Huruma Children’s Home, Ngong, Kenya

REPORT FROM BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Summer 2026

With summer almost here, but some temperatures having felt like August already, I hope all of you are well and making plans for some rest and relaxation during the next couple of months with family and friends. It will be beneficial to have a little calm in these unsettled times. At Huruma the children will have a break from their schooling, which they greatly love, and there will be some opportunity for them to just have fun.

As mentioned in my March 2026 report, I was able to spend some time at Huruma Children’s Home in Kenya this spring. It is a “happy place” for me, and I find joy spending time with the children and seeing the difference we are making in their lives and the lives of Mama and the team as well.

The garden at Gatune is thriving, and each growing season, they are able to harvest more vegetables and legumes to help reduce the impact of the increasing costs of food and help make the home more resilient to global pressures. They are trying to develop revenue streams to increase income for the home by selling excess produce and clean water to other community members.

More recently in Kenya, there were days of protests because of fuel shortages, increased food costs and costs of gas due to the war in Iran. The financial situation remains dire throughout Kenya and at Huruma. The state of the world does not allow people to be as generous as they have been in the past, leaving fewer donations to meet all of the needs of the children.

Today, (June 14th) one Canadian dollar is worth 92.4 Kenyan shillings. Their shilling remains very volatile on the world market. .We wanted this note to be a quick update on the children and team at Huruma with our request for you to consider helping the children at Huruma with a donation as you are able. Everybody’s situation is different, but we want you to know that any amount will help, and all donations regardless of amount will receive a Canadian Charitable Tax receipt.

Take care and enjoy the summer
Donna Mansfield and the Board of Directors of Huruma Children’s Trust (Canada)

JANUARY 2026

We are happy to report that 2025 was another successful year for Huruma Children’s Trust (Canada) in support of Huruma Children’s Home in Ngong, Kenya.

Through your donations, Huruma Children’s Trust (Canada) was able to donate $20,000.00 Canadian dollars over the year to Huruma.  At today’s rate (January 4, 2026) with 93.90 Kenyan shillings equal to 1.00 Canadian dollar, that equals 1,877,934.27 shillings.  Thank you to everyone!

Mama Zipporah and her daughter Sialo are continuing their hard work at running the home and meeting the needs of the 300+ children living there.  And as we know, with education being the pathway out of poverty throughout the world, there continues to be 60 children coming from the local slums for their education and main meal of their day. As we mention in all reports, the country of Kenya does not have any social safety net, and it is up to Mama and her team to raise the all funds necessary to feed, clothe, educate and house these children!

Although there was no team from Huruma Children’s Trust (Canada) visiting in 2025, our board member, Jodie, was able to visit in August and attend the wedding of  Ezekiel, a Huruma alumni, who has been part of her life since he was a child living in the home.

Jodie had a wonderful visit with Mama and the children and reported that everything appeared well.

Also, in 2025, Mama informed us, that she has begun building the beehives that Huruma Children’s Trust (Canada) sent funds for in 2024.  She hired a local expert and the pictures she sent, showed  the platforms built as they first have to to attract the bees…and then the hives will be built.

Members of the board were also able to speak about Huruma throughout the year, raising awareness and funds for the home.

In the fall of 2025, plans were put in place to have board members visit Huruma in March 2026.  The plan for this visit will be to coincide with board members of Hope for Huruma  (American charity supporting Huruma), visiting as well and to hold coordinating meetings with Mama, Sialo and staff .  Our plan as well, is for our Board members to be able to meet with the Ministry of Children’s Services around proposed changes  that Kenya is looking at implementing regarding child welfare.

In closing, we continue to celebrate the successes of Huruma Children’s Home and look forward to continuing our support of the Home and the children.  It continues to be our hope that you will continue to support these children as well through your donations to Huruma Children’s Trust (Canada)

As mentioned in previous reports, Huruma Children’s Home and Mama both have Facebook pages, and accounts on UTube.  You can check these sites and see what is going on daily in the lives of the children.

Respectfully submitted.

Board of Directors

Huruma Children’s Trust (Canada)

HURUMA VISIT

MARCH, 2026

I was fortunate to be able to visit Mama Zipporah and her children at Huruma Children’s Home in Ngong Hills, Kenya during March 2026.  I was greeted by all the children who welcomed me with hugs and big smiles. 

Still so many children continue to reside there, and as always, many children come in daily from the local slums for their education and their main meal of the day.

The basketball court needed a bit of work.  These nets and metal back drops were purchased and put in place by Canadian volunteers who visited in 2024.  Once fixed, pickup games began immediately.

The children loved to show how well they read English books. They would sit quietly beside me taking their time sounding out their words when necessary. Often, little ones would be sitting at their sides listening quietly.

I am also always impressed with the childrens’ memories. We  play the memory game with playing cards when kids would have to remember where turned over cards were to match them…They were all attentive, and very successful..  In the children’s free time, they love to engage with volunteers.  I had brought bubbles, paper, crayons and chalk.  One activity we did, to hopefully aid in their self esteem, is we traced their bodies, and had them colour them.  I titled them magnificient  (and name).. One little girl coloured hers  giving herself a tiara…

We visited the farm at Gatune.. Lots of legumes, kale and maise growing and the beehives are quite active, which was great to see as Canadians raised the funds to build them.

They have had lots of rain and the soil smelled so healthy…Along with the ponds, Mama has also had a deep well drilled in the garden. This is providing consistent water for the gardens and also she has a plan to sell water to the locals so they don’t have to travel so far for good, clean water.   With the support of Hope for Huruma (American based charity) Mama has also built more housing for the transitional youth that work at the farm learning about agriculture, with the electricity provided by solar panels..  She is building a classroom as well so the youth can learn the theory of farming and go immediately to the fields to put their learning into practice.

A lot is happening in Kenya right now.  There is legislation that has been approved, that mandates that all children living in children’s homes will be placed in family based foster homes by 2032. During my visit I met with government officials and connected with a NGO partnering with Huruma. I gained some insight into potential impacts to the children in Huruma and possibly for Huruma Children’s Trust (Canada).  We will continue to monitor the impact of these potential changes.  There are 40,000 Kenyan children living in 902 children’s homes, like Huruma, throughout the country. These next few years will be pivotal to see if that goal can be achieved, as Kenya is expecting international donors to fund the children’s needs in the foster homes.