Kinderhilfe Harambee e.V.
Lochnerstr. 17
53844 Troisdorf
Germany
Contact person: Tina Richter
+34 609464555
info@kinderhilfe-harambee.org
https://www.kinderhilfe-harambee.org/en
https://www.facebook.com/KH.Harambee/
Topics
- Social policy/disabled persons
- Educational policy/project
- Aid organization
- Volunteers are welcome.
About us
The purpose of the non-profit association “Kinderhilfe Harambee e.V.” is to support AIDS orphans and children with disabilities in Africa and Europe, to assist disadvantaged children in improving their living conditions, education, and medical care, and to empower them to help themselves.
This purpose is achieved primarily through donations and is used to establish and fund training centers, provide machinery and equipment, and hire instructors for vocational training for young people in Nairobi, Kenya.
The establishment of a physical therapy practice for the treatment and therapy of children with disabilities is financed by donations, including the provision of physical therapists and orthopedic or therapeutic aids for rehabilitation, as well as transportation.
The greatest challenge is to overcome the lack of access to basic needs, such as health and education.
All of our children and adolescents undergo medical checkups and, if HIV-positive, receive treatment. Medications are also provided.
For children who cannot be treated in Nairobi, we maintain contacts with clinics in Germany to enable these children to travel abroad for life-saving surgeries.
Our focus areas:
• Children with disabilities: We often deal with families who lock up their relatives, with children who have been expelled from institutions, and with cases of sexual abuse. Kenya is facing a wave of neglect and indifference. Day after day, cases of neglect and abuse occur. Autistic children chained in chicken coops, adolescents with epilepsy locked up in filthy huts, daughters raped by their fathers or neighbors. The positive developments in our district over the past few years demonstrate that awareness and education are the most effective measures to break this cycle and thus the only viable means of support. Through intensive support for affected families and advocacy within their social circles, we have ensured that they are once again treated with respect and recognized as equal members of society.
• Support for mothers: Almost always, mothers of children with disabilities are cast out by their clan and must struggle alone on the streets. In 95% of cases, fathers immediately leave the family because they cannot live with this shame. The therapy center supports these women by providing reliable full-day care for their children. Since the establishment of our tailoring workshop, some women have already completed free training as seamstresses, which greatly increases their chances of securing stable employment. Alternatively, we offer them the opportunity to work in the association’s own production facility. We produce common items such as bags, etc., and through their sale, we are able to pay our employees a wage. Expanding the tailoring training center is one of the association’s next goals, with the aim of integrating as many women as possible into permanent employment.
• School education: Of the approximately 60 children we care for, 36 are already enrolled in school. These schools are so-called “boarding schools,” which resemble private boarding schools. These schools are located in Kenya and are specifically designed for children with physical and mental disabilities, though they are also reserved for the upper class. All children are provided with school uniforms, which are now manufactured in our own tailor shop. Furthermore, we use our donations to fund casual clothing, mattresses for our children, and the necessary toiletries for daily school life. All schools are located in the outskirts of Nairobi and can be reached by car in about 2.5 hours. For the trips to school, we organize minibuses to handle transportation.
• Healthcare & Prevention: The children registered in the “Grünes Heim” project receive medical care. Regular medical checkups are vital for most of the children. Many children suffer from conditions such as epilepsy, and their medication must be constantly adjusted. For schoolchildren, medical check-ups take place during school breaks. For children with severe and multiple severe disabilities, we offer daily therapeutic sessions at the day center. Three times a week, a Kenyan occupational therapist comes to treat the children. After years of effort, we finally succeeded in 2019 in securing social insurance for the majority of our children. A marathon of bureaucracy lies behind us, but the benefit is clear. The association pays the monthly premiums per child, thereby guaranteeing medical care in state hospitals.
• Green Home: The “Green Home” project began in 2015 when we were able to purchase the first building with donations; it was renovated into an accessible therapy center—a model facility by Kenyan standards. In 2018, the legally acquired building was demolished due to arbitrary government action and corruption. Our organization is now once again operating out of rented spaces. It was not easy to find these spaces and convince the owners of our vision. While the spaces are safe, they are not barrier-free, and we have too little room. This is the basis for our vision of continuing the “Green Home” with a secure future. Our goal is a therapy and work center with a kitchen, specifically as a “Green Home” powered by renewable energy
• Harambee Children Therapy Center: Harambee Children Therapy Center is the name of the NGO, our non-profit association in Nairobi, Kenya. Founded in 2013 by Tina Richter, Alessa Richter, and Nikolas Ndiso. Nikolas Ndiso is “our man on the ground”; he handles all day-to-day tasks, from shopping to administration. Without establishing a local association, renting or purchasing space or property would not be feasible. The Kenyan association also enables us to apply for public funds for the children with disabilities involved in our projects or to enroll them in the state social security system.
Upon request, we can provide consulting services for other network participants, give a presentation, and share up-to-date technical information and contacts in our field of work.