Our Current Efforts
CHEBAGOGO FOUNDATION was started in 2006 with a simple vision and through humble means. Currently, your donations help to support AIDS-impacted orphans living in a temporary shelter in the town of Eldoret (please click on the "Sponsor" link to the left in order to learn more). However, the waiting list of other AIDS-impacted children is greater than this temporary shelter allows.
Dreaming Big
A primary goal of the CHEBAGOGO FOUNDATION is to build a boarding school(s) to house and educate these orphans. As our momentum builds and your donations exceed the basic costs incurred in the day-to-day care of existing orphans, the Foundation will purchase land and build a safe, enabling and stigma-free facility capable of supporting up to 250 orphaned children.
The boarding school will initially provide education for grades 1 through 8. The architectural design of the facility will allow expansion over the following 3-5 years with the eventual (aggressive!) goal being the accomodation of up to 1,250 orphaned children!
The boarding school housing will be built as cottages in order to create a home-like environment, with the boys and girls cottages in different locations in the same compound.
Education will eventually expand to grades 1-12, with additional career training beyond grade 12 made available to ensure these children grow up to be truly productive members of Kenyan society.
Community Engagement
The Foundation will engage local community leaders in the boarding school projects by having them donate local materials (sand, sun-dried bricks and stones), with CHEBAGOGO FOUNDATION providing technical assistance and manufactured materials.
An Eye on Health
CHEBAGOGO FOUNDATION volunteers will conduct HIV/AIDS testing in the school, and children who test positive for the virus will be referred to the Provincial Hospitals for appropriate treatment.
Sustainability
CHEBAGOGO FOUNDATION's sustainability begins with agriculture: growing nutricious food, raising dairy cattle/chickens, and fish farming. This agricultural component will reduce overall food costs, ensure nutritious eating habits, provide job skills for the older children, and supply a revenue stream for the Foundation.
Creating Responsible Adults
Efforts by CHEBAGOGO FOUNDATION to provide job training and career opportunities will initially focus on agriculture (as noted above), but also on arts and handicrafts. The orphans will be trained by volunteers who are native experts in the arts of carving, sculpture and basket weaving. The Foundation will provide local materials like cane for basket weaving and wood for carving. The Foundation will also assist in searching for the appropriate market for all finished goods.
This is our simple vision and dream. Your love, time, and donations will help us achieve it!
