The 2025 working visit

Empowerment workshop

This year, Mwanzo paid one working visit to The Ark. During this visit, we organised a successful workshop on empowerment with 30 participants, in which

• self-confidence
• personal strength
• future prospects

were central themes.

The reason for this workshop was and is the fact that The Ark's goal is to return children to their original environment as quickly as possible. Preferably their own family, but sometimes also a grandmother, uncle or aunt. Of course, The Ark, and in particular the social workers, remain involved with the child and monitor whether they are doing well, both at school and at home.

But many children have been through traumatic experiences. How do you ensure that reintegration goes well? What do you give the child and the parents to make reintegration a success? We held a workshop on this topic with all the parties involved (well, almost all: we forgot one, the police, who will be joining us next time): from the village chief to the children's officer, school principals, two young people who grew up in a children's home themselves, social workers from many institutions in the area, a pastor from a local children's home, etc. Together, we thought about what we wanted to give the children, parents and the community. We looked at successful models and approaches and together came up with ideas for workshops we could organise for all these parties. Next time, we will continue!

Download the slides and output from the workshop here.

Working on work

In addition, initial discussions took place with local entrepreneurs and agreements were made about employment opportunities for single mothers. The main reason children end up living on the streets is poverty. So we want to do something about that. One idea that a long-term local sponsor of De Ark came up with was sewing clothes. Sewing uniforms, for example, is increasingly being done at home. By teaching mothers to sew and putting them in touch with the producers of these clothes, they can earn their own income and thus take care of their children again. The Ark has purchased two sewing machines to teach children and mothers how to sew. This kills two birds with one stone, because it also allows us to repair the children's school uniforms when they are damaged.

Another idea from the same entrepreneur, who is in the flour trade, was to help mothers start their own flour shops at home. He himself, Umoja Flour Mills Ltd in Thika, took the risk by supplying ten bags of flour as a pre-investment. Two mothers, who live on the streets and whose children live in the Ark, are being guided in setting up their own small businesses. We pray that this will work!

School and work

We also saw great progress on an individual level. Thanks to donations, Isaac can start his own welding business – an important step towards independence. We are also proud to report that all children have moved on to the next class or a new school with good results.

Local support

It is very encouraging to see that The Ark's work is also supported in Kenya itself. Both acquaintances and strangers contribute, often in the form of donations in kind, such as food, clothing and materials. This local involvement is of great value and shows that The Ark is firmly rooted in the community. This time, I saw three groups of young people come by to offer their help! One group has promised to make a cupboard and a shoe rack for every room. The other group now calls itself Friends of The Ark and helps with technical workshops for the boys and with marketing, among other things. People also came to bring food and other materials. What a blessing!

Safety

Important progress has also been made on a practical level. A new kitchen has been built, with more fresh air and sufficient headroom, which benefits daily work and health. In addition, the Mwanzo Foundation has ensured that The Ark complies with fire safety requirements, an essential step towards a safe living and working environment.