PROBLEM STATEMENT.
Imani is a charitable children institution working with the children from 1 day old to their productive ages depending with each individual child.The project works with about 350 children every year among which 250 are permanently managed in Imani 3 branches. The 250 children are normally grouped into various sub- groups depending on their different growth and developmental needs. The sub- groups are as stipulated in the table below:-
Age group Group names House where they stay.
1 1 day – 6 months Group ‘G’ Babies unit
2 7 months – 18 months Group ‘ F Babies unit
3 11/2 yrs – 3 ½ yrs Group ‘ E’ Babies unit
4 4 yrs – 5 yrs Group ‘ D’ Main project
5 6 yrs – 9 yrs Group ‘ C’ Main project
6 10 yrs – 14 yrs Group ‘ B’ Main project
7 15 yrs – 18 yrs Group ‘ A’ Main project
8 19 yrs – Above Young adults After Imani teenager houses.
o children who were displaced by tribal crashes of Molo district –Kenya in 1992 and no one knew whether the rest of the family survived the war or went where.
o A child who was rescued from the remand homes when very young and didn’t know to where or whom he belonged.
o A former street child, born on the streets by the street families and have been in Imani for a long time and had no home before.
For this sub group of both sexes and without families Imani is planning to move them to the after Imani Teenager houses by the end of the year. The boys have their house in Kibera slums ( one of the largest slum area in Kenya ) whereas the girls small plot is in Kasarani.
The children in sub-group “A” are mostly in secondary schools(forms 1,2 ,3, 4 ). They school in different schools across the country and in both boarding and day schools depending on individual child’s capabilities. This unique age group have been staying in the main project with the younger age groups with whom the needs greatly vary. It is the age at which children are greatly discovering through peers, media and other sources, experimenting and risk taking, at a level they are greatly exposed to the wider society through their different schools in all corners, with so many materials and ideas to share together with each other when the schools close, also with a wider context of friends to relate to, a need for autonomy not forgetting great expectations from them in their studies. With all these issues to be addressed and with many conflicts to be resolved they have been completely inside Imani nest. In the same house are the small ones who are fully dependent on the care givers and thus a pressing need to get a separate house for the group ‘A’ boys. This is in particular the boys in this age group who are so many than the girls. As for the girls they still need a lot of attachment with the mothers in the main house for direction until they are 18 years to join the after Imani girls house.
To be better able to prepare the boys in this age group (group A ) for a smart future Imani is thinking of renting a house for them in Komarocks estate (an estate located between Imani two branches) which is near the Imani homes. In the house they will be staying with a house father throughout the week days and who will be taking care of them but during the weekends he will be delegating his responsibilities to the boys as a way of teaching responsibility in them and enhancing self management. Through this separation of the housing unit Imani hopes that the teenagers will better receive individualized attention approach of their needs, that will curb them from influencing the young ones in the main house, that they will be better able to adjust to the societal norms and regulations, that they will be in a better position to attain relevant life skills in secondary school education, and better develop autonomy.
However, starting this project requires enough funds to facilitate the achievement of stated activities. At the same time Imani is facing other needs constraints especially with the many babies among them – sick lings and in need of intensive care, and also the starting and management of the after Imani teenager houses which are about to begin operating and thus not able to meet in any way the planned cost for the preparation house and which is a very pressing need. At first Imani is thinking of renting the house for the boys as nothing else seems to meet the said need easily. It is also on the same grounds that Imani is kindly requesting ‘you’ to please help support the teenager boys in this group ‘A’ category by funding the said project.
The children’s developmental needs differs greatly with each group and likewise the approach to meeting their needs. Every sub group have care takers attached directly with the children.The young adults are the one’s who have gone through their secondary school education and are above 18 years. They are normally reintegrated with their known guardians where possible as Imani through well wishers continue supporting them acquire necessary life skills. At this age of above 18 years they are no longer eligible to stay in a children institution according to Kenyan law and at this age they are required also to acquire the national Identity cards that identifies them as young persons of the nation. However are those at this age group without any known family at any level, for example ;-