Our Work

Where We Work

It is a lush agricultural region with rolling hills, winding streams and many rural communities garnered by sparse gatherings of local markets where commerce takes place.

However, it is also a region of few roads, marginal access to electricity, and limited healthcare…

Unfortunately, Siaya County is also an area, that according to a study conducted by the National Aids Control Council of Kenya in 2018, has among the highest prevalence rates in Kenya of adult HIV with more than 21% of its population testing positive for the virus. Additionally, deaths among children under the age of five were twice that of the national average in this area, and one out of every six of those deaths were caused by HIV related complications, either directly or indirectly.

Work We Do

In July of 2010, Nehemiah’s Restoration (NR) took over the financial commitment of continuing the USAID Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) program in the counties of Kisumu and Siaya, Kenya.

Currently, NR is concentrating its effort in a smaller region of the northern boarder of Siaya County, Kenya.

The Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Program places children impacted by the death of one or both of their parents due to HIV/Aids in extended-family or “Foster-Care” homes. There, the children are assisted with one or more of “Seven Essential” services, consisting of: Food and Nutritional services, Shelter and Care-Giving, Legal Aid, Healthcare, Psychosocial Support, and Educational & Vocational Training.

The goal in supporting these children is to assist in developing them through their adolescent years in the hope of providing them the opportunity to become productive, self-supporting adults in the future, and therefore, ending “Generational Poverty” in their lifetime.

Without our assistance, many of these children are left to develop on their own. Some, if not many, will fall into corruption, human trafficking, prostitution or even perish of an early death. Most, if not all, will slip into a lifetime of poverty that left unchecked, will last for generations.

Orphan & Vulnerable Children Program Development and Operational Phases

Phase I
Preliminary Evaluation

Phase II
Three Year Commitment

Phase III
Sustainability Project

In this phase, we come along side local groups already active in providing care and assistance to OVCs in some form. Once we have identified these people, we gather them together to form a “Community Group.” For the first three to six months, we support that “Community Group” by providing them with program and leadership training. They are then asked to identify, catalog and report OVCs they are currently supporting and those they wish to support. Then, they are asked to develop their “Leadership Committee”, that will track the welfare of the children in the program and make decisions on behalf of the “Community Group”. The Leadership Committee will thereby select key leadership roles. If the Community Group is successful in their “Preliminary Evaluation Phase”, then they will be considered to participate in a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the OVC Program.

If the “Community Group” has met all of our requirements in Phase I, the MOU is signed and their program begins. The Group will be tasked to report the children in their group that are provided with at least one or more of the “Seven Essential” services in the program. The first year, NR will support the group financially 100%. During this time the group will need to develop “Community Projects” that will assist in financing the second year of the program. At which time, the group will be required to finance the program with 25% of their own funds. By year three, the program will be financed 50% by the group. If the Community Group meets all the required objectives financially and for the children's welfare throughout the three-year period, they will be considered to be supported with a “Sustainable Project”.

In this the final phase of the program, the Community Group will be asked to develop a “Sustainability Project” within a one-to-two-year period. The project, if accepted by NR, will be the way NR can leave the program financially and continue to be supported 100% by the Community Group in the future. The Sustainability Project will be funded 50% by NR and 50% by the Community Group. Once the Group has started their Sustainability Project, NR is free to start another Community Group in a nearby area. It is the hope of NR that the Community Group will not only continue to support OVC on their own, but will in turn grow to support even more OVCs.