tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25289470843900442562024-03-12T19:55:21.272-07:00Joy Children's HomeHope for orphan and homeless childrenSarah Wanjikuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02059751867046434251noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528947084390044256.post-35667225915134287942011-01-20T07:42:00.001-08:002011-01-20T07:42:17.412-08:00<iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/activity.php?site=www.joychildrenshome.org&width=300&height=300&header=true&colorscheme=light&recommendations=false" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:300px; height:300px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe>Sarah Wanjikuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02059751867046434251noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528947084390044256.post-81271827158697248992011-01-20T07:06:00.000-08:002011-01-20T07:07:53.090-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_3RJzoUFmGYFU1xJneJZmFiORBlNilK7D1zj8FBUrrWRDGNvWJouffFNCyWY79hvX5ra_43livXHUkUEFvZlf2B_eX_TaXvEPasDUOQx-IbgnZaAPl7wlIEKxOWXDH526DCamiP5hv23/s1600/JOY+AT+XMASS+398.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_3RJzoUFmGYFU1xJneJZmFiORBlNilK7D1zj8FBUrrWRDGNvWJouffFNCyWY79hvX5ra_43livXHUkUEFvZlf2B_eX_TaXvEPasDUOQx-IbgnZaAPl7wlIEKxOWXDH526DCamiP5hv23/s200/JOY+AT+XMASS+398.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564284915382937826" border="0" /></a>Sarah Wanjikuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02059751867046434251noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528947084390044256.post-12014999104933741572011-01-20T06:56:00.000-08:002011-01-20T07:35:22.038-08:00CHRISTMAS<iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=YOUR_URL" style="border: medium none; width: 450px; height: 80px;" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">&amp;amp;lt;iframe&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVFw9EfpfVO28i_8kDOgG4m76zBSfE0x1n8QsGaBQ0ocVSTnLM2AU3N9rQ75N6CHBUDA9Usz3znTS_U4CPyz_MFg_jdhbx8ss2JBOzNcL0Oi8BrorcdUZGArZTXjaFz_6M8O7hGH-JyoaQ/s1600/joy99+-+Copy.jpg"&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 255px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVFw9EfpfVO28i_8kDOgG4m76zBSfE0x1n8QsGaBQ0ocVSTnLM2AU3N9rQ75N6CHBUDA9Usz3znTS_U4CPyz_MFg_jdhbx8ss2JBOzNcL0Oi8BrorcdUZGArZTXjaFz_6M8O7hGH-JyoaQ/s200/joy99+-+Copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564282428412808306" border="0" /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;</iframe>Sarah Wanjikuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02059751867046434251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528947084390044256.post-52334165751005975452009-07-07T02:24:00.000-07:002009-07-17T03:44:02.182-07:00Joy Children's Home<div style="text-align: left;">Joy Childrens Ho<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphqRBlDZfJ6O-UzvRdRXsjEJ3IS3qOlVHeWEL_oorUNf-4mRXuWwbatFZvYYBX3wyKaRdrRr1cJ6WwuTNXl5VyI0XDWhTvgkD5uRxvP63F09RsFza1_km1tl-XmcHWvnJ7nVIEa01ib3i/s1600-h/joy_children.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351037855354869010" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 257px; cursor: pointer; height: 192px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphqRBlDZfJ6O-UzvRdRXsjEJ3IS3qOlVHeWEL_oorUNf-4mRXuWwbatFZvYYBX3wyKaRdrRr1cJ6WwuTNXl5VyI0XDWhTvgkD5uRxvP63F09RsFza1_km1tl-XmcHWvnJ7nVIEa01ib3i/s400/joy_children.jpg" border="0" /></a>me (JCEPD) was founded in September 2004 by <span style="font-style: italic;">Sarah Wanjiku</span>. She used to work as a teacher and could come across needy children whose parents died of HIV/AIDS and others who had no home. She started by sponsoring one child who was living with an elderly grand mother. She later housed more others who were homeless.Since 2004 Joy has grown humbly and it is now home to 21 orphaned or abandoned children & school to more than one hundred children.<br /></div><br /><br /><br />Joy has the noble objective of ensuring the children enjoy a dignified childhood and grow into productive and confident citizens.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Target groups</span><br /><br />- Orphaned children<br />- Most vulnerable children<br />- Abandoned children<br />- Street and homeless children<br />- Local community<br />- Children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Management<br /></span><br />We are managed by a team of dedicated board members. Sarah as the executive director and vision bearer directs and oversees the activities at the orphanage. We are now housing 21 orphaned and vulnerable children. Our house school has a population of 155 pupils, some of who are needy children from the surrounding community.