Personal Report on Volunteering at Dorothy Children’s Home

The USIU-A educational experience is pitched on helping the community as its major stronghold; building a culture and a community that both reflects and fosters togetherness, and demonstrate progress towards measurable community goals. This is done by ensuring that all students do community service in either their junior or senior year. I am Glory Nyaruai Kanyoro, a Psychology major with a double minor in Industrial Organizational psychology as well as Marriage and Family Therapy. I am a volunteer at Dorothy Children’s home; which is located in Thome 1st Avenue, a gated community which is just before you get onto the bypass as one is coming from Roysambu. My supervisor at the site is called Doreen. She is the one who is responsible for the allocation of activities, ensuring we have done all that we are supposed to do every day as well as signing our daily diaries.

Dorothy Children’s Home was founded in the year 2009 by Elias Mbabu and his late wife Alice Mbabu. He drew his inspiration from the thesis on the topic “Shalom”, which he did in 1991. Dorothy Children’s Home was originally their home but with time, the couple noticed a gap that needed to be filled. They noted that there were so many girls who had been neglected, abandoned and violated. One day they were going for an evening walk and they met a few girls who begged them for money, Elias and his late wife Alice were in a rush so they were unable to go buy the children food so they opted to give them 1, 000/-. However, when they got home and discussed the incident; and it is then they agreed something greater had to be done. Hope had to be restored in these girls’ lives. So they then decided to remake their home in Thome, into a home, a safe space for the girls. The children’s home which is a safe haven for many was name after Dorothy who was a staunch Christian.

Dorothy was a Christian who was a victim of spousal abuse. Her husband abused her and killed her, in 2001. She was then thrown into a river and found days later. In her honor, Elias and his late wife Alice, name the Children’s home after her; as she was a great woman. The idea behind Dorothy Children’s home is peace-making and providing a safe haven for young girls who have been violate, neglected, abused, abandoned or lost their parents. Elias told me that he has noted that there are lots of violations within our homes, communities, nations and the globe at large. He wishes he had the ability to change all this, however as it is not possible, he hopes his contribution will help. “A child who is sick, alone, neglected, sad, homeless or uneducated, cannot be at peace. ” Elias said as he gave me the background of Dorothy Children’s Home. He believes that taking in the young girls, their hope in life is restored. He bases his deeds on the principle of shalom which aims at restoring violated situations. Elias hopes that by restoring hope in their lives, the girls will grow up to change the narrative the world has about Africa. He hopes they are the reason Africa are not only on the receiving end of the stick, but the giving as well. He prays that the girls change the world and have a massive impact.

My initial impressions of the place were a bit miscellaneous. I attribute this mainly to the fact that I was the first person on site so it was still in the wee hours of the morning. By around 7;15 AM, I had arrived. The gate was closed so I had to ring the bell a couple of times before I was finally received. I did not expect Dorothy Children’s home to be that far from the gate. As a matter of fact, I thought I would be waking from the main gate but as soon as I arrived, I came to the realization that I would have to quickly come up with alternative solutions. I remember being in extreme awe of how clean and organized the house and the compound were. I had numerous stories from a number of people who had done community service and they would never fail to mention how messy their sites were. So this fact took by surprise. The hedge was well cut, the kitchen well arranged, the store neatly set, the prayer room was so organized and even the children’s rooms were so tidy. I was exceptionally impressed by the fact that at the main gate that gated community (Thome 1st Avenue), there is a sign labeled “Dorothy Children’s Home” so I was not forced into guessing exactly where the place is especially given that it was my first time there and a number of students were rushing to get places to volunteer their services so I did not have much time to waste. I remember asking the supervisor what the small cubicles built of iron sheets were and she told me that they were classrooms. I was in actuality, incredibly surprised as I thought they only offered shelter and that the children went to neighboring schools. I recall being taken aback as I was being shown around because I had never seen as many cows, chicken and pigs in someone’s compound in Nairobi. That was extremely new to me and I asked her numerous questions such as where they got them, what they use them for, what they eat, how often they are fed, how the children who live there feel about them and what happens when they are sick.

Bearing in mind that I arrived at Dorothy Children’s home in the early hours of the day, I found a few children sitting at the dining area devouring breakfast as I was being given my tour. I noted that they had varying uniforms on and wondered to myself why that was the case. About three of them had red uniform, four had blue uniform and five of them had green uniform. I remember finding that extremely strange as I had until that time, assumed that they all go to the same school. I recall being shown their bedrooms and being in tremendous awe of how big and spacious they were. They were also extremely colorful as all their beds were wrapped in different patterns of Maasai blankets. One of the last places I was taken to was a room where the children who live there access the internet. I was very surprised to see that they have so many laptops. I remember asking her where they got them from and she told me that they rely on donors and well wishers for most o their resources. Another major first impression was the fact they had a very beautiful farm; I was extremely impressed by how well taken care it was. I also remember feeling a bit unwelcome at first because the lady who welcomed me was particularly cold. She did not even look at me or say anything even when I said good morning to her. Once she opened the gate for me, I asked her how many other people had come because one of the students I had met on the community service line had requested that I tell her if there is any more space for her to volunteer at Dorothy Children’s Home. She told me that there is more space, however, they do not take friends and neither did they take many girls because she believed girls do not get along at all (which was a huge and closed minded generalization). I tried to inform her that the girl and I were not friends and I had just met her that morning but she quickly dismissed me and handed me over to Doreen, my supervisor. The store is also one of the places I was taken and I could not conceal my astonishment and amusement. There were so many huge sacks full of different cereals and legumes including; green grams, kidney beans, black beans, maize, rice, french beans, among others. There were also a number of vegetables including onions, tomatoes, spinach, cabbage, kales as well as amaranth. I was extremely astounded because I had never been to a children’s home that had all that produce in their vicinity. I asked Doreen (my supervisor) where they had gotten all those and she told me that the vegetables were grown in their farm whereas the cereals and legumes were donated by their donors and well wishers. I remember feeling extremely nervous after the tour due to the fact that they had shown me so much. I began to wonder what exactly my daily activities would encompass. “Would I be asked to water the crops? Would I be asked to feed the cows? Would I be asked to teach the children? Would I be asked to help with the cooking? Would I be asked to collect eggs every morning? Would I be asked to cut the cabbages? Would I be asked to pick the cereals?” I had so many questions at the back of my mind by the time Doreen and I were walking back to her office. My activities at Dorothy Children’s home for the past six weeks have been very diverse as there is a lot to do at Dorothy Children’s home.

