Location
On the eastern coast of Africa, in the country of Kenya, in the Nyanza Province, in the Siaya district, in the Wagai Division, in the N.W. Gem Location, in the Sirembe sub-location, in the Hundro Village lies the property where Restore Humanity wants to help start an orphanage. This is in the southwest corner of Kenya, near the border of Uganda.
The Opot family, who Sarah Fennel (Founder of Restore Humanity) has been very close to for the last seven years, has offered a building that is on their property to work with Restore Humanity and start the orphanage. The orphanage will be called “The James Christopher Opot Center for Children” named after the late James Opot who built the building that we will be renovating for the center, which is also on his property. He was a man that spent his life helping his community, so there couldn’t be a better name for the center. Restore Humanity is honored to be working with his incredibly loving family to uplift this community and bring honor to his name.
The James Christopher Opot Children’s Centre is the foundational project of Restore Humanity. It has provided medical care as well emotional, psychological, and educational support in a safe and stable home environment for the 10 orphans who have resided there for the last year. During that time there has been tremendous and demonstrable improvement made in the lives and well-being of these children. We attribute this success in large measure to our holistic approach to health.
In July 2011 we moved in 3 brothers: Elvis, Austin, and Clinton. Our family now has 13 children we will increase that to 15 by years end. We plan to reach our maximum number of 20 in 2012. Our focus is provide the immediate and long term care for our children at JCO, but we are also expanding our reach to empower the community to better care for the other children in need through our project “Mobilize Sirembe.”
Current Situation
Kenya’s population has tripled over the past 30 years, leading to increasing pressure on natural resources, a widening income gap and rising poverty levels that erode gains in education, health, food security, employment and incomes. The causes of rural poverty include:
- Low agricultural productivity, exacerbated by land degradation and insecure land tenure
- Unemployment and low wages
- Difficulty in accessing financing for self-employment
- Poor governance
- Bad roads
- High costs of health and education
- HIV/AIDS
Kenya Statistics
- Population: over 41 million
- Only 3 million have electricity
- 1.7 million orphans owing to all causes
- Estimated 1.1 million orphans (0-17 years of age) due to AIDS (UNAIDS, 2006)
- 1 in 15 adults is infected with HIV
- 500-700 Kenyans die each day of AIDS
Nyanza Province Statistics
- Population: 5 million people
- 63% living under $1 per day
- 33.2% of the national total of orphans in Kenya reside in Nyanza (WHO, 2005)
It is estimated that in the Nyanza Province of Kenya there are as many as half a million orphans. They constitute roughly half of all the children in this area. A recent report indicates that at least 33% of these children are malnourished. In Nyanza, 1 in 7 people are HIV positive and 4 in 10 children under 5 have malaria parasites in their blood. In Kenya, HIV is the leading cause of death among children and 36,000 children die of malaria each year. Without proper medical care and treatment these orphans and vulnerable children will continue to die at an alarming rate.
The extreme impoverishment in this area has resulted in a widespread lack of footwear (among other problems) and it is estimated that “jiggers” affect 10 million Kenyans. A “jigger” is a tiny parasitic flea that burrows into the soles of unprotected feet and devours the muscle tissue. This causes debilitating pain that sometimes prevents people from being able to walk. If untreated they can eventually result in open wounds that easily spread further disease and infection.
The ailments these children suffer from and the impediments to their health are not limited to the physical. Each of these orphans has been traumatized emotionally and psychologically due to the loss of their parents, which leads to a host of other problems. Without the guidance, structure, and support that having a family can provide, even if they survive into adulthood, they become increasingly likely to perpetuate the brutal cycle of poverty that they were born into. In order for these children to grow into reasonably well-adjusted productive members of their community in the future their emotional needs must be addressed in the present
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