Kickstart Kids International is an entirely volunteer run, non-profit, non-government development organisation. We have worked on three major projects in Kenya, each with a focus on development. In everything that we do, our primary goal is to provide support to local communities that will help them to help themselves.
Kickstart’s success with Familia Moja is now being leveraged through the construction of a second Kenyan children’s centre, Olturoto Children’s Village in partnership with a local Kenyan NGO called Nanga Org. It is our shared vision to build an environmentally and financially sustainable home for orphaned and vulnerable children on a 10 acre plot of land purchased in the town of Olturoto in Kenya.
Olturoto Children's Village on day of purchase
Olturoto Children's Village in 2013
Achievements To Date
Financial sustainability: Eight acres of Olturoto Children’s Village have been devoted to a commercial farming operation which employs nine local workers. Produce is currently being exported to supermarkets in the UK at a profit. Under a ‘profit for purpose’ model, these profits will be allocated to covering the cost of running the homes.
Farm staff at Olturoto Children's Village
Olturoto Children's Village produce heading to supermarkets in Europe
Environmental sustainability: We have invested in wind and solar renewable energy solutions which have achieved net zero carbon emissions, water requirements are sourced on site, waste is treated on site, and we have net positive food production.
Solar and wind being used to power the entire site
Achievement of these sustainability goals is central to our long term objective to empower the local community to run Olturoto Children’s Village themselves without the need for international assistance.
Construction of Grace, the first house of orphaned children
The village of Mang’u willingly took the Familia Moja kids into their community school and we, in return, provided three additional trainee teachers to bring the total to eight teachers coping with 600 children. Education is key to helping all these children stand on their own two feet. We also provided practical help through purchasing additional textbooks, sporting and play equipment and health checks for all the students at Mang’u Primary School.
A plan was successfully implemented with the local school management committee in 2011 to transition from Kickstart’s funding to a new funding model supported by the community.
Construction of a new toilet block
Kickstart Kids International, in partnership with KPMG International, helped the local community construct a new toilet block at Mang’u Primary School.
In 2009 the old toilet block collapsed and luckily none of the local kids were injured. Unfortunately the local government did not have enough money to replace it so the entire school population was limited to just one small toilet block. The overuse of this facility posed a significant health risk to all the children.
The new block was formally opened by Kickstart Kids International and the school management committee on the first day of school in 2010.
Old collapsed toilet block
Construction of toilet block
Opening of the new toilet block
Kickstart Kids International was founded in 2007 to support the establishment of Familia Moja Children’s Home in Kenya, which is now home to over 30 children. In late 2011, a local Kenyan board of directors assumed responsibility for managing all aspects of running the home and has subsequently increased the number of children being cared for. This is a huge achievement towards kickstarting the lives of these beautiful children.
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