of appointing a farm manager. It has a herd of 100+ Holstein Friesian cattle and produces over 800 litres of high-quality milk daily. 

By selling its produce, it is also the primary source of income for the Children’s Home, for as a non-income generating institution Lewa Children’s Home relies on Baraka Farm, so it is important that the Farm is well-run. 

Providing healthy food for the children...

Growing their own food has many benefits for Lewa. It is providing fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. Green leafy vegetables are usually more expensive, considering their low-calorie content and the amounts needed for sufficient energy supply. Fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins are found to be fairly expensive across most countries. 

... and local employment

The Baraka Farm is also important in that it is providing employment for the local community. It provides young people in the community with agricultural training, facilitating them with important life skills, but also giving them the possibility to share their knowledge and empower others and support their households. 

Your contribution to Lewa, and the Baraka Farm, will help to continue with the good work it is doing both for the children at the children’s home and the local community.