Garba Tulla Children’s Home

Kenya

The National Council of Churches of Kenya

The Garba Tulla Children’s Home is an ongoing project sponsored by the National Council of Churches of Kenya, a long time partner of Global Ministries. Established in 1970, it is located in the North East of Nairobi, in the Garba Tulla Division of Isiolo District.After the region experienced a severe drought in the late sixties and the effects of a war that left many children orphaned and destitute, the Children’s 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. Currently, due to wars in the neighboring countries of Somalia and Ethiopia and high levels of poverty due to the weaknesses in the regional economy, the number of destitute children has only increased. Over time, the Home has been able to support more than 1500 children in times of extreme difficulty without regard to the children’s religion, race or gender; the only guiding principle has been to raise disciplined and self-reliant citizens. The Home, run by a staff of six and a six-member management committee drawn from the community and other stakeholders, provides the children with the following:

• Shelter and clothing
• Food
• Education
• Counseling services to prepare them for adulthood
• Spiritual Nourishment
• Activities and opportunities that enable them to acquire skills leading to self-reliance

Due to high inflationary trends, the general economic stagnation in Kenya, and the higher-than-average poverty levels in the Garba Tulla area, the demand for services and the cost of running the Home have been escalating. There are times when the National Council of Churches of Kenya is unable to maintain the children in the Home at acceptable standards. The Garba Tulla Children’s Home is a very important and much-needed initiative by the National Council of Churches of Kenya to take children off the streets and to share God’s love with them, while preparing them for a productive future.