Education
We provide sponsorships that give children access to education in private schools, boarding schools, universities and vocational training centers.
Education is the foundation for opportunity. In providing this access, we are ensuring children have the chance to pursue a future that breaks the cycle of poverty. We want to see fewer kids on the streets and more youth growing into adults who contribute to society.
Wellness
Our wellness programs currently focus on partnerships with two children’s homes, Loving Hands Safe House in Gilgil and Shadow Mountain, in Nairobi.
Nutrition
Before our program began, many children in the area suffered from malnutrition, sleeping hungry, underperforming and experiencing various health complications. Thankfully, we’ve established two partnerships to serve those children most vulnerable to these conditions.
nisria provides nutritious food supplies to both children’s homes, which house 120 children total. We are also assisting one of the homes with growing food to maintain long-term sustainability.
Healthcare
Vulnerable children usually face many health issues due to many different reasons. nisria supports the two children's homes whenever healthcare funding is required, such as for emergencies, regular health check ups and, as possible, fundraising for crucial cases that require extensive medical care.
For example, Loving Hands Safe House is a children’s home that accommodates HIV+ children and domestic or sexual abuse victims. These children usually come in extremely sick and weak and nisria’s program provides the right healthcare support to these children.
Rehabilitation
Unfortunately, all the children we support come in with very harsh and painful stories. Wounded and hurt emotionally, they will never find peace and joy unless we can heal these traumas. Rehabilitation is therefore done in various forms, such as art therapy, laughter yoga or dancing sessions. We try to be as creative as possible.
Rehabilitation has also been provided to many vulnerable women whom have been working as sex workers. Most of those women started at a very young age, some as young as 8, due to being abandoned or orphaned, finding themselves homeless therefore taken advantage of - and thrust into this situation.
We find many of these women when they are eager to let go of such a career and pursue something different. Our rehabilitation program enables them to enjoy a higher quality mental, emotional and physical health.
Shelter
Our shelter programs currently focus on partnerships with two children’s homes, Loving Hands Safe House in Gilgil and Shadow Mountain, in Nairobi.
Fostering
With every new child in need, the teams at each home decide whether the child should be fostered or assisted into a different home. nisria is dedicated to providing children the most positive atmosphere and living conditions as possible.
We are honored and blessed to have moved Loving Hands Safe House into a permanent home in Gilgil. The children moved to the new location in April 2021, an urgent transition due to the government expansion of the railway. The new location, however, houses buildings that are very old. At the time of the move, the demolition and reconstruction were not yet complete. We continue to work towards creating an updated and safe environment for all kids.
Shadow Mountain is in Baba Dogo Slum in Nairobi. It is challenging to move the children out of the slum, however we have conducted major maintenance throughout the years and continue to take care of the rent cost for the home. Our goal is to secure funding and a safe plan to move the children to a better place.
Rescue
The children’s homes function as rescue centers when there is a lost, abused or trafficked child. This process takes place in collaboration with the police station of the neighborhood. This means not all children at the homes are orphans.
The team always works on tracing the children, finding out their stories and connecting with their families, if possible. Children may refuse to return to their families, for example upon discovering that they were abandoned or if they had been abused by their parents. Yet, this work is important.
In 2021, we managed to trace many cases. One example is a girl who was separated from her mother due to losing her in a market. This work is crucial to bring back many families together after years of sorrow, grief and pain.
Play
The whole story of nisria starts with this program. Play is a fundamental right for every child. Yet many around us believe it’s a luxury rather than a necessity.
Play helps vulnerable children heal, gives them the possibility to experience new dimensions in themselves, it allows them to build better connections with people around them. Most importantly, play makes these kids happy!
In 2015, Founder Nur was in Aswan, Egypt in 2015 and had organized a toy drive with her friends. The group was approached by one of the children who asked if we could buy the neighborhood a trampoline. The children did not have access to a play area.
That moment ignited the play program to establish playgrounds for children in vulnerable communities and children homes. Through nisria, we’ve built 9 playgrounds between Egypt and Kenya.
The program grew to include fun and playful activities for vulnerable children on the basis and now features different activities for thousands of children on a regular basis. We make sure to arrange unforgettable memories, where the children experience things they have never experienced before:
Camping
Going to the cinema
A roadtrip to another city
Cycling in the forest
Zip lining
Swimming
Game drives
And many more activities.
We usually arrange for those activities during the holidays. These activities are lots of fun and adrenaline rush!
Career
When a child turns 18 and is no longer able to live in the children’s home, Nisria works to ensure these youth are not turned away and desinted back to the streets.
This program teaches skills that help to acquire jobs or build a career, such as teaching tailoring schools or helping with film making.
The goal of this program is to provide exposure to different skills that also allow the youth to explore their interests. We are then able to sponsor the student during their studies at university to ensure they maintain housing, have access to proper meals, and complete their studies. We walk with each child until they are able to stand on their feet, and build the life they deserve to achieve - from healing, to prosperity.