Providing Children in Kenya a Future They Deserve
Hello Stahili family!
We wanted to take the opportunity to formally welcome you to the Stahili blog! It is our hope that this is the first post of many.
We have had many questions coming in, not only about our organization, but also about crucial issues relating to Stahili, specifically surrounding orphanages, education, child labour, trafficking and child abuse. We decided a great way to respond to these questions is through our blog! While these issues are vastly dynamic and complex, we will touch on them drawing from our own experiences and from research and current work in the field.
For anyone who does not know who we are, or are not familiar with Stahili Foundation, let us introduce ourselves. As the three co-founders of Stahili, we all came to the organization differently. Within the next week, we will each be telling you our own, very personal, accounts on how we each arrived here. Until then, here is a brief prelude to Stahili’s beginnings.
And as all good stories begin…
Once Upon A Time there were three women who each found themselves working as volunteers in an orphanage in Kenya. Hannah, Laura and Michelle were there for different reasons: for education, for children’s rights and simply for the desire to help. We fell quickly and effortlessly in love with the vibrant children for whom the orphanage was home. Each of us had our own experiences and cherished our own stories. Over the course of five years, our paths crossed multiple times. We dedicated these years to helping the children at the orphanage.
As time passed, our efforts to improve the children’s lives were hampered when we witnessed corruption, child abuse and child labor. When reports poured in from other volunteers that rang consistent with our own experiences, we knew enough was enough. Turning our backs on the children was not an option. Stahili began by rescuing one child from the orphanage, then three more, then five more; moving them to safer schools and homes. Here, the children were given an opportunity for a better education, nurturing care, and a safe living environment. Before we knew it, we had rescued ten children from a life of abuse and child labor.
The support began pouring in, and 10 children grew to greater numbers. We had started a movement. It was at this point we realized we could really make a difference. We carefully selected a name for our cause, “Stahili,” which means “to deserve” in Swahili.
We want to provide a future that the children from the orphanage deserve. Stahili is a foundation born from the twin ideas of love and frustration: a love for helping youth in Kenya, and a frustration with those who abuse their power. Since its beginnings, Stahili has been rooted in the belief of providing guidance, education and love to combat child labour, trafficking and abuse.
With this, we are taking a new approach to the model of a sponsorship program. Stahili focuses on quality over quantity. While we want to help as many children as possible, we will not do so at the expense of quality care. Stahili focuses on a group of children who we can holistically care for rather than superficially serve a large number. We believe in the saying “it takes a village to raise a child,” and our supporters work closely together to improve the life of Stahili’s children. Once a child’s education and future is secured through university, Stahili then brings another child into the program.
Stahili Foundation is currently in its first year and we are proud to say we are growing by leaps and bounds! Again, welcome to our blog and we hope you will stick around to watch our kids grow.
And as they say in Kenya …
Nice Times,
Hannah, Laura & Michelle