Extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS deaths have produced an increasing number of street children in many parts of Africa. In Meru, Kenya, these abandoned children live in makeshift shelters made of cardboard, cloth or pieces of metal or wood and they subsist by begging, crime and occasional help from charitable organizations, and to add to their problems many are adicted to eating glue as a way to lessen hunger pains. They can easily be identified by the glue bottles hanging out of their mouths. The Meru RC, working with the Methodist Church in Kenya and several other NGOs in the area propose to rehabilitate the street children in the Makutano area of Meru through a comprehensive program involving setting up a permanent organization of partners to identify the children, provide counseling, drug suspension, food, shelter, re-enrollment in school (uniforms, fees, school supplies), vocational training for the children and their familes and re-incorpoartion of the children into their families where possible. There are at least 100 children who have already been identified in this one focus area.
The funds will be used for school supplies, education & vocational training, student lunches and children's medications and treatment.
Marcelo Ostria, our Global Scholar who will be studying the Alleviation of Childhood Poverty at Oxford University will be assisting us on this project. He will help design a sustainable, repeatable program that will be effective in achieving the specific goals of this project and that can then be used for other areas in Meru and elsewhere.
Grapevine Rotarians have visited the project area many times over the past several years as part of their church mission and they identified this particular project for our clubs' attention and participation. While on those visits, strong working relationships have been built with the local community and church leaders, including the Meru Rotary Club. Rotarians from both countries will maintain an active role at both ends to ensure that this project will be successfully completed and that the work to alleviate poverty and to keep the children off the streets and off the drugs will continue long after this GG is finalized.
We are looking for a Club partner. Click here to pledge support for this project. Recording a pledge will make you the Primary International Partner for this project.
Project Status
Dropped
This project has been "Dropped". Check the history log entries to see why it was dropped.
Note: as of July 1, 2015 there is a 5% additional support fee for cash contributions. This fee does not appear in the financials above because it does not apply if the funds are sent directly to the project account (without going through TRF, and therefore without Paul Harris credit). Clubs sending their cash contribution to TRF must be aware they will have to send an additional 5%.
Project Budget and Financing Changed based on information just received from a fact finding visit to the project site.
17-Aug-13
System Entry
Pledge of $5,000 by Christopher J McLucas of the Rotary Club of Arlington (Sunrise), District 5790.
16-Feb-14
System Entry
Pledge of $1,500 DDF by R Rangarajan of the Rotary Club of Bombay Chembur West, District 3140.
14-Jul-14
System Entry
Pledge of $1,234 by Mike Mascari of the Rotary Club of La Mesa, District 5340.
14-Jul-14
System Entry
Project is now "Fully Pledged".
5-Aug-14
System Entry
Application Sent to The Rotary Foundation through Member Access.
2-Apr-15
System Entry
Project reverted to "Published".
2-Apr-15
System Entry
Project is now "Fully Pledged".
2-Apr-15
System Entry
Project reverted to "Published".
2-Apr-15
System Entry
Project is now "Fully Pledged".
2-Apr-15
System Entry
Project reverted to "Published".
2-Apr-15
System Entry
Project is now "Fully Pledged".
2-Apr-15
System Entry
Project reverted to "Published".
2-Apr-15
System Entry
Project is now "Fully Pledged".
2-Apr-15
System Entry
Project reverted to "Published".
2-Apr-15
System Entry
Pledge of $500 by Lannie Noble of the Rotary Club of Decatur, District 5790.
2-Apr-15
System Entry
Pledge of $325 by Sharon Cox of the Rotary Club of Mid-Cities Pacesetters (Bedford), District 5790.
2-Apr-15
System Entry
Project is now "Fully Pledged".
19-Aug-15
System Entry
Application Sent to The Rotary Foundation through Member Access.
17-Mar-16
by Sharron Miles
We need an update of the status of this grant.
16-Jun-16
by conrad heede
GG reviewed by Steve Townsend, TRF Grant Coordinator; additional data requested; team visited Meru, just returned and additional data being prepared to send to TRF.
2-Sep-16
by conrad heede
Grant Coordinator, Steve Townsend, reviewed the latest data we sent to him and suggested that we change our Area of Focus to Economic and Community Development since the ultimate goal is to rehabilitate the street children, get them educated and/or trained in vocational skills so that they can find employment and become economically self-sufficient.
9-Jun-17
by conrad heede
This project has been cancelled.
26-Jul-17
by Sharron Miles
System Entry: Application approved by The Rotary Foundation.
16-Oct-17
by conrad heede
In correction of the entry by PDG Sharron Miles, this project has not been approved and is canceled.
17-Oct-17
by Sharron Miles
Project was terminated and District 5790 no longer supports this project.
17-Oct-17
by Sharron Miles
System Entry: Project reverted to "Published".
18-Oct-17
by Philippe Lamoise
System Entry: Project dropped by Philippe Lamoise.
Reason for dropping: 5790 withdrew from the project and the contact email for the primary host partner is not valid, so this project is being dropped from the website.