CHILDREN’S HOME

The Project     Karibu Kenya! (Welcome to Kenya).  Located approximately 100 miles northwest of Nairobi, and about 8,000 feet elevation is the Kinangop Plateau.  In 1999, after visiting Kenya, an American from Texas established a non-profit (NGO) foundation to provide housing for Kenyan orphans.  Sub-Saharan Africa has more than 49 million orphans, nearly 4 million of those are in the country of Kenya.  Approximately 700 children are orphaned daily in Kenya.  It is a problem without resolution, and the government is not equipped to deal with the problem, it is overwhelming.  By 2003 the initial facilities were constructed, and the foundation welcomed its first ten children.  Ten years later they were housing over 40 children and needed to expand their facilities to accommodate approximately 75 children.

New dormitories were needed for older children, elementary-aged children, and pre-school aged children.  The kitchen / dining hall and staff housing needed expansion as well.  Additionally, new classrooms were desired.  Infrastructure support for the desired expansion was a primary issue.  The 4-1/2 acre site had municipal power supply, a deep well for water and an on-site septic system.  It also had agricultural crops, some of which were shared with people in the village.  A master plan and feasibility studies would be prepared to show how the expansion could be developed.

Since funding for caregiving foundations such as this mostly comes from western countries, and primarily individual Americans, a bona fide development plan with estimated costs was necessary in order for the foundation to raise the financial means attendant to the desired expansion.  After ten days in-country and working at the project site our team concluded feasibility studies, site surveys, materials availability and preliminary design for the desired expansion.  Upon our return to the US, the master plan and final report were completed and the foundation was able to begin fund raising.

Roles     Greg was the volunteer architect on the team assembled by eMi (Engineering Ministries International), which has headquarters in Colorado Springs, CO.  The team also included other volunteer civil, electrical, and structural engineers along with the staff and interns of eMi.