FOOTPRINTS IN ACTION
Since we opened in 2010, our biggest achievement, despite the relentless challenges, is the progress of the children and young adults we have rescued, cared for, and nurtured academically and emotionally. Your support and the efforts on the ground in Kenya have ensured young person under our care has not only survived, but flourished.
Your support has enabled us to create and sustain the safe space that is Mama Kerry's Place, which now comprises a small ‘village’ in the Shimba Hills in Kenya. With a range of buildings consisting of a number of dormitories, kitchen and dining areas, medical room, games and activities rooms. Mama Kerry's Place has been a home, school, solace and safe space for all of the children and young adults we have supported.
We strive to give all of our children and young people access to a quality education together with opportunities to learn vocational life skills. From our onsite Early Years Academy, the programmes and initiatives we run at Mama Kerry's Place and the places we have secured at top performing secondary schools and colleges, thanks to your support, the future for our children and young people is bright. Some of our children have even gone on to secure places to further their education at university and one has gained a sporting scholarship to a top National school playing Rugby in one of the top Kenyan rugby leagues.
With the support of the Rotary we have been able to secure our own water supply via an onsite borehole to serve Mama Kerry's Place, providing clean and safe drinking water. UK fundraising activities have also enabled us to install apparatus to extend the local mains power supply to serve Mama Kerry's Place, thus providing the home with electricity, enabling the children to continue their studies in the evening hours, when previously they would have had no light to do so.
Mama Kerry's Place is located deep in a rural area of the Kenyan bush in Shimba Hills, therefore access to transport is vital the operations of The Footprints Family. Over the years the generous donations we have received have enabled us to acquire and maintain vehicles to transport our ever-growing family.
As the size of the Footprints Family has grown, so has the food bill! In Kenya, sustainability is one of our key focuses so growing our own food and producing our own eggs, milk and meat so we become self-sufficient has been important. We have run various projects over the years to teach the staff and children and young people we support farming techniques, so they can work on and develop the onsite shamba (allotment) to provide fresh vegetables and run our chicken and dairy projects. Not only does this reduced our shopping bill, this helps develop hugely important life skills which they can carry into their future.
