‘I arrived at Naivasha and took the long dusty road up to the shelter. It led me up through the dry hills away from the town centre. Upon arriving I was greeted with smiling faces and an abundance of activity. There were trees and plants growing and flowers too. It was a home to many young children. I was shown chicken pens and workshops, classrooms and dormitories. The feel of Romilly's shelter had a very creative spirit to it and homely too. The boys were busy making furniture to sell at the local market and beading away in the beading workshop making all sorts of animals and pieces of jewellery. The classrooms were full of young eager students with maps painted on the walls and books on the shelves. I felt privileged to have been able to visit this very inspiring project. So much has been has been done and it was amazing to see this happening in Naivahsa, Kenya . What impressed me was that these children were being taught skills that will give them opportunities and a hope for a better future.'
HISTORY: Thanks to the great generosity of Romilly's supporters her foundation was able fund the construction of a dormitory, which cost £33,700 and was opened with the rest of the site in June 2003. It comprises 370 m2 of accommodation: 2 dormitories, 2 ablutions blocks, a store room, matron's apartment, a laundry, the bunk beds and fitted cupboards. The shelter is managed by Debbie Case, one of the trustees of the Naivasha Children's Trust, which was set up in 2001 by local Naivasha people to administer the land and facilities that were being donated to the project. Without Debbie, her team, and Steve Thompson who supervised the works, the project could not have developed in the wonderful way in which it has.
The Naivasha project originally evolved from a plan put forward by the YMCA Kabati branch in 1999 to run a day care centre for street children. Romilly's Foundation heard about the plan that year and early in 2000, having seen the site agreed to pay for a teacher's salary, suggested the construction of a shelter, which it offered to pay for. The scheme was administered by the East African Women's League.
Egal and Melissa Elfzouaty and their business associates at Panda Flowers very generously dedicated 10 acres of their farm to the project.
The local Hindu temple built staff accommodation. Mitsubishi built classrooms and a library. Thanks to Grimbergen Noordemer there is now a carpentry workshop. Grimbergen Noordemer with Hobra Manufacturing are also sponsoring the construction of a metal work and mechanics workshop.
There is a garden in which children and staff grow a wide variety of vegetables. Rabbits, poultry, and cows add variety to the diet. Maize is grown for the cows. The surplus eggs are sold, as well as surplus chicken carcasses. The boys also design and make bead sculptures and necklaces for sale.
The shelter currently lodges 58 boys and has a staff of 8. The children are taught all the normal curriculum subjects which will allow them to join the state education system. In addition they are taught carpentry, metal working and mechanics. Children leaving the shelter find jobs locally.
Money is always required for salaries for staff, a teacher currently costs about £2700 p.a. In addition to salaries for teaching staff it is necessary to pay for electricity, food and security.
Visitors report a well run shelter with happy children. The shelter does great work and needs your support. The children are at the shelter as a consequence of tribal violence, aids, social dislocation and poverty. The life they faced on the streets is terrible and terrifying. On the streets they suffered disease, malnutrition and every kind of abuse. The work of the shelter that Romilly's supporters have made possible makes a huge difference to their lives.
Read Debbie Case's 2010 report here