Orbit Child Refuge
One by one, the children of the Orbit Child Refuge came to live with us. Aside from the sibling groups, all have different stories, stories that will fill your eyes with tears and break your heart. Many of our children lost their parents to AIDS related illnesses, some were abandoned and others were failing to thrive in their home situation. We started out with a few apartments and eventually had two floors of the 5 story walk up. In 2000 we bought an acre of land with a house large enough to be home to what had become the Joshua family.
Moving the kids out of the loud and dangerous Kayole Estate to the beautiful farmland of Mihango’s Kibiku Farm was a great change. There we have a sitting room large enough to gather together in and a dinning room where we can eat together. There is room to play and room to grow and of course, grow in size and number, the kids do!!
We quickly became a family with too many teenagers and the sad time came to divide the family into two homes. We moved the girls back to the Orbit Village and constructed THE WELL Dorm. Even though the kids are divided they are still one big family, but we do miss the old days of all being together.
The Orbit Child Refuge has rescued many children and given them a family to belong to forever, but is that really enough? As they grow up and on on their way how can we successfully be in-laws, and grandparents to so many. Many kids fall back in to families that had deserted them and that is often not a good situation. We desire, in the future, to find permanent homes and adoptive families for all adoptable children coming to the refuge. We will soon start taking more babies and younger children as we strive to become a registered Adoption Society in Kenya. Pray for us as we venture along this exciting path.
Meanwhile, many of the children still need sponsors. Sponsoring a child from the refuge allows you to become very involved in the child life and development. Even though it is long distance, your sponsor child will become part of your family. Sponsorship is $50 a month.
"THE WELL" Dorm
Joshua House
Orbit School of the Cross
We support children and youth to reach their full potential!
Orbit School of the Cross was started in 1996 when volunteers from the US realized that 100’s of kids whose parents worked in local quarries outside of Nairobi were not attending school.
Quarry owners and the Kenyan Armed Forces, who owned the land, allowed the Orbit Village Project to start building a school on the edge of a workers camp.
Over 350 Students
Every year a new class was added and today Orbit hosts over 350 students from Baby Class through Eighth Grade. The school is fully accredited and in November 2014 our 8th Senior Class graduated from Orbit High School.
Further Education
With the addition of the Orbit College Fund, 8 of “our kids” (meaning orphaned or vulnerable children from the
Orbit Child Refuge) are attending Kenyan Universities.
Qualified Teachers
Fifteen teachers and additional support staff are employed. Volunteers from Kenya and abroad are welcomed. A group of US teachers are in a partnership with Orbit and regularly offer inservice training and in class support.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Sarah
Meet Sarah, one of our secondary students. She has been working hard to learn Excel and other computer software programs. We have high hopes for her future and can’t wait to see what God does for and through her!
Secondary & College Programs
High School and College are luxuries that many in Kenya simply cannot afford. However, we strive to invest in the future of our students by providing them with a High School education and supporting them through college with the generous donations of our sponsors. Currenlty, we have around 100 students in various boarding schools across Nairobi.
Our Alumni
Take a look at some of those who have graduated from our program below:
Sponsor a child
Primary
$75 a month plus $100 a year for birthday, Christmas, clothing and shoes, or $1000 a year sponsors a primary school aged child. All of these children have lost one or both parents and are all living in our Orbit child refuge. They came from orphan families, relatives or friends enduring very difficult circumstances or were abandoned and brought to us by the police or local officials. We are fully responsible for their support, education, love and care.
Home-Based
$75 a month or $900 a year. This support covers lunch, breakfast, and most school fees. The child's family is given food staples twice a month and assisted as needed in other ways. These families are monitored carefully by a staff social worker. In many cases these children are living with struggling single parents or grandmothers or other relatives.
High School
Starting at $100 a month, you can support one of our high-school students as they continue their education. For many in Kenya, attending high school is only a dream. However, we strive to make sure our children have every opportunity to succeed. We have over 85 students in outside secondary school. The cost depends of which school they are accepted in.There are so many fees such as transportation, medical fees, holiday care, personal food and products we must supply. Each school has different requirements.
College
Investing in secondary-education for one of our students can change their life, preparing them to be a full-fledged adult. Since each student is different and there are many choices for colleges in the area, the cost to support a college student varies per student.
You Can Be A Part Of Us
By sponsoring a child, you become part of the Orbit family.
