Villa Teag Children Centre is located in Dandora, which is in the Eastlands of Nairobi, Kenya. It was officially inaugurated in 5th December 2003. Melitus Were (Soulfari Kenya founder Julius Were’s brother and a city councilor in the Dandora district) is the primary manager of Villa Teag. Emmanuel Were (also Julius’s brother) is also invested in providing for and watching over the children on a regular basis. Melitus Were has donated amble space for the children’s accommodation. Otherwise the home entirely depends on well wishers locally and overseas. The centre was started by admitting 35 orphaned children from age 3 to 12, with a majority having lost their parents to HIV/Aids. Presently there are over 50 children (boys and girls) learning and living at the centre on full board basis. The aims of Villa Teag are to empower the orphaned children to gain confidence, commitment and motivation to do great things on their own. Villa Teag ensures that all the children get access to education, receive proper health care, food, shelter and clothing, and protection from neglect and child abuses. Organizations that support Villa Teag include Soulfari Kenya (provide volunteers annually, school materials, and training for staff), Unicef (resources and information), Street Family Programme (provided water tank and food), Jack n’Jill (provide food on holidays), Pembe flour mills (provide maize flour), Home grown (vegetables), Dandora community (food, clothes, shoes, volunteers), International Partners Mission (funds for dairy project), and Mondoazzuro (funding).
This summer, the Soulfari Kenya group will be providing a variety of services for Villa Teag including teacher training, establishing a library with new books, provision of new bedding, facilitation of activities for the children, and whatever else we determine is needed! Villa Teag is our family so we are commited to caring for these children to the best of our ability! (Stay tuned on this blog as we will be writing from Kenya with updates on our projects.)
http://www.nairobits.com/e-results/medialab/cate/pages/co-oprateid/site/partners.htm
(Pictured: 1) Villa Teag children, 2)Julius Were and the kiddos, 3)surrounding neighborhood, 4) Melitus Were, Emmanuel Were, & Julius Were (brothers))