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Our main objectives<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIb_lh0YExrFCA86ugY9X27kUzbzhpaVXLNlgQWLPhYyWzbrcsb50ePxD5eIwCzAhgEhDDX-Pqhelh2tpZJpdwll0EGEpI5W0fiyh6Xc1xezXfNnWnWOCXSshElapG9bsHTHMCQwclJLXZ/s1600-h/Sarah+%26+Karina+pictures+173.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIb_lh0YExrFCA86ugY9X27kUzbzhpaVXLNlgQWLPhYyWzbrcsb50ePxD5eIwCzAhgEhDDX-Pqhelh2tpZJpdwll0EGEpI5W0fiyh6Xc1xezXfNnWnWOCXSshElapG9bsHTHMCQwclJLXZ/s400/Sarah+%26+Karina+pictures+173.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359374759524908226" border="0" /></a><br />To provide holistic care for orphans.<br />This entails:<br /><br />- Shelter<br />- Food/clothing<br />- Quality education<br />- Medical care<br />- Guidance & counseling<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Current area of operation</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span>We are currently situated in Ruiru, Thika district in Central Province. We have permanent structures build on our own land. This has been made possible by well wishers who have donated money, building materials and even manual labour. <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Main Challenges<br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Housing </span></span></span>- The boys and girls require separate sleeping rooms since the one they are using currently is congested.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />- Class five</span></span></span> - Every year we require an extra class since the children are doing well and therefore promoted to the next class. Currently we have 3 rooms which we have partitioned into six classes i.e baby class, pre-unit, class 1, 2, 3 & 4. <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />- Toilet block </span></span></span>- We are required to build a modern toilet block in relation to the population of the children. <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />- Staff support </span></span></span>- We have six teachers, two house mothers and a gardener who all survive on a monthly upkeep allowance.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenHoQqR1NKapBAXqdNk1W1lZokwykuKwEOLe880W-vW2jNL1RGr0BlezHZj8aryoRtNtKK9MG3SrQ62ryI2O3YuNinwCMls-IpMlXr6gokU_WM3bjC_E0xdgLohfJR-IsryNSkrWoCv6d/s1600-h/Karinas+pictures+1+057.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 144px; height: 193px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenHoQqR1NKapBAXqdNk1W1lZokwykuKwEOLe880W-vW2jNL1RGr0BlezHZj8aryoRtNtKK9MG3SrQ62ryI2O3YuNinwCMls-IpMlXr6gokU_WM3bjC_E0xdgLohfJR-IsryNSkrWoCv6d/s400/Karinas+pictures+1+057.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359377622591666130" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />- Volunteership </span></span></span>- We have had people from Denmark, UK & USA who have come and spend time at the orphanage and assisted in the daily activities. These include; teaching, washing, feeding and playing with the children.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />- Consolidated fund </span></span></span>- We have eight children in class four who are doing well. After four years time they will be in high school. We need a pool of funds towards their secondary education. <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Our prayer is that:<br /></span></span></span>- God will provide for the little ones<br />- Give us partners with whom to network and share the burden of this noble calling.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">About the Director; Sarah Wanjiku</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />This is the story of <span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Sarah Wanjiku</span>, the Founder and Director of Joy Ch</span><span style="font-size:130%;">i</span><span style="font-size:130%;">ldren's home in Ruiru,Thika, Kenya.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBco6V8uXMp3OqoiUnrNinsTF8sUr8pgsXbH-zow8xWxVUrl6U53I8CjLfpVUyiiL_AZYWPr_STmxT-k6R6Ti-bIl-oe-IffBCk7ZqfI2yS2U850O0ndhgTFriQc5rCPyuLg5lmiFmFXYL/s1600-h/Karinas+pictures+1+002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 223px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBco6V8uXMp3OqoiUnrNinsTF8sUr8pgsXbH-zow8xWxVUrl6U53I8CjLfpVUyiiL_AZYWPr_STmxT-k6R6Ti-bIl-oe-IffBCk7ZqfI2yS2U850O0ndhgTFriQc5rCPyuLg5lmiFmFXYL/s400/Karinas+pictures+1+002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359345427307191378" border="0" /></a><br /><strong style="font-weight: normal;">Mum Sarah is mother to 21 orphaned and abandoned children. She</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;"> is also attached to another 38 children as well as mother to the Joy family.