Kenya has long been affected by seasons of drought or locusts leading to a lack of food and increased prices which puts many at risk of starvation. Kenya is still feeling the ripple effects of the civil violence that broke out in 2008 when political violence left thousands of children orphaned, abandoned, homeless or vulnerable. Throughout the country, extreme poverty prohibits thousands of children from accessing an education, leaving them vulnerable to child labour, child marriage and stuck in the same cycle of poverty.
Kenya
Our work in Kenya
The Open Arms project is joining the Stand by Me family in January 2022 - read more. Open Arms International was founded in 2006 to meet the immediate needs of orphaned and abandoned children in western Kenya who were suffering from a wide variety of life-threatening diseases. After political violence in 2008 left thousands of children orphaned, abandoned and homeless, the project grew to support more children. Today, the Open Arms Village is home to over 130 children with 10 purpose-built family homes.
2006
A 52 acre plot of land was identified, purchased, and dedicated as the site for the Open Arms Village in western Kenya.
2008
We welcome our first 18 children into the Open Arms family. We also established a feeding programme in local slums.
2009
We welcomed 11 more children and 2 babies into the Open Arms family and we launched the Open Arms Academy.
2010
We welcomed 18 more vulnerable children and opened our pre-school. We began construction on two more family homes and guesthouses.
2011
We opened new Baby Home and took in 10 babies in need. We completed construction of a 5th family home and a playground within the Village.
2012
Our feeding programme reached 180 children in local slums. Over 130 students attended our Open Arms Academy and over 80 children had a home in our village.
2018
Our medical clinics treated over 10,000 people. Our silo programme was launched, providing hundreds of families in the community safe food storage.
2019
With over 150 children living in our Village with 10 family homes, our oldest children began graduating school and university.
2020
We navigated through the Covid pandemic without a single case of Covid. Our farm provided food for hundreds of families in our community.
2021
Over 100 families have been given care packages to help them through the pandemic. 20 students are attending College or University this year.
2022
We welcomed a further 80 children into our Open Arms Academy to provide them with a life-changing education. The project is now caring for 330 children!
Meshack, Manu, Shanice
These are our kids in Kenya. They're loving, funny and playful. We love watching them grow.
Meshack is part of a big family. They all live together in a tiny mud hut.
Their home had barely enough space for them to all sleep alongside their mother. For breakfast all they would have is black tea. Meshack's mother worked all hours of the day but could barely afford to feed all her children. But now Meshack attends our Open Arms Academy. He receives breakfast and lunch every day. He loves to play football with his friends and teach his younger siblings what he learns at school.
Manu was born prematurely and abandoned at a local hospital by his mother.
Doctors feared that Manu’s start to life would have long-lasting impacts and as a toddler he was unable to perform basic motor functions. Manu was rescued and welcomed into our Open Arms Village where he is now cared for by loving house parents and given all he needs to grow and thrive.
Last year he started school at our Open Arms Academy and he is even one of the brightest students in his class. Manu loves to brighten up the room by telling jokes to his friends and making them laugh.
Shanice lives with her mother and two brothers in a small two roomed house. They have no running water, no electricity and use old sacks as window covers to keep out the cold.
When Shanice’s mother cannot find work the family go to bed hungry, not knowing when their next meal will be.
Having seen Shanice’s difficult home situation, we welcomed her and her brothers into the Open Arms Academy where they now receive an education, healthcare, food and family support. Shanice is a confident young girl and a leader at heart who speaks her mind. Despite the hardships she has faced, Shanice continues to smile each day.