Garba Tulla Children’s Home

Kenya

National Council of Churches of Kenya

2011 – 2012 Report

The Garba Tulla Children’s Home was one of two children’s homes sponsored by the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), a longtime partner of Global Ministries. Established in 1970, it was located in the northeast area of Nairobi, in the Garba Tulla Division of the Isiolo District. After the region experienced a severe drought in the 1960s and the effects of a war left many children orphaned and destitute, the Garba Tulla Home was established to respond to the needs of the children who have difficulty coping with the harsh climate and the nomadic tendencies of the population in this semi-arid area of Kenya. In total, the Home has been able to support more than 1,500 children over the years in times of extreme difficulty.  Children are served without regard to their religion, race, or gender; the only guiding principle has been to raise disciplined and self-reliant citizens.

In 2011 the housing of these vulnerable children was changed after the government in Kenya produced guidelines on the transitioning of children from homes like Garba Tulla into living in families.   During this transitional period, school fees and an allowance for upkeep was provided for those in elementary and secondary schools.  Once the transition was completed, NCCK formalized its Scholarship Program for Children in Need, with the mandate of promoting access to quality education for needy and vulnerable children.  This program ensures the retention of sponsored students from Garba Tulla in institutions of learning to enable them to complete a specific category of education with minimum disruption.

In 2012, the scholarship program continued to facilitate fee payments for needy and motivated students.  During this period, the NCCK’s regional organizations coordinated the selection of needy, enthusiastic students for the 2012 intake where a total of 54 students were admitted into the scholarship program.  Twenty three students of these students were previously housed in the NCCK children’s homesm, including Garba Tulla so that these children continued to receive financial assistance to pursue their education.  Global Ministries donations to the Garba Tulla Home during this period were allocated to the new scholarship program, and Global Ministries continues to support this aspect of the ministry of the NCCK.

Global Ministries celebrates the long-standing ministry of the Garba Tulla Children’s Home and its capacity, given the national situation and new governmental requirements, to transform itself into a new expression of the National Council of Churches of Kenya that provides scholarship assistance for disenfranchised children in need.  Global Ministries welcomes future gift for this work under the title NCCK Scholarship Program for Children in Need.