Children's Homes
Out of our experience running orphan feeding programmes in Northern Kenya—at Archers Post and later at Wamba—grew the clear realisation of a need for permanent homes for some children.
A number of those on our feeding programmes were living either in homes without an adult, or were living with grandparents who were not physically capable or financially able to support the children.
Providing a good meal every day to needy local children, through our homes, is a door into the community and remains our first step into any new area. At Archers Post we ran a feeding programme for at maximum 70 children, for example, from 2005 to 2019 in the grounds of AIC church. Currently 2026 we have a feeding programme for 65 children at Dabel close to Moyale in Marsabit County.
We work closely with children’s officers, local administrations, churches, schools and hospitals to identify the most vulnerable. When necessary we can provide permanent accommodation and support, bringing children to our homes at Ngaremara, and Wamba or boarding them at Ndikir.
We occasionally have been able to rescue new babies from some of the extreme cultural practices of a few of the pastoralist tribes and rescue older children abandoned due to the stigma of HIV.
We are continuing in 2026 to review the impact of the National Care Reform Strategy for Children in Kenya and how we need to adjust our operations to comply with changes in Government policy.
Working in conjunction with the LaRoche family from California, USA—who have been caring for a boy with physical and learning disabilities for a number of years—we have supported them to build a home for a few children with physical and learning disabilities at Marsabit. Building work commenced in November 2015 and the facility (Honey Hill – see page aside) became operational in October 2016 with the admission of a second child. In 2017 we funded the installation of a Biogas unit at Honey Hill.
In November 2021 we commenced a new feeding programme for 35 children at a primary school in Dabel, close to Moyale in Marsabit County. The programme is managed by Fred and Emily from Western Kenya who have recognised a call on their lives to serve the pastoralists. The children orphans and from very poor circumstances have been malnourished and the breakfast, mid-morning porridge and main hot complete meal improves their health and their ability to perform at school. In June 2022 we agreed an increase to 65 children and provided some support to build a kitchen and finish three classrooms which were in use but only partially built. We are also supporting the 10 neediest with school fees. In 2025 following an inspection by the Education Department which required repairs to the fabric and an additional classroom we financed repairs and repainting inside and out and a new classroom.
The more vulnerable children in our homes at Ngaremara and Wamba, the boarding we sponsor at Ndikir and the new feeding programme at Dabel were covered by the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). Currently we are investigating with SHA (successors to NHIF) if they will run a similar scheme which met most of the expense of treatment in government-run hospitals, and some but not all outpatients attendance to hospital, clinic or general practitioner, or treatment in independent hospitals.
Ngaremara
In 2004 seven and a half acres of land was donated by Isiolo County Council for the building of a nursery school. The school opened in 2005 and within five years had grown into Ngaremara Children’s Home which was accepted for registration by the Government as a Charitable Children’s Institution in September 2013.
We have 35 children in the home in 2026, and accommodation to increase if there is a demand. In November 2015 we admitted two babies, born in October and a third born in January 2016 all rescued from the extremes of some tribal cultural practices. We also run a support programme by providing a midday meal for local orphans who do not need to come into the home. The home is managed by Martha, supported by Patricia and Rose. Esther and Doreen our administrative arm are based on the site and support Martha in the home. It is managed in conjunction with the home at Wamba. Ngaremara specialises on the younger children from babies usually up to Class 2 after which they move as young pre-teenagers to Wamba. The specialisation makes best of the investment and care requirements of the children.
Ngaremara is Kindfund’s main base in Kenya, so we have developed flexible accommodation for running Bible camps and hosting visitors to Kindfund projects. On the site we also have a nursery school for the local community (with capacity for up to 60 children), our main food and general stores, a workshop, a garage and an inspection pit for our vehicles.
We currently rely on solar panels to generate electricity at Ngaremara.
Our water supply at Ngaremara comes from a 45ft deep hand-dug borehole and Afridev hand pump which is used around the clock to serve the needs of the home and of our neighbours. We have delayed investment in a solar pump pending a decision on mains electricity. Currently in 2026 we are being supported by our neighbour with water from a solar powered borehole.
In 2010 we took advantage of the growth of Kindfund and the diversity of its work to design a training programme for young people to learn new skills. We recruited six 15 to 18-yr-old girls who had just completed primary education, but had insufficient marks to warrant sponsorship to secondary education. Of the six girls originally recruited, three completed the programme and two are now working for Kindfund as managers. When appropriate some of our young people having left primary school are being trained in the homes.
