Tumaini Rescue Centre
View ProjectFebruary 2019 Update - Tumaini
Current Developments & Activities
Tumaini rescue home has been blessed with sufficient farming land, a conducive environment for farming, and plenty of water from the home’s borehole and fresh water from the county government. The home is operating one greenhouse where tomatoes, spinach, coriander leaves, capsicum pepper, and peas are planted. There is also a vegetable garden where kale and traditional vegetables that are rich in iron and vitamins are planted. The home has three cows which produce enough milk for children’s tea. The rescue home has five acres of land where maize, bananas, and fodder for the dairy cows are planted. When there is sufficient rainfall and the correct seeds and fertilizer are used, the land gives the home over 7,200 kilograms of maize - enough fodder for the dairy cows and surplus for sale!
Tumaini Resuce Centre is located on the outskirts of Kitale which has a large number of street children who find their way to Kitale due to insecurity in the neighboring communities of Turkana and Pokot. Most of the children are not able to depend on their families and eventually end up on the streets of Kitale where they beg for food and spend cold nights on the verandahs of shops in the town. Initially the home used to rescue street boys only, but due to the increase in the number of street girls in the last five years, the home began to rescue girls as well.
Future Plans
Due to the government’s policy on the operation of children’s homes in Kenya, the rescue home is strengthening the capacity of the community to care for children. This has led to increased community training to empower the community to take care of the children. Due to the large number of street children in Kitale, the rescue home plans to partner with other organizations that rescue street children, like Undugu Society, to do advocacy in Trans-Nzoia County and to lobby the government to actively participate in addressing the plight of street children.
The rescue home will act as a safety net to rescue the increasing number of street children and work on a plan to reintegrate them back to the community after addressing the issues that led to the children being on the streets. The rescue home will also be partnering with relevant government departments to ensure that street children are reunited with their families and taken back to school.
For Reference
AIC Tumaini Youth Centre is located on the outskirts of Kitale Town one kilometer from the junction of Eldoret/Kisumu Highway. The centre was started in 1994 by the AIC Church as a rescue centre for rehabilitation of street children. In 1996 the center was supported by AIC Child Care after getting funding from a Dutch organization called Red een Kind. The centre later received orphaned and vulnerable children from Kodich Children’s Home in West Pokot that was closed due to insecurity and lack of sufficient water.
Currently the centre has 45 children in primary and secondary institutions. Out of the 45 children, 25 children are rescue children and live at the home.
