MAP International ~ Providing Hope

Providing Hope for Orphans in Africa

The Need

Kenya - Orphans and Vulnerable Children - MAP International Help

By 2010, it has been estimated that throughout Africa there will be more than 50 million children who have been orphaned, many because of AIDS and HIV. In Kenya alone, there are nearly two million children who fall within the colorless classification of OVC orphans or vulnerable children. Indeed, Kenya has one of the highest orphan populations in the world. Traditionally, aunts, uncles or other extended family members would care for the young ones.

But so many children have been left homeless and so many adults have succumbed to AIDS and deadly diseases that many children are adrift with no familial net of safety to catch them. Many survive as street children, with few opportunities for health care, schooling, nutrition and shelter. In the major cities there is a surging population of street children, and with it the tragedy of child prostitution, child abuse, child labor and AIDS. Uneducated and unskilled, entirely dependent on handouts, the children often fall into street gangs and criminal activity.

MAP’s Response

MAP International is building a sustainable program of care for these orphans and vulnerable children in the slums of Nairobi and four other Kenyan districts. MAP is working to raise awareness of the situation and is providing villages, churches and other local organizations in these areas with the resources needed to reverse the problem.

MAP’s Goals

MAP’s program includes:

The creation of care groups and the mobilization of 1,300 OVC caregivers
Healthcare, education and counseling for 10,000 youth
Mobilizing 172 churches and other community-based organizations to respond to the growing needs of OVC
Training in hygiene and disease prevention for caregivers
Providing links between children and health and social services
Providing psychosocial support for OVC and caregivers

MAP Medical Fellowship Program