EAM Orphanage - What makes EAMO?

Kenya is a developing country and although it is one of the most developed countries in Africa it is still suffering from a lot of poverty and disease. Sixty four percent of the country is surviving on around 33 Kenyan Shillings per day (.44 US cents). A packet of Corn Flakes costs approx 400 Kenyan Shillings. A used motor vehicle costs approx $5-6000 USD.

So, you can see that Kenya is not a cheap place to live. The majority of the population survives on little more than maize meal up to three times per day. Disease is also rampant in Kenya, especially AIDS. AIDS in pregnant women is on the increase. At the moment in Nakuru, AIDS has already climbed to 18% and is increasing daily.

As poverty strikes in all quarters of Kenya, it is leaving a trail of homeless children. A common scenario for a Kenyan family involves financial struggles. The father may leave the family after being discouraged by unemployment, turns to alcohol, leaves to be with another woman or dies from AIDS. This usually means the mother is left with between 5 – 10 children. At times, the mother is also infected with AIDS and dies, leaving the now desperate children to an old grandmother of one of the parents. This scene now becomes a very sad one. The grandmother struggles to survive and it is these grandmothers that bring the children to our orphanage.

The orphanage also receives children through either the hospital or Children’s Department. There is currently a waiting list of children that have no where else to go. Currently we are caring for over 200 children that are from all parts of Kenya and even South Sudan. Our youngest is 4 months and our oldest is 16 years.

EAMO provides dormitory accommodation for the children. The beds are made here on the premises. The children are well clothed as we can purchase clothes at a reasonable price at the local markets. Sponsors and donors also assist with sending clothes to us too.

There is a primary school at the orphanage. We employ qualified teachers for all grades in primary school. At this stage our older children attend a local high school in town, but there are plans to have the facilities to run our own high school on the premises in the near future.

One of the most difficult tasks here at the orphanage is to bring the children to a level of good health. Some have suffered malnutrition for many years as well as parasitic type diseases. Many of the children are stunted in growth due to a lack of good nutrition in the early years of life. The meals are planned and include fresh vegetables from the vegetable garden on the premises.
Our support basis is from individuals that decide to either sponsor a particular child, the basic, education or medical program, sponsor the orphanage or a project. Sponsoring the orphanage provides us with finances to meet the demands for building extensions to the orphanage allowing us to meet the almost daily demand for desperate children to be taken in and cared for.

We are often asked what we will do with the children as they become teenagers. Let us answer this by saying that because our orphanage is a very personal and family orphanage, once we take in a child, he/she is just like one of our own. We hope as finances come in we will be able to continue to expand our building program to cater for higher education and teach the children trades that will prepare them for work in the community. Of course we have not reached that time yet, but are looking ahead and trying to prepare ourselves for it, by seeking more funds and teachers from overseas to volunteer their expertise and come and educate our children.