As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, The Flower Hub supports Imani Children’s Home which is located at Soweto Kayole in Nairobi.
Our Visit
Yesterday we went to see them for our annual visit and to give them some much-needed food items, school supplies, cash and also catered for the babies’ NHIF insurance for the month of June 2021. NHIF in Kenya is the National Health Insurance Fund – set up to help cover medical bills. We visited Imani Children’s Home A, one of the 6 branches of Imani Rehabilitation Centre. IRA is a non-profit organisation that takes care of orphaned, abandoned, neglected, and abused children of all ages.
We had a wonderful welcome from beautiful and jovial children who sang us a welcome song. Belinda, their fund-raising manager, gave us a tour around while sharing some of the kids’ heartbreaking stories. Our first stop was the babies unit, where they had children as young as one week old. There were children in the playground having fun with toys while others were having singing lessons. We also got to meet some of the babies with special care needs. After seeing the youngest children, we went back to the main Imani A block. The older children had left for school so we didn’t get to meet them.
Imani’s work
The staff rescue children every day abandoned on the streets, in dustbins, and at sewage sites, and even in hospitals. They take children aged 5 years and below back to the Babies section of the home. Here, they provide them with a loving family environment, parental care & guidance. They also offer primary health care, quality education and empower them with life skills to facilitate their reintegration back to the community.
Ms Faith Wanjiru started IRA in 1992 as a rehabilitation program for the street children in Nairobi and has grown into an organisation catering for 350 children aged 1 – 18 years.
Imani branches
They have a fabulous painted tree seen below to show each branch of their family and how the children grow with the organization.
Imani A
Imani A is the head administration centre. It can host up to 90 children at once between the age of eight and 17 years. Imani A also has kids with chronic illnesses and HIV positive children. There is an in-house clinic that caters for them. The babies unit shares the same compound with Imani A. It has children as little as one day old to about three years old. The two-and three-year-old children learn general things to start their learning process. Most of the children in the babies unit usually exit through adoption.
Imani B and subsequent units
Imani B is located at Kayole Matopeni. It is currently the largest branch and can host up to 100 children between 3-12 years old. Imani B has farming activities that helps feed the children and teach them valuable life skills. Imani Ngong takes care of abused children and children with incarcerated parents. They offer guidance and counselling to these children. For children aged over 18 years in colleges and universities, Imani Kasarani is their home. Imani Kibera is a facility for empowering young teenage mothers in Kibera. Imani Childrens home as a whole, relies on wellwishers and donors for support. Apart from that, they have different campaigns to generate income like ‘Milk Campaign’ ‘A Day sponsorship’ and ‘Donate a birthday.’
Before we left, we were able to take a few pictures and interact with the happy children. While we didn’t get to stay around for long, we were definitely touched by their stories. It is great to see organisations giving back to the community, and we are glad to be part of that cause. To find out more about the Imani Rehabilitation centre, or donate, please click here.
