NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 30 – The Beyond Zero Initiative on Wednesday put a smile on the faces of children at Imani Rehabilitation Centre in Nairobi’s Kayole estate through a donation of food and non-food items.
Song and dance greeted the Beyond Zero team led by Angella Langat and Jane Kiragu when it arrived at the centre to present the donation which included bales of uji mix and maize flour, bags of sugar, boxes of long life milk, sanitizers, gallons of multipurpose disinfectant and face masks.
Speaking after handing over the donation, Ms Kiragu said one of the intentions of the Beyond Zero initiative is to make sure that it intervenes to help the vulnerable in society especially during challenging times like now when Kenya and the world are faced with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As you know the First Lady, who is the patron of Beyond Zero, is very passionate about children. That is the reason why we felt that during this time we can do something small to support you.
“We hope that this modest contribution will help to support and enrich the lives of the children here,” Ms Kiragu said as she commended Imani Rehabilitation Agency for the good work it does in nurturing and giving hope to abandoned children.
Receiving the donation, Imani’s Manager Gillian Njeru and Resource Mobiliser Belinda Mwaniki thanked Her Excellency First Lady Margaret Kenyatta and Beyond Zero for the generous donation.
“Today we feel very honoured because Her Excellency the First Lady and the Beyond Zero team have remembered us. We have been having sleepless nights worrying about what our children at Imani will eat but we can now afford to sleep tight thanks to the donation we have received today,” Mwaniki said.
On her part, Njeru said she was overwhelmed with joy and no words to sufficiently express her appreciation for the donation from Beyond Zero.
She took the opportunity to give a brief history of the Imani Rehabilitation Agency, saying it was established in 1990 and registered in 1992.
“Basically at the beginning when it was established in 1990 it used to cater for street children but as time went by, cases of abandoned infants became rampant and we had to change the structure to take care of them,” Njeru said.
She explained that over the years Imani Rehabilitation Agency has grown and now has seven outposts caring for over 300 vulnerable children, five of them in Nairobi county and one each in Kajiado and Malindi.
Njeru said Imani A and Imani Babies Unit are located in Soweto Kayole, Imani B is situated in Kayole Matopeni, Imani Girls in Kasarani while Imani Ngong is in Ngong town.
“The Imani Babies Unit provides care to 60 babies aged from one day to 3 years old, Imani A cares for 40 children aged from 4 to 18 years while Imani B is home to 60 children aged between 3 and 14 years,” Njeru told the Beyond Zero team.
She said the Imani Ngong Centre hosts children who have either been physically or sexually abused while Imani Malindi caters for children with special needs.
Njeru expressed optimism that the partnership between Imani and Beyond Zero will continue for the benefit of the vulnerable children.
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