Expansion
Kwetu Home of Peace
has started the expansion process of its facilities. The Home now
has a sizeable piece of land in Ruai that was donated by the Archdiocese
of Nairobi for the rehabilitation of boys from the streets of Nairobi.
Ruai is located on the outskirts of Nairobi town along Kangundo
road about 15kms from the city centre.
The following are the projects that Kwetu is planning to undertake
in Ruai:
- Kwetu Main Rehabilitation Centre
- School – Primary School – Nursery
and std 1-3 already operational
- Dormitory for Primary school
- Dining Hall for Primary School
- Silkworm project
- Open Farming
- Greenhouse
As mentioned, we have an ambitious program
of expanding our activities to a more spacious place in Ruai. KHP
intends to move the MAIN REHABILITATION
CENTER to this new location by September
2011. The Drop-In and Administration
remains in Madaraka. This will enable us to:
- Have enough space for recreation
- Separate the 2 programs i.e. Main Centre
and Drop-In so as to enhance effectiveness in the whole rehabilitation
process.
- Grow food for both commercial and domestic
consumption
- Decongest the current center
- To offer skills that will foster self-reliance
for the boys after school and also for those who may not be good
with formal education (academics).
However, we lack the financial ability to
effect this since Kwetu Home of peace relies solely on well wishers
and other donors; local and International for its day to day running
of its activities. In line with this, we find it challenging to
task the same on our expansion pursuit. To achieve our goal of giving
our children a more conducive atmosphere for rehabilitation, we
have to find alternative ways of raising resources. In fact, this
separation is in line with the evaluation report of 2008 which recommended
that the two centers be separated.
The total amount required for this project
is KES 42 million.
Kwetu Home of peace has been able to raise KES
22milion through local contribution
and other donors. We are struggling to raise
KES 20 million by June
2011. We call for support to complete
this noble project for the children.
SCHOOL
Education is a key rehabilitation tool in our program. We endeavor
to give the children entrusted to the Home’s care the best
possible education. In line with this, Kwetu Home of Peace is engaging
in developing a Primary School in our new location to help cater
for the children. This will help ease the constraints that we face
in getting places in the public schools around the current location.
Besides, our school will enroll children from the community as well
thereby helping in the process of reintegration. Currently our school
has enrolled up to class 3.
One of the reasons for the starting the school mentioned above is
the fact that Kwetu Home of Peace has been experiencing difficulty
placing children in schools during the re-integration process. With
the help of well-wishers, the Home started the school in Ruai called
Queen of Peace Education Centre. It is now complete. Pre-school
and classes 1-3 are already operational. We have enrolled children
from the community.
The primary school is now complete but we still have a debt of KES
4,000,000 owed to the contractor.
| View of the Primary school
in Ruai |
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Dormitory for the Primary School
Queen of Peace Education Centre will take care of three street programmes
through Boys Town Ruai, St. Teresa and Kwetu Home of Peace as well
as children from the community. For this reason we require a boarding
facility which will make it easier to learn as well as facilitate
the success of the reintegration process.
We require support from well wishers to complete
the building with a capacity of 320.
This will help rehabilitate boys from the streets and be able to
provide them with the basic needs such as food, shelter and education
and also provide an opportunity for self-development and skills
through regular schooling.
GREENHOUSE
Greenhouse farming is an innovative and sustainable agricultural
solution used to produce high yields while reducing overall impact
on the environment. It has been selected because it will allow us
to move away from rain-fed farming and enables us to supply fresh
farm produce all year round to local markets.
Two complete farmers kits are to be purchased from Amiran Kenya.
The firm also provides training to the farmer. Each greenhouse,
measuring 8m by 15m comes with a water tank, a drip irrigation system,
seeds, fertilizers and agrochemicals. Technicians from the Amiran
Kenya will assist in mounting the greenhouse at our premises.
The produce will be harvested and sold in the local markets at prevailing
market rates. A fraction of the harvest will be utilized in the
home, thereby reducing the food budget. The complete project costs
a total of KES 1,110,928.
| Sample Greenhouse structure |
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SILK WORM PROJECT
This is a project that Kwetu Home wishes to start. This will be
an alternative Income generating Activity to help support the budget
of the Home. It will also provide new skills for the children entrusted
to the Home’s care.
Silk is a highly valued animal fiber used for the production of
luxurious textiles of the finest quality. It is one of the most
ancient and preferred fibers in the world due to its natural texture,
strength and fineness. These superior characteristics give it a
higher economic value than that of other natural fibers like cotton
and wool. Thus there is a high demand for silk in American and European
markets.
A silkworm lives for about 25 days. This short time period means
that its end product can be harvested monthly, thereby greatly increasing
the frequency and amount of income available to the farmer. A silkworm
farm does not need huge land masses and is less costly compared
to traditional agricultural crops.
Silkworms feed on the leaves of mulberry trees. This is a drought-resistant
plant that can grow anywhere in Kenya’s favorable climate.
The trees have a positive impact on the environment since they increase
vegetation, control desertification and assist in water catchment.
The berries can be used to make juice for drinking.
As an export oriented product, silk has huge potential to boost
the home’s economic needs through sales of the same.
KHP is in the process of setting up a silkworm project in Ruai.
The home proposes to establish this project to enhance its capacity
to run its programmes and thus continue rehabilitating and empowering
street children. In addition, the project will empower the local
community and boys from the home with skills to generate income
and sustain their households. The complete project costs a total
of KES 1,962,669.
OPEN FARMING
We intend to do open farming on our land. This will subsidize the
kind of farming already mentioned and thereby give us an opportunity
to offer variety to the market. We plan to plant vegetable like
Sukuma Wiki, spinarch, onions, carrots, and dania. Other plants
will include water melon, cucumber, pumpkins and butter nuts. These
will also boost the diet of the Home.
IRRIGATION SYSTEM
Our project site (Ruai) does not have reliable rainfall. As such
we cannot rely on rainfall for our farming. We intend to do irrigation
on the farm which will enable us get quality and quantity produce
while minimizing losses through drought related reasons. We have
a bore hole on the site and we could use it as a convenient and
sustainable water source to do our irrigation. The goal of the project
is to irrigate crops in 6 acres of land to enhance the capacity
of Kwetu Home of Peace to sustain its programmes and therefore effectively
intervene in the reform and empowerment of former street children.
The project entails installation of pipes to move the water from
the source to the farm. This will be followed by installation of
drip irrigation system for the open farm as well as overhead irrigation
system for the silkworm mulberry trees. The complete project cost
will be KES 938,900.
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