Did You Know...
Graduate students from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine came to Kenya to conduct a study evaluating Arrive’s success. Through measurements and observation, they concluded:
“… children living at ARRIVE (n=22) and children living on the street (n=7) reported on their psychological distress. Results indicated that children living at ARRIVE were psychologically healthy with the majority experiencing no distress (n=17) and others experiencing some stress in one or more areas of their life (n=5). This was compared with the seven children living on street, who reported experiencing a mild degree of psychological distress (n=2), a moderate degree of psychological distress (n=3), and severe psychological distress (n=2). While limitations exist in the number of children sampled, preliminary results suggest that ARRIVE is effective in reducing the psychological distress of children living in Western Kenya.”
As work continues on the new Light Home of Hope, we at the Arrive Headquarters thought it'd be wise to clarify exactly what has occurred during this exciting transitional phase.
But first, a little history. In 2013, we partnered with a local Kenyan non-profit organization to create Keumbu Rehema Childrens Home to address the needs of orphaned street children in western Kenya. Over the last three years, an infrastructure was developed with the ultimate goal being Keumbu Rehema Children’s Home becoming self-sustaining.
By partnering with our local organization and through your generous support, we accomplished many things:
Rescued 37 of orphaned, homeless street children.
Provided housing and education for these children.
Built & equipped living facilities, latrines, and other infrastructure essential for improved quality of life.
Provided clean, potable water through the construction of a running water system.
Engaged in sustainable projects such as: utilization of livestock, use of solar power, etc.
Established/expanded agricultural activities with an emphasis on teaching sustainable agriculture.
Sponsored deserving students to continue their education in secondary school and polytechnic training.
Used the resources of volunteers to further Arrive’s mission and goals.
It has been an exciting journey with our local partners in Keumbu, watching them evolve and become self-sufficient. As local leadership demonstrated desire & ability to take on full, ongoing responsibility for the project, a mutually agreed exit strategy for Arrive was implemented, freeing our attention to move on to the next site. This is and always has been a primary tenant of our core strategy philosophy -- Arrive’s role is to help local entities to improve and expand their services to orphans, vulnerable children, and street kids; to empower our partners to a self-sustaining and managed position of strength and then move on to another location to replicate the process.
Which leads us to our newest project. Light Uriri is our next qualified partner organization and the focus of our efforts for the thrust of Arrive. Together, we have established Light Home of Hope, located in Migori County, 20 minutes from the Kenya-Tanzania border and just one hour from the famous Maasai Mara Game Reserve.
Although not terribly far from Keumbu, the location is geographically and ecologically VERY different so it presents some new challenges that will keep Arrive and it’s volunteers very much on their toes. It’s very exciting!
Arrive will bring the successful model developed with Keumbu Rehema Childrens Home and, with collaboration of Light Uriri, begin to create another facility to rescue orphaned street children, provide education and a safe place to live. In addition, all of the children will learn skills such as caring for livestock, planting crops, computer skills, and mechanical training.
We are very excited about this latest project that fits our mission of bringing positive change to impoverished regions around the world. Through our website, blog posts, photographs, videos and newsletters, we will endeavor to keep you, our supporters, informed of the progress of our newest collaboration.
