These orphans are my joy

The Founder and Director of Likoni Aids Orphanage Reverend Ernest Ombeva at the Orphanage at Likoni in Mombasa County on March 16 2016. The Orphanage takes care of 30 orphans. Photo by Mwangi Muraguri/Standard

Sometime in 2000, I went for a house-to-house pastoral ministry in Likoni. In one house, I met an elderly woman taking care of six orphaned children.

When I inquired why the children were not in school, an elderly woman told me the children had been orphaned after their parents died of HIV and Aids.

That day, I gave her Sh200 to buy food and I left. However, the picture of the malnourished children in need of food, clothing and education refused to leave my mind.

While on a pastoral ministry another day in Likoni, I met another woman taking care of six grandchildren also orphaned under similar circumstances.

A few days later, I met the Timbwani Baptist Church Committee, where I also serve as a pastor and convinced them to allow the 12 children enroll at Baptist Primary School run by our church.

They accepted my request, but a few days later, I received complaints from teachers at the school that most of the 12 new pupils were sleeping during class lessons. The teachers later established that some children went without lunch or supper.

This really disturbed me. I immediately decided to rent a room for the 12 children. Luckily, a church member volunteered to cook for the children.

I would seize every moment during my Sunday sermons to ask the congregation to donate maize flour, beans, shoes and uniforms to support the children. Members of the congregation heeded my call.

A friend advised me to register an orphanage. My friend warned that even though I was doing a good thing of taking care of the children, I could end up colliding with authorities in case of unfortunate eventualities like accident or death among the children. So in 2001, the Likoni Aids Orphanage, of which I am the director, was born.

At the orphanage, we take care of 30 children whose parents died of HIV and Aids. Two children are HIV-positive and require special diet and care.

Of the 30, nine are in high school, 10 in primary school while 11 are in nursery school.

I must say I find fulfillment in taking care of orphans. In fact, this is my calling. I have had a lot of challenges in pursuing this calling, but I thank God who has always given me victory over the challenges.

I want to thank the district children officer who not only assisted me with registration process but also donated 12 beds and 12 mattresses, 12 blankets and one radio for the children who had hitherto been sleeping on mkeka (mat).

The children officer, who also drafted an introductory letter for me to take to supermarkets and philanthropists, also advised me that I had to “start begging” from that day.

It was not easy taking care of my seven biological children and an additional 12 children.

When word went round that I was taking care of orphaned children, many locals started reporting about orphans who they thought were suffering. I started demanding parents’ death certificates from the guardians. By 2007, I had 22 children under my care. The number grew to 30 in 2014.

While I have in the past received support from local supermarkets and hotels, the poor performance of tourism has made taking care of the orphans an uphill task. A number of hotels in the South Coast that used to assist the orphanage have since pulled out.

At one time in June 2014, we were evicted from the house we were staying in around Shelly Beach after we failed to raise Sh15,000 monthly rent for 11 consecutive months.

The orphans are currently living in a Swahili house whose monthly rent is Sh20,000. But the owner wants to sell the house by June for Sh1.7 million and is giving us the first priority in case we are interested in buying it.

A philanthropist has pledged Sh500,000, leaving us with a deficit of Sh1.2 million. We hope more philanthropists and well-wishers will come on board to help us raise the balance.

The children admitted at the orphanage are those aged between five and nine years. The children’s department and area chief must certify that the child seeking admission at the orphanage is actually needy.

After completing high school, we allow the children to go back to their homes, from where they are supported by family members.

All children attend primary school at Timbwani Primary School but we allow them to attend high schools which they are admitted to after sitting for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education.

It feels nice to see the children from the orphanage and those from normal homes playing and interacting freely without minding their backgrounds.

In 2013, the best candidate at the school was from the orphanage and I was so happy.

It gives me much joy that two former orphans from the centre are teachers in Mombasa while a number of them are serving in the military. One of the orphans is a 10-year-old physically challenged boy who used to be sent by his parents to beg for money at the Likoni Ferry Channel.