About us
Children of Strength (Watoto Wenye Nguvu in Swahili) was created as a means to help children in the Kilimambogo area of Kenya, about 60 miles northeast of Nairobi, overcome the devastating affects on their lives from the HIV/AIDS epidemic and widespread poverty. The program supports approximately 400 orphans and other vulnerable children through individual sponsorships which provides food, clothing, education, and medical care.
Personal care and attention is given to each sponsored child to ensure that he or she receives all care necessary to live a healthy, secure life and to offer opportunity for education.
We also support and direct a feeding program in nine schools in the Kilimambogo area. Currently, we serve over 5,500 children a noontime meal each school day. This program provides an essential service not only to the children but to the community as a whole.
Our goal is to educate and equip this generation of young people to understand their responsibility in their world and give them opportunities to make a better life for themselves, their families and their community.
Staff
Children of Strength works closely with Watoto Wenye Nguvu, an NGO in Kenya to oversee the various programs we offer. The staff of WWN includes a director, administrator, accountant, farm director, house parents, social workers and cooks. They are a remarkable team of devoted people who are deeply committed to improving the lives of these children.
On the American side, we have about 20 people involved strictly on a volunteer basis. Each person donates his or her time to overseeing various aspects of the program, from sponsorship coordinators to collecting clothing to take to Kenya. Each person traveling to Kenya pays for his or her own expenses personally.
History
In 2004, while on a visit to Kenya arranged by Dr. Michael Sinclair, a group from a church in San Francisco met Elizabeth Gitau who was a vice principle at a small school in Kilimambogo. For several years she had been caring for a number of children who had been left orphaned by the death of either one or both parents from AIDS. No one else was willing to take on the responsibility of caring for these young children. Ms. Gitau brought them into her home, clothed them, fed them and loved them. But as the number of children left orphaned in her country increased she recognized that the situation was beyond her abilities to care for even just those children in her area. She began to pray that someone would come to help these children.
Overcome by the need but impressed by Ms. Gitau’s efforts to care for these children the group returned to San Francisco with a desire to help in some way but not sure what could be done. Norman Smith, who was the pastor of the church and part of this group, met with Dr. Sinclair to discuss ways in which they could assist Elizabeth in her work. Dr. Sinclair had already been working in some of the slum areas of Nairobi trying to find legitimate charities who focused on the AIDS crisis. He had made several connections with other non-profit organizations and NGO’s working with street children. With his assistance, Watoto Wenye Nguvu – Children of Strength in Swahili, was formed and a sponsorship program was established to assist orphans and other children made vulnerable by the AIDS crisis in Kenya.
Contact Us
E-mail: info@childrenofstrength.org
Phone: 415-531-3809
Mailing address:
Children of Strength
615 Yale Street
San Mateo, CA 94402