Project 022 - Child sponsorship in Kenya – Blessed Generation

Since the year 2001 Blessed Generation has been directed by Ria Fennema and her husband Fester Medendorp.

The home in Ruiru was blessed and we thank our sponsors for a new school bus and a car. The dormitories   have been renovated completely and indoor toilets were also built.

Even after finishing high school children require further education or training to break the cycle of poverty. Lucy is doing a course to become a beautician.

Peter Gitau was one of the first children to grow up in the home in the 1980s. After primary school and high school he completed several computer courses and is now a manager of Viafrica (www.viafrica.org) in Nairobi. He supports the children's home by providing on the job training for other children.  When Peter married his fiancee Jane, they invited all the children from the home to their wedding.

About us

Formerly known as Spirit of Faith Orphanage, this ministry was founded in 1984 by a Californian couple Dick and Linda West who went to Kenya as musical evangelists. Soon after their arrival they found themselves becoming the 'adopted parents' of seven orphans whose mother had sadly not survived the birth of her eighth child.

The present orphanage which looks after over 100 children at Ruiru is situated about 20 miles north of Nairobi on the site of a former sisal farm that was donated to the ministry by the Kenyan government.

Over the years many children have come to join the centre from very deprived backgrounds. Some children are the offspring of vulnerable prostitutes from Nairobi, others have been rescued from broken homes or surrendered by mothers who can't cope anymore due to severe poverty. The home is actually a residential school, although some of the older pupils are sponsored to attend college or high school outside centre in normal education.

Sponsorship of a child requires a monthly commitment of £ 20.00 which covers the cost of accommodation, transport, medical expenses, food, school expenses including tuition and uniform, etc. Sponsors usually receive photographs sent on an annual basis and the children are happy to send letters to their sponsors as part of their English lessons. If you are unable to contribute on a regular basis but would still like to assist the home with its finances, gifts sent from time to time really can help provide for a needy child in Kenya.

Most of our sponsors find our programme very rewarding and the regular gifts that are sent overseas do make a real difference to the child we hope you will come to sponsor. Even if you are only able to commit yourself to one or two years of sponsorship, you can make a real difference and you will help save a child from poverty in Kenya by providing education, food and secure accommodation.

Siloam has been involved with this children's project since director Richard Norton first visited S.O.F. in 1986 and over the years Siloam has kept a watchful eye on the ministry being careful to review annual audited accounts and send visitors and volunteers to have a personal experience of the care 'Blessed Generation' has for the vulnerable children in the organisation's care.

In 2001 the responsibility of the orphanage and school passed to Ria Fennema, a Dutch teacher. Since Ria's involvement and that of her husband Fester Medendorp who came to Kenya in 2005, the project has blossomed and 'Blessed Generation' now also look after an orphanage in Malindi on the east coast of Kenya. And, following the election riots at the beginning of 2008, the couple started another orphanage for the victims of the unrest, in the West of Kenya at Nyamira.

To find out more about this worthwhile project which Siloam recommends to UK supporters, please visit Blessed Generation's own website:www.blessedgeneration.nl and choose the British flag for the English version.

If you would like to enter into a commitment to sponsor an underprivileged child at Blessed Generation, please write or email Siloam with your details, advising us of your choice of gender and approximate age and we will try to match your preferences with a needy child on our waiting list.

Gift Aid Declaration Form

Top of page