Category: Countries

Kenya

Chalice has been serving children and seniors in Kenya  since 1996 in nine sites in both rural and urban communities.

Primary education is free in Kenya; however that does not include mandatory items such as books and uniforms. School infrastructure is poor and there is little investment in other public infrastructure, including hospitals and road networks. Agricultural output is poor because the country relies on rain-fed agriculture, despite increasingly arid climates, which leads to widespread food insecurity. The country struggles with tensions among ethnic groups, which can lead to violence and displacement.

Through the support of sponsors and donors, Chalice and our local partners focus on:

1. Education - Ensuring each child completes their education until high school graduation, at a minimum.
2. Nutrition & Agriculture - Our partners implement school feeding programs to ensure that children have a balanced and nutritious meal daily. They also work with parents to become more agriculturally productive with their available local resources and improve their agri-businesses.
3. Inclusion of marginalized communities - Parents and seniors involved in family circles benefit equally from the sponsorship program’s funding, capacity building, and opportunities.

Our sites in Kenya:

Nairobi - Chalice has partnered with ILEG in Nairobi since 1996. Merciline Nifa oversees the sponsorship program, in which academically talented boys and girls who come from poor families throughout Kenya are supported through post-secondary education alongside those of more privileged backgrounds. Sponsorship contributes to costs of boarding and educational materials.

Starehe Girls - Chalice has partnered with the Starehe Girls' Centre for Education and Excellence in Nairobi since 2013. Directed by Sr. Jane Soita, the sponsorship program supports academically talented girls who come from poor families throughout Kenya. Girls are given the opportunity to study towards a university education alongside those of more privileged backgrounds. Sponsorship contributes to costs of boarding and educational materials. Most of the students who graduate from Starehe schools go on to university. Chalice also supports their school garden, from which they are able to grow all of the produce for their meals.

Baraka - Chalice has partnered with the Carmelite Brothers of Mary Immaculate (CMI) from India in the rural regions surrounding the small town of Nanyuki since 2005. Directed by Fr. Jose Martin, CMI, the site runs the sponsorship program for both children and the elderly. In addition to sponsorship, the site runs a farming program which allows them to produce food on school land to supplement school feeding and use the schools as demonstration centres. Family circles provide complementary services including training, subsidized farming inputs, storage, and transport.

Mercy Care - Chalice has partnered with the Franciscan Clarist Sisters of India in the remote village of Kamuwongo since 2006. Site director, Sr. Francelit, oversees the sponsorship program for children, many of whom are orphaned, abandoned, or from broken homes. The Sisters also run a primary boarding school. To combat high rates of malnutrition, the site supports several school feeding programs. The site also provides medical assistance through a dispensary and extends them to the “out stations” through a mobile clinic.  

Meru - Chalice has partnered with the Good Shepherd Sisters of Kenya in the region of Meru since 1999. Under the direction of Sisters Jane and Pauline, the Sisters run the sponsorship program in both urban and rural communities. In addition to sponsorship, the site runs a farming program which allows them to produce food on school land to supplement school feeding and use the schools as demonstration centres. Family circles provide complementary services including training, subsidized farming inputs, storage, and transport.     

Mikinduri - Chalice has partnered with the St. Jude Catholic Sponsorship Program in the settlement in Kenya’s eastern region since 2008. Under the direction of Carolyne Gacheri, the site oversees the sponsorship of children, as well as a farming program which allows them to produce food on school land and provide the children a daily noon meal.  A nutritionist monitors the community and provides training in food preparation, dietary requirements, and sanitation. In addition to sponsorship, the site provides adult literacy classes, health workshops, and demonstrations of farming methods to improve food security.  

Mombasa - Chalice has worked in Mombasa since 2001, partnering with the Sisters of St. Joseph. The site is situated on the outskirts of this coastal city, where the city’s poorest families live. Under the direction of Sr. Janefrances, the site focuses on orphans, vulnerable children, widows, single parent families, and those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. The parents and guardians of sponsored children receive micro-finance and financial literacy training, as well as sessions on good hygiene practices, sanitation, nutrition, and parenting.  The site works with the parents to promote livelihood improvement through small business development. 

Saidia - Chalice has partnered with the Saidia Children’s Home (orphanage) in the town of Gilgil since 2011. Everlyn Muhahala directs the sponsorship program in several schools in the community, based out of the orphanage.  The site serves a transient and internally-displaced population, and HIV is prevalent. All sponsored children have a baseline pediatric assessment done, including general health, eye, and dental checkups. Several schools within the site have gardens which grow enough food to conduct daily school-feeding programs; some even have excess to sell for profit.

Asembo (aka Rafiki-Ogwedhi) - Chalice has partnered with the Franciscan Sisters of St. Anne in the villages around Asembo in Kenya's Nyanza province ,since 2008. Sister Miriam Jagugo directs the sponsorship program, which is supported by the Chalice Nutrition Fund. Agriculture projects have been implemented, and sponsored families are introduced to good farming methods through community-run resource centres and work with groups to promote sustainable small scale agri-businesses. In addition to sponsorship, the site provides training to parents and youth in nutrition, HIV/AIDS care, diabetes, geriatric nutrition, micronutrient supplementation, kitchen gardening, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, meal preparation, nutrition, and oral hygiene.