ElectricAid Project of the Month

Homes and hope for HIV/AIDS orphans in Kenya

Kenya orphan aid (KOA) is a small Irish charity with a big heart. They seek to serve the greatest victims of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, by housing and caring for abandoned HIV positive orphans in Kenya. These children are likely to be HIV+ since birth, and to have had their parents and other possible carers in their extended families die from AIDS.

KOA provides accommodation, education, and medical care for 150 children in their Nyumbani village complex, and a homebased care programme for 1,500 children in the slums of Nairobi. The needs are heart-breaking; they turn away an average of three HIV+ orphans every week.

ElectricAid came into contact with KOA through an approach for sponsorship from a Holy Faith, Clontarf school group travelling to work in Nyumbani. ElectricAid does not do individual sponsorships of this kind, but was anxious to help the project itself. KOA was building three more houses, each catering for 17 orphans and a house-mother in a family-type environment. These high-quality constructions were costed at €55,000 each.

ElectricAid's timely donation of €10,000 in February 2006 enabled the completion of the first house. 17 children moved in to the house on 22.12.2006 - and into a new life of home, security, education, medical care, perhaps most importantly, dignity and hope.

These are real children, among them Owen Mutsami (five), Caroline Akinyi (12 weeks), Mark Otieno (five), and Martin Murungaru (eight months).

On their behalf - thank you.

Electricaid Monthly Draw Winner

ElectricAid's winner of the month for May is Sarah Campbell, Retired, from Drogheda. Sarah wins a €500 shopping voucher which has been sponsored by the Executive Director, Group Finance.