Hand in Hand (charity no. 1069976)

Based in Uplands, about 40km North of Nairobi on the edge of the Great Rift Valley, New Hope Childrens Centre is home to over 120 orphaned or abandoned girls and boys. Hand in Hand began supporting New Hope in 2000.

Founded in 2000 by Anne Chege, the centre began life in a four-bedroom detached house donated by a local Christian for 'Gods work'. An initial intake of 20 girls from the local community quickly grew to over 40 and the numbers have continued to rise ever since.

Following the visit of a Hand in Hand Mission Team in 2000 the charity began to support New Hope on a regular basis and by early 2005 had raised funds to sink a borehole to provide safe drinking water for the children.

With heavy demand for space in the home the project relocated to a 3 acre plot nearby, where a purpose built, 3 story dormitory was completed in 2007 with a capacity of around 200 children. This was mainly funded by the Barclays New Hope Support group.

By Early 2005 Hand in Hand had raised funds for the construction of a kitchen block and the sinking of a borehole to provide safe drinking water for the children. Since then the site has been connected with electricity and an electric pump has been installed to provide water for the whole site.

New Hope continues to develop income generating schemes to reduce their dependence on overseas support. It has a large shamba in which they grow a majority of their own vegetables and they also rear milking cows to provide nutrition for the children and income for the home.

Each child has a place in a local school and is encouraged to complete a secondary education and to go onto further education with some enrolling at local universities. Those who do not make the grade are supported into vocational training opportunities and nearby vocational training centres.

The work of New Hope also reaches out to the community. 65 houses have now been built in the nearby community for grandmothers left with the care of orphaned grandchildren. Several children from the community are also sponsored with their school fees.

New Hope has suitable accommodation for teams to stay on site.

Hand in Hand facilitates the Barclays New Hope Support group funding who are a significant funder for New Hope.

Richard's story

Richard lives at New Hope, with his big sister Naomi. Read more...