The project started in 2002 when I decided to take care about street children in Nairobi. I met street children for the first time in 1996 when I lived in Kenya for about a year.
I rented a house in Nairobi, employed staff and with some friends in Kenya we registered a NGO Lioness Cubs street children of Kenya. Unfortunately it was to difficult to work with street children. After two years the home turned into an orphanages with smaller kids brought in by children officers and police officers.

We moved from Nairobi to Thika. Due to problems with landlords we were forced to move away from Thika so we decided to choose to live at the beautiful coast of Kenya, near Mombasa. Once again chased away from Mtwapa because the agent needed the house for his own business we now rent a house in Kikambala. This house is to small for the number of children.

We are not planning to built a big home for many children. We intend to offer the children we have and some more also a quality life. We believe that taking in children in a home is not the best solution and should not be the first option. Taking away responsibility from family members and making people depended from you is not the best way to help these people. It is definitely the best to place the child with an uncle, auntie, or other members and try to assist to make these people independent by starting up a small business or any means of income. To raise children in a home where European volunteers are assisting is according to our own experiences not the best you can do for a African child. This should be the last option. The number of homes are increasing in particular those by the ' white people' . It is definitely a generous gesture a good will of the heart but we do the work what the Government of Kenya suppose to do.

We do have serious plans to start with the foundation of the new home before the end of 2009. Once the building plans are approved more news will follow.

Irene Okech - Haneveld