Hello!

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page! With your (very) generous donations I hope to raise money towards my fundraising target before my trip to Kenya in August 2013.

KOP is a UK registered charity committed to supporting the health and education of orphaned and vulnerable children in Africa. The projects are currently focussed in and around Kisumu in western Kenya.

100% of funds raised by students on the KOP student programme go directly towards the projects and none of it is spent on administrative costs that are sourced elsewhere.

KOP is committed to sustainable projects that will continue to assist local people for the long term and not just provide temporary relief. With our involvement in a number of different activities across all aspects of life, we also aim to improve communities as a whole and not just in one area of development.

Where the money you donate will go:

In the last 10 years, numerous projects have been successfully delivered including schools, hospitals and feeding centres

Previous projects include:

HOVIC -  Hope for Victoria’s Children’ NGO, a orphanage-come-safe-haven, where orphans and vulnerable children that formerly lived on the streets of Kisusmu, receive nutritious meals, educational development, help, support, advice and medical care from staff at the centre.

Kochogo Feeding Centre - The feeding centre at Kochogo is a rural settlement near Kisumu in an area of particularly high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. The centre was built by the work and fundraising effort of KOP student groups in 2005. Since that date, KOP funding has maintained the supply of meals to children who otherwise may not have any other source of regular food. KOP has also installed a borehole suitable to supply clean, fresh water to the facility and the local community.

VIMA - VIMA is a non-government organisation based in Kondele; an extremely deprived area near Kisumu. VIMA offers support for orphaned and vulnerable children in the area through a number of foster homes and carers; offering personal care in a safe, family environment and concentrates on the educational and material support to allow these children to live as normal a life as possible.

KOP continues to fund food and household supplies through VIMA to specific foster homes and also additional support to educational programmes for orphans and vulnerable children.

KOP is piloting a new scheme, HealthStart. HealthStart is an innovative and unique school health and nutrition programme designed to improve child health and education outcomes for school children in Kenya. Working with government partners and with guidance from WHO and UNICEF, HealthStart will save children’s lives by reducing disease and malnutrition, improving education and child development and help to break the cycle of poverty.

Having heard from friends who have previously volunteered with KOP it sounds like a fantastic cause that I couldn't wait to get involved with!

So please dig deep and donate however much you can!

Thanks for reading :)