When a child turns 18 it is always a pivotal point in their life. This is the age where one makes decisions which may build or be detrimental in their lives. Huruma Children’s home is no exception. When the first group of students graduated from high school, Mama Zipporah was in a dilemma because according to the law of Kenya, they were citizens but Mama felt in her heart that they were not yet fully equipped to be independent and responsible members of the society. She decided to start a transition program.
This being the pilot phase there were many challenges which included housing, provision of food, accountability in regards to behavior amongst others. During Mama’s fundraising trips, she got to meet Andra and they stroke a good relationship. Andra Good’s best friend, Leigh, passed away and this had a huge impact in her life. In remembrance of Leigh, she started sewing blankets nicknamed Blankies which had an encouraging quote and she would distribute to the needy for free, in remembrance of Leigh.
She was interested in knowing how the Home handles children who exit the Home. Mama told her about the pilot transition program and immediately Andra loved the idea and was ready to support it. She shared with a group of friends and together they decided to sell Blankies at an affordable rate to raise money for buying start-up items for the transition group. As time went on, the need for affordable housing was becoming more evident. Andra and her friends decided to fundraise for a piece of and where they would build the transition home.
This has become a reality and currently, there are four self-contained rooms that house four members per house. They are housed for one year before they join College. In addition, the group goes through a mandatory life skills class and to ensure that they apply it, they are encouraged to look for employment to enable them to pay a monthly rent of $10 per person, to help maintain the house. Due to the increasing number of young adults from the Home, more rooms.
Would you like to be the brick that impacts the course of the life of a child in the transition program? If yes, kindly click here on Mama Leigh’s website and get more information on how you can partner with us.