We employ 14 staff at Ngaremara. All staff are registered with the KRA, NSSF and SHA
- Orphans
- 60-bed home
- a nursery school
- Secondary and primary school support programme
- Secondary school bursaries
- Widows & elderly when required
- Kindfund’s main base in Kenya
Wamba
In 2008 – on five acres of land donated by Samburu County Council – we built the first permanent home for 48 of the most desperate orphans at Wamba, where many are the innocent victims of AIDS. The first 12 children entered the home in October 2008. The home achieved registration as a Charitable Children’s Institution in March 2014
This home is run in conjunction with the Ngaremara home taking the children at Class 3 from Ngaremara so that we can focus our attention here on teenagers running appropriate activities for them. There is now excellent accommodation for the c.70 children and young people, of whom several are HIV positive. In 2013 facilities were further expanded with additional accommodation, a common-purpose hall, new kitchen, office and store. From our base in the home we occasionally run a support programme for some local orphans and the very poor, by providing meals. The local Child Officer regularly makes short term placements in the home while dealing with early marriage and educational problems.
In 2013 we started our own Kindfund Nursery School to facilitate those children from the home who require that level of education. In 2016 we started a private primary school for our own children and added additional buildings to accommodate classes 1 to 5. We discontinued the school in 2023 and our primary and JSS school children attend Milimani Primary close by. Others are attending a spread of secondary schools in the area and at Maralal.
Mains electricity was brought to Wamba and in 2013 we completed the supply to the home. Water is taken from the town supply with a 30,000 litre buffer on site, in three raised storage tanks. In October 2017 we increased water storage capacity to 90,000 litres by the installation of six additional 10k litre tanks to harvest rainwater and in 2025 we added a further two 10k tanks (storage now 110k litres) and catchment from one of the two bungalows on site. Despite this water remains a major problem as the town system has deteriorated in recent years to the extent that we are required to further supplement by the purchase of water from bowsers in the period immediately before the rains.
We employ 14 permanent staff at Wamba . The home is managed by Nzau assisted by Constant and Kiende.
- Orphans
- 70-bed home
- Meals programme
- Nursery School
- Primary school
- Secondary school bursaries
Ndikir
The village of Ndikir, with a population of 1200, is located 18kms to the north-west of Laisamis, on the edge of the Chablis desert in Marsabit Province. The area is remote although infrastructure has shown some improvement in the last 15 years.
Kindfund had been instrumental in developing a nursery and primary school and in 2014 built it’s first permanent standard classroom accommodation to fulfill a need in this community. We have helped support the quest for clean water. Again in 2015 we took the diesel generator for refurbishment at an engineering works in Meru.
We are supporting husband and wife Raphael and Lucy in their desire to bring the Gospel, and minister to the needs of the people of Ndikir. This includes a small sponsored primary school with a boarding department.
The Council in Marsabit has allocated two ten-acre plots at Ndikir for Kindfund to further develop the boardinf department and the primary school. In 2016 we commenced the expansion of the boarding department by moving to our new 10 acre site close to the main road. In June and July we erected nine steel buildings, five to accommodate up to 28 children in the boarding department and four for Raphael and his family on an adjacent site. In July we began to manufacture 3000 concrete blocks in preparation for an extension to the class room/dining room to incorporate a food preparation area, kitchen, cooking area, food store and office, shower cubicles, clothes washing facilities and a tower for our two 10,000 litre water tanks. We have been purchasing water at a cost of 25,000ksh for a bowser of 20,000 litres. The extension completed in January 2017 and provides excellent facilities for living. In September 2017 we installed two eco cookers in the kitchen at the boarding department at a cost of 135,000 ksh.
In 2026 we have recently installed a further 3 steel rooms to be used as classrooms
At present we support 10 jobs at Ndikir.
- Supporting a 28-bed boarding department with opportunity for further expansion
- Sponsoring a nursery and primary school
- Supporting water supply
Kambi ya Juu (Visually Impaired) and Isiolo School for Hearing Impaired
In 2006 in God’s grace we became aware of Kambi ya Juu children’s home near Isiolo which required support. Kambi ya Juu is a small home for blind and visually impaired children which has benefited in the last few years from an overseas development programme to improve the infrastructure. Unfortunately they still struggle with running costs and we support them directly with supplies for 20 children. The home is connected to the local primary school which runs an integrated education programme for the visually impaired.
Also since 2005 we have been supporting children from the pastoralist communities to enable them to benefit from a primary education at Isiolo School for the hearing impaired. We are currently 2002 supporting 2 children at the school although in the past we have supported as many as 11 at one time. A few have been assisted to secondary level.
We also arranged for an Audiometer donated by a Health Trust in Northern Ireland to be delivered to the school.
