Donate and Help
Current projects and fundraising campaigns
In addition to our long-term flagship projects, we also carry out other, time-limited projects in the fields of health and education in Kenya.
Overview:
Seminars | Access to education | Prevention project | Washable help
Seminars
DfA sponsored children are half-orphans and orphans who receive support for their school and vocational education from German sponsors or Dentists for Africa. The absence of a family, the trauma they have experienced – often in very early childhood – and the lack of personal caregivers result in significant developmental deficits for these children. The seminars are designed to support the children and young people in their development, helping them to develop their personalities, set goals, make decisions, receive psychological and career guidance, and build networks with others. The project leader of the DfA sponsorship project, Sr Seraphine, plans five seminars a year for the various age groups and their needs. “Now I know which careers are suitable for me and which aren’t,” said a 17-year-old after a seminar for school leavers
Access to education
The project will enable 150 particularly vulnerable orphans of primary school age in Nyakach Sub-County, Kisumu County, Kenya, to attend school. In the area around Nyabondo in western Kenya, the AIDS rate is in some cases over 20 per cent. As a result, there are many orphans living there. They are raised by foster parents who often live in abject poverty themselves and are unable to afford school fees, school uniforms and books. The children have to stay at home whilst their peers go to school, and face an uncertain future. Increasingly, the extended family is no longer able to care for the growing number of orphans. This leads to so-called ‘children’s families’, in which children live without adult caregivers and are entirely left to their own devices.
DfA has therefore selected 150 particularly vulnerable orphans to enable them to attend primary school. The children are aged between 8 and 14 and currently attend school on average only 11 out of every 20 days in a month. Many of them have no school uniform, no shoes or no school bags. The project aims to provide all 150 children with everything they need to attend school. Even after these items have been distributed, we will remain in contact with the schools and continue to offer advice and support. The aim is for all the children to attend school regularly and have a good chance of successfully completing their primary education. We would like to enable four of the children to attend a boarding school, as they live in absolute poverty and have no accommodation. There, they will also receive three meals a day and live in an environment conducive to learning.
The project is funded by private donations and grants from the E.O. Foundation.
Prevention project
A key focus of our work in the field of dentistry is on preventive care and the prevention of tooth decay. Due to changes in diet and the increasing consumption of sugary drinks and sweets, more and more children are suffering from severe tooth decay and bleeding gums. In a study conducted in 2015, 19% of the children surveyed stated that they had missed school in the previous year due to toothache. 31% said they experienced pain when chewing hard foods, and 28% admitted to avoiding smiling because of their teeth. This project aims to counteract these trends. During the school-based treatments, the children first receive preventive education, learning how and how often to brush their teeth and what to look out for in their diet. Parents are also involved in this process. Subsequently, all children are examined on site.
If any dental problems are identified, the children are invited to the nearest dental clinic, where they receive free treatment. As part of the school-based dental care programme, all children are given a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. What makes this initiative unique is that the treatments are carried out by Kenyan staff with dental training. In this way, DfA is committed to raising awareness among dental professionals about the situation in the country’s rural areas, thereby helping to counteract the exodus of dentists to cities and urban centres. We receive support for this project from the apoBank Foundation and the E.O. Foundation. Click here for the fundraising campaign:
Washable help
At St Monica’s Village, the widows do not just look after their own. St Monica’s Village is also a place of refuge for young mothers. “Women for women” is the motto here! Due to a lack of education, inadequate prosecution of rape, and fear of the consequences of refusing advances in a male-dominated, patriarchal society, many girls and young women become pregnant before they reach the age of 18. Out of shame over their early pregnancy, many also lose the support of their families. The monthly seminars for young mothers are regularly attended by 30–90 mothers aged between 15 and 18 who are seeking support. Washable nappies and sanitary towels offer particularly sustainable support, as they not only avoid the purchase of disposable products but are also manufactured directly at St. Monica Village. Apart from the cost factor, there are countless other reasons to use reusable products, such as better skin compatibility, environmental protection in a place where plastic waste is largely burned on the streets, and the creation of jobs for women
and a source of income from selling other products elsewhere. Furthermore, the sanitary pads are sewn from second-hand T-shirt fabric, which is bought in bulk locally. Here, too, materials are being reused and the local economy is being strengthened. Fabric for cloth nappies is currently purchased in Germany and processed in Kenya by the seamstresses of the widows’ cooperative. In addition to education and psychosocial support, participants in the workshops receive a sanitary pad and a cloth nappy free of charge.
With the newly acquired overlock sewing machine, the seamstresses can now sew faster and more neatly, meaning the sanitary pads are also available for sale. ‘Lioness of St. Monica’ is the product name the widows have come up with. Strong, courageous and wise, like lionesses, they are driving their project forward. Donations are used to purchase materials and, initially, to pay the seamstresses until the project becomes self-sustaining.