The Rehema Daycare, School and Orphan Center
(Korogocho slum of Nairobi)

Update, January 2011. Dear friends, below is an e-mail I received recently from Father Erastus. I already decided to sponsor Ritah's tuition fees. Are you interested to help another one of these bright students? The amount for one student per year is only $455. Even if you can only donate $20....$50....$100...any amount will help them. This is also an excellent gift for your friends and loved ones, to send a promising and smart student to a good high school. You can send donations to Rehema via us (click here) or via AYA http://allforyouth.org/HowtoHelp.html You can find Rehema's most recent newsletter (December 2010) with inspiring stories by clicking here. Many thanks in advance! Koen Dear Koen, I do hope that you are enjoying the festive season like us here. We are doing well in almost everything God has alway been their for us. The children at our home enjoyed Christmas and are looking forward to a blessed New year. The primary final national exams were out yesterday and was received with jubilation especially for the children in our home for they achieved marks that will earn them a chance in high schools. the following are some of the children within the center who performed well: Samuel Eshuchi: 328 marks, Ritah Anindo: 316 marks, Jonathan Atemo: 309 marks, Boniface Joseph: 327 marks, Titus Kithimba: 284 marks and Helen Omukhango: 263.  The Estimated school fees per child is Kshs. 35,000.00 [U.S dollars 455]. The challenge now is on our side to ensure that they progress to high school. At the moment we do not have anything for this, that is why we would just ask you to join us in prayers for God's providence. Happy New year and prosperous 2011. Rev. Erastus Omukhango

 

July 2, 2010: An emergency request for help via our partner organization AYA (Alliance for Youth Achievement) which introduced us to Rehema: Dear Friends of Rehema School and Orphanage, Two weeks ago, while the children of the Rehema Orphanage were eating at the school, thieves broke into the home and stole all of their mattresses, blankets, and sheets. Korogocho is an extremely poor and violent area where people are desperate enough to steal anything they can get their hands on. The mattresses are twin-size pieces of foam that can be easily moved. The children are now sharing some very old and worn mattresses and a few blankets. We want to do what we can to help Pastor Erastus purchase new bedding and make the home more secure. Their needs are as follows: 14 Mattresses @ $38 each= 532 14 Blankets@ $9 each=$126 28 Sheets@ $3.50 each=$98 Replacement of broken window $180 Total to replace stolen items and window=$936 We would also like to contribute towards the salary of a watchman so this does not happen again. The monthly pay is $75/month. We have all been hit hard by the economy problems and we currently don’t even have enough in our general fund to cover these needs, so we really need your help. Anything you can do would be helpful. You can follow this link to see how to contribute through AYA http://allforyouth.org/HowtoHelp.html. I have also copied the email from Pastor Erastus below. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions. Sincerely, Alison Johnston Mistak The Alliance for Youth Achievement June 14, 2010: Dear Alison, Receive greetings from me here at Rehema Centre. Thanks for your concern and also taking your time to reply my message. The thieves got away with 14 mattresses, 14 blankets and 28 sheets. They also took text books that were used by the pupils to do homework and studies. Also cooking utensils were broken. The incident occurred at 7:30 PM. Water supply was cut by the water company for repair within the area so the children were to take their meals and bath at the school centre. Coincidentally, the watchman had left as he wanted an increment of salary which we could not implement at the moment as we were having financial constrains which even had made us to reduce the number of staffs to cut the running costs. At the meantime, the children are using some few old mattresses and blankets where they have to share three per each mattress and blanket. Otherwise, we trust God who begun this work. He will see as through this awkward predicament. Yours Rev. Erastus Omukhango

 

What is Rehema?

The Rehema Daycare, School and Orphan Center is a registered Community Based Organization (CBO) operating in Korogocho slums, Nairobi, Kenya.

The organization is committed to supporting destitute children in the society, including orphans, street children, and those from extremely poor families. Rehema provides them with to daily meals, basic primary education, and vocational training. The organization currently feeds and educates 600 children, using funds sourced from its income generating projects, support from well-wishers, and the Rehema Christian Fellowship Church, a religious ministry that was founded in the slum.

History of Rehema:

Rehema was established in 1993, as a social responsibility of the church. By then, it was simply a feeding program, catering for 20 children from disadvantaged families in the neighborhoods. By mid 1993, the number of children was growing rapidly, thereby forcing the church to introduce an education program. The very first program was that of the baby class, which was sustained for four years because of lack of funds to expand it to class one. Currently, Rehema operates to class eight, and offers vocational training to some students who are otherwise unable to pursue further education.

Key Objectives of Rehema:

1. To rehabilitate street children in the Korogocho slum by introducing them to formal education.
2. To care for orphans by accommodating them in the society and providing them with basic necessities including food, basic education and love.
3. To introduce destitute children to income-generating activities apart from giving them formal basic education.

Click on this videoclip (recorded September 18, 2007) to experience a visit to Rehema:

 

 

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Income-Generating Projects of Rehema:

The organization is involved in income-generating activities such as tailoring (including sewing machines), poultry farming, mushroom farming and maize farming on leased pieces of land in Kitale, Western Kenya. It is through these projects that the organization generates most of its income. Poultry-rearing for layers and broilers contributes a lot to the payment of staff members, while maize- and bean-farming contributes a lot towards the feeding program.

In 2008, Kenya has suffered severe post-election violence. Many have lost their lives and homes, and many others have been displaced. This has suddenly increased the number of children who came to seek shelter at Rehema. In addition, because many shops in the slums have been burnt down, there has been a shortage of food. Because food has to be brought in from further away, this increases the costs. In addition 30 bags of maize and 10 bags of beans of the foods that were stored in Kitale (West-Kenya) as part of the income-generating program have been lost, which endangered the nutritional program. A batch of 200 chicks that was raised as part of the income-generating activities was lost because there was nothing to feed them.
Accordingly, Rehema can use your help! You can make a difference, so please contact us.

Contact information of Rehema (Nairobi):

Father Erastus Omukhango Rehema Day Care and Orphans Centre
P.O Box 53334 - 00200
Nairobi, Kenya
TeleFax: 254 Ð 788653
Mobile phone: 0722 - 853265
Email: rehemacentre@yahoo.com or erastusomu@yahoo.com

How you can help Rehema

If you live in the USA, you can make tax-deductible donations via these two 501(c)3 organizations:

• Send a check, made payable to Sahaya International (with mention: Rehema-Kenya) to:
  Sahaya International, Inc.
  c/o Koen Van Rompay
  2949 Portage Bay Avenue, Apartment #195
  Davis, CA 95616
  USA
  Phone (evenings): 530-756-9074
  kkvanrompay@ucdavis.edu
  www.sahaya.org

• You can also contribute via our sister organization, Alliance for Youth Achievement (www.allforyouth.org).

If you live in Europe you can also donate to Rehema via Sahaya International.eu

Individuals or organizations outside of USA/Europe can also send money directly to these programs (see address listed above).

We thank you tremendously for your support!!