There are over 2,000 orphans on Kenya's Rusinga Island. Some of the causes include loss of life to HIV/AIDS, tropical diseases during pregnancy (e.g.: malaria & cholera out breaks) the traditional practiceof wife inheritance where men inherit the wives of their dead brothers without knowing their HIV status. There are also children born out of wedlock and single parenthood by unemployed youths who suffer so much.  Sometimes we in Kenya use the word orphan to refer to children in the society who are destitute.

Our goal is to drift away from the culture of putting children into an orphanage where theytend to forget about their relatives, the assets their parents had left behind,community norms and their culture.  Often living in an orphanage a child can feel lonely seeing themselves as different and separate from other children. This stigma is what we wish to avoid.  Badilisha sees a world where we care for the needs of all people equally and give to everyone the same opportunity to succeed in life.  The children we sponsor with your assistance live with a family and are a part of the community. 

When you sponsor an orphan your gift provides the child with basic needs such as food, clothing, medical care, and schooling.  It is in this way that the communal responsibility of caring for these children is lessened.

In addition to basic needs we provide bereavement counselingto take them through the journey of healing.  Many children are so sad maybe their parents died long ago when they were still young and when they become mature to ask they are told their parents are in town so they end up waiting desperately for their return.  Others can recall seeing their mothers laid dead but when they ask they are told the parents are asleep. This experience stays in the minds of the kids for avery long time.