</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;"> The 33 year old lady, whose presenc</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">e is announced by this un</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">preventable inborn laughter, will always make you smile. At Joy Children's home, even those older than </strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">her cannot help calling her Mum Sarah.<br /><br />Sarah was born into a family of 15 in Embu district (county) of Eastern Province in Kenya. Her parents struggled to feed and educate their children, living constan</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">tly with biting levels of poverty. Providing food </strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">and proper medical care were a struggle. That is how Sarah lived. </strong><br /><strong style="font-weight: normal;">At the age of</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;"> 2 years, she got sick with malaria. She was treated in a local dispensary which didn't have enough facilities. She woke up the following day with nobody to attend to her since her parents had to go to fetch food as usual.<br /></strong><br /><strong style="font-weight: normal;">That fateful m</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">orning she sat beside the three stoned stove to warm herself from the effects of m</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">alaria. Little did she know that she would grow dizzy from the heat and fall into the fire. She got badly burnt before anyone came to help. She was rushed to a local </strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">clinic and then to Kenyatta National Hospital, 200 km from Embu. She spent 2 years in the hospital and ended up with one arm </strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">being amputated. After the 2 years of seclusion in the hospital, she was taken back home to try and live a normal life. It was very difficult for her poor family, they had no resources for any special treatment for her. She struggled and even managed to go to school.<br /></strong><br /><strong style="font-weight: normal;">In 1989 a </strong><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnX-_ZDo9J-6VVVdZPqTMqeBMeX7NJrUtK1i9DsCcvAk_q_n3mN5G3DFHsixNFPeWhq0feFG55d2lPTklI4G4aFWxBDm8bokt-_K82APv4nyQ9wHePz243IGc-uoRyKp90rUVncaF4R0C4/s1600-h/Karinas+pictures+1+046.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 147px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnX-_ZDo9J-6VVVdZPqTMqeBMeX7NJrUtK1i9DsCcvAk_q_n3mN5G3DFHsixNFPeWhq0feFG55d2lPTklI4G4aFWxBDm8bokt-_K82APv4nyQ9wHePz243IGc-uoRyKp90rUVncaF4R0C4/s400/Karinas+pictures+1+046.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359349773088906834" border="0" /></a><strong style="font-weight: normal;">couple from America cam</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">e to Kenya and by God's grace offered to support S</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">arah through a foster family programme. The sponsorship saw her through primary, secondary, and even college. Sarah later got a job as a teacher in the sprawling Mathare Slums of Nairobi where she was now staying. </strong><br /><strong style="font-weight: normal;">Teaching in a slum was an eye opener for Sarah. She easily interacted with children who had no parents and counted herself blessed to have both of her parents.<br /></strong><br /><strong style="font-weight: normal;">All along she had desired to help a child by sponsoring one with her first salary, to perhaps give back a little of the kindness she received and change a life also. The opportunity came when one of her pupil's parents died of HIV/Aids and girl was left helpless. She used </strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">her salary to care for the boy who was now staying with an ailing grandmother.<br /><br />There were many more deaths before the end of the year and Sarah's salary was not enough to support all these children. She shared the vision with her sponsor, Mr. Goodman, who offered to pay for a house in order for her to shelter the orphans. She rented a house and brought in about 10 orphans from the slums. Before long, the Joy house was full with 16 </strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">boys and girls. She never knew that what she had started was an orphanage. The government officials visited her and enlightened her on the need to register the home. This she did and continued with the good work.