Mama Kerry's Home Based Care
Supporting the lives of vulnerable children & their families
Changing how we care
Following the COVID-19 pandemic and significant changes to Kenya’s child welfare policies, our organisation transitioned from residential children’s care towards a community-based Home-Based Care Programme. This change reflects both the Kenyan Government’s decision to move away from registering new children’s homes and the wider national and international drive towards care reform and de-institutionalisation. We fully support the principle that children, particularly younger and vulnerable children, should grow up within families and communities wherever it is safe and possible to do so.
However, while these reforms represent a positive vision for the future, the reality is that many of the systems needed to support this transition are still developing. Access to foster care, social services, family support programmes, and community resources remains limited in many rural areas. Without practical support, many families continue to struggle with extreme poverty, food insecurity, inadequate housing, and barriers to education, placing children at risk of neglect, exploitation, or missing out on opportunities to reach their full potential.
Keeping families together
In response, we have adapted our work to focus on strengthening families and supporting children within their own communities. Our Home-Based Care Programme is designed to continue supporting some of the most vulnerable children while keeping families together wherever possible. Through community outreach and detailed social enquiries, we identify children who are unable to attend school due to poverty, family hardship, or challenging home circumstances. Many children spend their days collecting water, gathering firewood, caring for younger siblings, or helping their families meet basic survival needs, making education impossible without additional support.
Restoring dignity
Recognising that many of the homes these children return to lack even the most basic necessities, we also work to improve living conditions through our Home-Based Care support packages. Many families live in simple mud houses, often sleeping on bare floors and sharing very limited household items. Through fundraising and donor support, we provide practical items that help restore dignity and improve daily life, including floor mats, beds, mattresses, mosquito nets, plates and cups for each family member, water storage containers, and other essential household items.
To help families move towards greater self-sufficiency, we also provide vegetable seeds, fertiliser, and basic farming tools, enabling them to grow their own food and improve household nutrition. These simple interventions can have a profound impact, creating safer, healthier, and more dignified home environments while strengthening families and supporting children to remain connected to the people who matter most to them.
You can help!
£50 could provide a dignity pack for a whole family.
