A Lost Generation
Tens of thousands of families in Kenya are struggling just to stay alive. Almost hidden in rural western Kenya, AIDS and malaria continue to kill and disable adults and children.
Almost an entire generation of adults is being wiped out by the AIDS epidemic, leaving children abandoned. The lucky ones have grandparents on which to rely, but these elderly people can barely make it through each day themselves, and the stigma of AIDS is still so strong that other relatives refuse to help. These parents—who expected to be cared for in their old age by their adult children—are now raising and nurturing their grandchildren.
A Way Forward
To address this crisis, Anglican priest Rev. Dr. Robert Barasa developed the The Ember Kenya Grandparents Empowerment Project to provide support for these grandparents on many levels: providing education, encouragement, and resources for the poorest of the poor.
The Ember Kenya Grandparents Empowerment Project recognizes that organizations that focus on providing help directly to children are only marginally successful; when these organizations shut down, as so many do, the children are back where they started, abandoned.
The Ember Project has a different vision, and it is working. By helping grandparents to improve their own economic situations, the program benefits children as well, showing them that someone loves them and will care for them until they are able to care for themselves.
With seed money from Northminster Presbyterian Church in Evanston, IL and other congregations, there are now more than 900 families and 3,850 grandchildren being helped. But thousands more await. The Ember Project is bringing hope and a better quality of life for all those involved.