<br /></strong><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDs0PosrmKBAZMBuYu2jKXOegQZ47d9erKRPTW_MRH1Lpt3P9GbqrgMWXeKaQsPY3dKBmKrcxEyQ6i9MxPt9nWRtai1mYDEgOOivWzlRNk_iwtoiw9mStZQa3rNlddmP6kO6cAj8h5J2p/s1600-h/Sarah+%26+Karina+pictures+005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 335px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDs0PosrmKBAZMBuYu2jKXOegQZ47d9erKRPTW_MRH1Lpt3P9GbqrgMWXeKaQsPY3dKBmKrcxEyQ6i9MxPt9nWRtai1mYDEgOOivWzlRNk_iwtoiw9mStZQa3rNlddmP6kO6cAj8h5J2p/s400/Sarah+%26+Karina+pictures+005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359372026337515394" border="0" /></a><br /><strong style="font-weight: normal;">Mr. Goodman died in 2006 and soon the little support she wa</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">s getting, was over. She struggled to feed the children with no income since she had resigned </strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">fr</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">om her teaching job. In the middle of the struggle, more children joined the Joy family by either abandonment, like the 2 week old bundle found on the roadside, {Fait</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">h}, or by being brought in by ailing grandparents who felt that Sarah would offer their grandchildren a chance of a life which they could not.<br /><br /></strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">Through many months of struggle at the rented premises, Sarah decided the only way forward was to get her own land. Early in 2008 Sarah acquired a quarter acre of land for Joy Family from her savings as a teacher. She had to walk arou</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">nd litterally calling on firm to firm, builder to builder soliciting for building materials. After three months of hard work she got enough for the roof and the walls and this made it possible for Joy to move from a rented pla</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">ce to the plot of their own. This is where the Joy Family lives now. The blessing came with another challenge - the need for a school. </strong><br /><br /><strong style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">JOY SCHOOL</span></strong><br /><br /><strong style="font-weight: normal;">Most of the children w</strong><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4iF43jy_zLFKWKwZl2NLoE0JF2Lwl6i5qE6HnCK1ykR-kyrLkPInWKKCgV8IKl45ieK-57O-q2pvz5L6rNhGjJWh91HiKnqIQRWDniqr37dQsC9BkBbvNGbzJgnmenf6oyAHpD-rmy8_E/s1600-h/Karinas+pictures+1+006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4iF43jy_zLFKWKwZl2NLoE0JF2Lwl6i5qE6HnCK1ykR-kyrLkPInWKKCgV8IKl45ieK-57O-q2pvz5L6rNhGjJWh91HiKnqIQRWDniqr37dQsC9BkBbvNGbzJgnmenf6oyAHpD-rmy8_E/s400/Karinas+pictures+1+006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359371401007024578" border="0" /></a><strong style="font-weight: normal;">ere too small to walk the four kilometres to the nearest public school. The private schools near</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">by are so expensive such that even the majority of the children in the neighbouring community couldn't afford. Sarah's decision was that the shelter </strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">which is home to Joy Family had to be partitioned to provide a school. Sarah challenged the teacher in her to start some classes for her childr</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">en. This saw the birth of an in-house school where the 21 children and others from the community attend. It has baby class, pre-school and class one up to four, all under one roof. Sarah's vision is to have classes for baby class up to class eight.<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Joy has eight full-time volunteers assisting in the orphanage and the in-house school for some up-keep allowance. There a</span></strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">re also other foreign volunteers who have come from Denmark & U.S.A.</span></strong><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;font-size:100%;" >All this happens under </span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;font-size:100%;" >the able leadership of Sarah, a devout Christian & mar</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;font-size:100%;" >ried to Jimnah Ngotho.<br />Her belief is in</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span> <span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">James 1:27</span>: </strong><em><strong>Pure and undefined religion... to look after</strong> <strong>orphans.</strong> </em>Sarah Wanjikuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02059751867046434251noreply@blogger.com3