“War, AIDS, and famine have brought to Africa an entirely new concept, children with no family members, no blood relatives, no extended family members. No elders to care for them, they are lost...”

WHAT BRINGS THE CHILDREN TO US

Children arrive at the Oasis of Peace orphanage following the loss of a parent(s)/caretaker(s). The reasons behind the loss vary: AIDS, extreme poverty, violence. Unfortunately, the trauma of such a loss is only further magnified by the circumstances surrounding it, which too often are witnessed first-hand by the child. 

While great strides have been made in the battle against HIV, Kenya still has the fourth largest epidemic in the world. As of 2015, 660,000 children were recorded as being orphaned by AIDS.

While new infections have fallen by a third in East and Southern Africa over the last six years, particularly among young women and girls, the millions of adults already infected continues to result in orphaned children.

REFERENCES

1. http://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/20170720_Data_book_2017_en.pdf

2. https://www.avert.org/professionals/history-hiv-aids/overview

3. http://www.missionariesofafrica.org/articles/sr/sr-spr2003.html

THE ORPHANAGE: AN OASIS OF PEACE

The orphanage is located in Gachoka, a rural area in sub-Saharan Kenya. Gachoka is near the small, active city of Embu, about 2 hours northeast of Nairobi. The people of Gachoka have a deep faith in God and are described as friendly and easy-going. 

The orphanage is blessed to be located on eleven acres of land on the only paved road in the area. Because of the paved roads and close proximity of two good schools, it is easy for the children to walk to school. Most of the area, Mbeere, is without water or electricity; but by the Grace of God, our founders found a piece of land with easy access to both which has created a home for our lovely children.  

ORGANIZATION MISSION & PHILOSOPHY

We believe in second chances. Our goal is to transform the lives of the children who lost their parents to AIDS, domestic violencem, or other unfortunate circumstances.

OUR MISSION

Our organization is made up of men and women deeply committed to helping the poor of the world incorporated with a strong faith. We have two boards, one in Kenya and one in Boston. Both sets of board members are volunteers on both sides of the world. Our mission is to continue to expand our orphanage in Gachoka Kenya. We are committed to helping children who have lost their parents due to AIDS, abuse, or other unfortunate circumstances. Our desire is to bring comfort and peace to more children who have suffered in hopes they may heal and to help nurture them with love and compassion. 

Our hope is that through good example, the children will learn to love and accept the new family they will find at An Orphans Dream orphanage. We will help our children develop self-esteem and eventually self-realization by teaching them skills that will develop and expand their talents both practically and creatively. In general, we hope that when they leave us they will be healthy and loving adults who are willing to sacrifice for the good of others.

our philosophy

As we gain more children we chose to build dormitories so that the children are not separated but feel as though they have their own form of privacy. The children join together in meals at night and large dining hall meals on Sunday evenings together to share in festivities. We take following SOS village prototypes of the neighborhoods seriously. We incorporate the “mom” who typically runs the homes as a parent in. These mothers are responsible for everything in their home, just as close to normal life as we could add in here at the orphanage. By incorporating this we have hopes that it gives the children the ability to not have to say they “grew up in an institution”.  

He or she can say “my mom an all of us in our family are Kikuyu, and my next-door neighbors are Mbeere.” In this particular way, the children who lost their parents still get to grow up with a tribal identity and well as a sense of belonging in a family. Having that family foundation is what we strive to provide these children to be able to call them their brothers, sisters, aunties, and mother at the very least. We hope they find a sense of identity and fellowship in a larger sense within An Orphans Dream community.

our current board members

BE THE CHANGE THAT WILL TRANSFORM A LIFE.

Thank you to everyone that makes these children’s dreams come true. Contributions from our sponsors fund education, food, clothing, health and other essential needs. The full cost of sponsoring a child at Oasis of Peace for one year is $2,400 per year or $200 per month. We appreciate the financial support of our sponsors very much. We encourage written communication between sponsors and the children so that the gifts wisdom, love, and gratitude can be exchanged as well, building a solid foundation for these children, mind, body, and spirit.

THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO SUPPORT AN ORPHAN’S DREAM:

If you are not able to fully sponsor a child each month, there are still ways to support our mission. You can make a one-time donation for any amount, you can make a monthly donation of $25, $50, $75, or $100, or you can explore additional ways to give.

PRAYER OF COMFORT FOR ORPHANED CHILDREN

Our President, Symon Maringa wrote a beautiful Christian prayer of comfort for orphaned children. Please include us in your prayers.