Since I started volunteering at Dorothy Children’s home, I have done a number of things including; washing dishes, washing windows both inside and outside the house, washing the house, spreading the children’s beds, sweeping the compound, arranging the shoe rack, folding laundry, sorting clean clothes from dirty clothes, interacting with the children as well as picking cereals and legumes such as green grams, kidney beans, black beans, maize, rice, french beans and ‘nzoo’ (a kamba name for one of the cereals). However since I started volunteering at Dorothy Children’s home, two activities I had to do have stood out the most. One of them I did in the fifth week. I got to the home at around 9:00 am and at around 9:45 am, one of the children was sent to call me and the other volunteers from USIU-A; once we got outside, we noticed there was a sick cow lying on the ground. One of the ladies who take care of the children asked that we all come together to pull the cow out it’s shed so that they are able to slaughter it and eat it. It is on that day that I learned that you cannot eat meat from a cow that has died before being slaughtered or else it is poisonous. The cow was extremely heavy and we were unable to do it alone as volunteers so our supervisor suggested that we go outside and look for people to help. We came back with four men who were then able to help us get the cow out of the shed. After my daily duties, I went back to see the cow and found them slaughtering it; it was gruesome so I opted to leave as I could not handle it.

Another activity I have done since I got here that has stood out for me was farming. Yesterday I went to the farm, dug and thereafter planted maize. It was extremely exciting but tiring. I had never done so much farming in one day. The children who live there helped and it was really nice to interact with them in a less formal manner. After that, I am now strongly considering farming as a side hustle as my perspective on it has changed. It is also key to note that some days are definitely harder than others; depending on the tasks allocated to me on each day. The strengths of Dorothy Children’s Home are numerous. One of them being that they have a farm which they have rented (6, 000/- per year) and on this farm they are able to grow kale, maize as well as beans. These are then used to feed the children and those who take care of them. Another strength is that they have cows and chicken so they are able to sell both milk and eggs for extra income, At Dorothy Children’s Home; there is a school, which is also a great strength as they are able to educate their younger children within the compound. One of the other strengths I have noted about Dorothy Children’s home is how easily accessible it is, as it has two gates; which allows people to access it whether they are walking or driving. There are a number of weaknesses I have noticed since I started my volunteer work at Dorothy Children’s Home. The fact that their classrooms have been constructed with iron sheets is a major weakness at the home. This means that when it gets hot, the children feel extremely hot; hence finding it very hard to concentrate. Another weakness is how dusty the environment around the home is. This translates to the children getting sick quite often and those with asthma having numerous asthma attacks. The road leading to Dorothy Children’s Home is terrible, especially during the rainy season. I have had issues getting there a number of times because cab drivers do not want to drive there as they risk damaging their cars. As I was cleaning the house the first few times, it came to my attention that they do not have enough bins in the house or even in the washrooms especially considering that the home only hosts girls. This is a great weakness especially for those who have started menstruating.

Opportunities at Dorothy Children’s Home are a good number. One opportunity they have is to sell the milk and the eggs from the cows and the chicken they own. Another great opportunity is farming on the other half acre piece of land that they do not use currently. This could allow them to get an extra stream on income which would help greatly with upkeep. Since I have been volunteering here, I have noticed that their Instagram page is rundown. I strongly believe that if it was up to date, it would open doors for more donors and well-wishers. The numbers of threats facing the home are not that many. One of the concerning threats is the fact that the farm they use to get their produce is not theirs, they rent it out. This means they could easily lose the farm at any given time if the owners have interest in doing something else with it. This could really destabilize Dorothy Children’s Home. Another threat is the shortage of teachers at the school during some of the school terms. It then leads to the ones who are there, being overworked. The lack of funds to expand Dorothy Children’s Home as per the wishes of the director is also a threat for the home may not grow as he had hoped for.

Ever since I started volunteering at Dorothy Children’s Home, I have interacted with the director, the children and those who live with the children. It is in that way, that some light has been shed on the challenges they face. One of the major challenges they face is shortage of fees for the girls. Another challenge they face is water and electricity bills. They tend to be higher than expected sometimes. Hence exceeding their budget; this in turn, stresses the director. Their farm also faces challenges which include; lack of enough water as well as inability for beans to grow as well as they ought to grow.