...the 'Bella Ciao' (meaning 'beautiful welcome') drop-in centre and safe house premises which now provide a long-term safe haven for some of the world's most needy children living in the Kawangware slum in Nairobi, Kenya.
ANY donation will help and EVERY penny you donate will go directly towards the paying off the loan secured for the purchase of Bella Ciao. Symbolically:
Buy a brick: £10
Buy a door: £100
Buy a wall: £500
Buy a room: £2000
Kawangware Slum, which sits just outside of Nairobi, is home to more than 600,000 people who live in overcrowded shanty houses and filthy conditions. Residents live under the grip of extreme poverty, which makes life a constant struggle to survive. Without a stable home life, many children turn to the streets to escape neglect and physical/sexual abuse at home. Girls are often forced into the sex trade, and many boys join criminal gangs to get the sense of belonging they lack at home. In 2019, we partnered with RHYCO, a child welfare organisation in Kawangware, to support a drop-in centre that gave some of these vulnerable children a safe place away from the dangers of the street and the abuses of home life. The centre, which was originally based in small community-shared premises, provided nutritional support, education, mentorship, psychosocial support, and hygiene care.
In November 2020, RHYCO signed a 2-year lease for the secure exclusive-use Bella Ciao premises. Renovations and construction happened quickly, and the new drop-in centre and safe house opened its doors in January 2021. Bella Ciao currently supports 105 children and has capacity for more children at the drop-in centre and can provide respite accommodation for up to 20 children at the safe house, allowing RHYCO's work of transformation to continue and grow. This exciting, innovative and impactful project also accommodates the Joyful Hearts (Day) Centre supporting 9 children with cerebral palsy.
When RHYCO acquired the premises on a two-year fixed rent lease, we knew the renovations would increase the property's value, which at the end of the lease would likely lead the landlord to either a) increase the rent to a level RHYCO couldn't afford or, more likely b) sell the property to a new owner. To mitigate this risk, RHYCO included an option to buy the property at the pre-renovation price when the lease expired at the end of October 2022.The situation unfolded as expected, and buyers were knocking on the door with purchase offers. It was critical that we helped RHYCO exercise this option to purchase; if they had lost the property, the children and the community would have suffered a great loss.
The RHYCO leadership team is remarkable. They all grew up in Kawangware and have a heart for helping children rise above their challenges.
The cost to purchase the Safe House Compound was £236,000 which was paid on completion on 19 October 2022. We funded this project in collaboration with International Needs Canada, an organisation that shares our passion for these vulnerable children in Nairobi. At the time of completion we were £50,000 short of our share and a hugely generous supporter (who does not wish to be identified) kindly extended us an interest free loan repayable over 5 years.
Please consider leaving a legacy by helping us to pay off our purchase loan which has made Bella Ciao a permanent home for these children, allowing RHYCO the opportunity to deepen its impact, develop new programmes and protect its investment in the future of these children.
If funds raised exceed the outstanding Bella Ciao loan, the Trustees of Marafiki Trust will allocate the funds towards running costs and/or future projects at Bella Ciao.
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