About the Project
The project consisted of providing critical medical care and equipment for disabled children at Aswani Kizito’s Project of Hope.
Location
Kawangware, Nairobi, Kenya
Quick Project Stats
| Funding Date | November 2023 – November 2024 |
| Luena Investment | $1,500 |
| CBO Partner | Aswani Kizito’s Project of Hope |
| Village | Kawangware |
| Country | Kenya |
| # of Children Impacted | 2 |
| Community Contribution | manual labor, local contribution of food donations, school scholarships, local foster parents/guardians |
Programs Rely on Support to Provide Care for Children
A large percentage of Kawangware residents live below the poverty line, earning only $1 or $2 a day and living hand to mouth to survive. This little money is used to try to pay rent and buy food, so there are many who cannot afford to pay school fees or even have adequate clothing. As many are unable to find employment, they turn to criminal activities such as prostitution, drugs and substance abuse, gang involvement, robberies, and illegal brewing of alcohol as means of survival. This has led to mass insecurity in Kawangware slums and resulted in many abandoned and neglected street children, an issue that is increasingly getting out of hand. The Aswani Kizito’s Project of Hope initiative has been operating in the Kawangware slum since 2010. In the past 14 years, they have educated over 330 children free of charge through primary school and enrolled countless into secondary schools and vocational schools.
Support Provides Stability and Essential Care for Children
The donation from Luena Foundation was used to provide crucial support for two young boys rescued by the Aswani Project of Hope. Emanuel, a boy rescued from a rural area, was abandoned at birth by his mother upon discovering he was born with cerebral palsy. For the past eight years, he had been living in isolation with his grandmother, who, due to stigma surrounding disabilities and a belief that they are linked to witchcraft, had been hiding Emanuel in a dark room. In an attempt to rid herself of the burden, she was starving him. The chief of the village signed a letter of consent to transfer Emanuel to the Aswani Project of Hope Center. Upon arrival, Emanuel was severely malnourished and on the brink of death, and caregivers immediately took him to the hospital.
The donation also covered medical expenses for Daniel, a 13-year-old boy who was abandoned and later discovered to have convulsions indicative of epilepsy and possible autism. His treatment required a specialist, and the costs exceeded the small operating budget of the rescue center. Luena Foundation funded hospital bills, diapers, medication, a wheelchair, arm braces, and therapy. Additionally, donations facilitated the hiring of a therapist who visits the center twice a week to treat Emanuel, Daniel, and the other eight disabled children residing there.
Meet our Partner Community-Based Organization
Aswani Kizito’s Project of Hope is a project to build a new home for orphaned children who are currently living in the slums of Kawangare and who so deserve the care and attention we have to offer them. We want to create a Children’s Centre, based in a new community development in Kitengela, that offers them the space in which to can grow and develop, receive an education, and eventually become productive members of society.
To learn more about our partner organization, click here.
