Buckner International offers a variety of services to empower and strengthen vulnerable families in Kenya. In addition to life-enrichment services available at the Buckner Family Hope Center® locations in Bungoma, Cherangani, Kitale and Nairobi, as well as school programs, there are also foster care and adoption services available.

In most cases in the Kenyan area, foster care is really kinship care – where extended family members take care of children whose parents have died or abandoned them. These relatives receive financial support, food, school fees, health care and family coaching from Buckner Kenya staff.
 
In 2023, Buckner Kenya had 13 kinship adoptions and 179 children placed in kinship care.
 
In Kenya in 2023, there were more than 24 million children, with over 85% of the population under 35 years old.

The number of children who have lost one or both parents has grown over the last few years. It's estimated that 20% of children have lost both parents.
 
The increase in deaths has been attributed to things such as HIV, AIDS and other illnesses or conflicts. Of those children who have lost their parents, the majority live with either a grandparent, sibling or another type of relative.

Kinship care is important because it maintains family connections and cultural traditions while also minimizing the trauma of separation.

Kinship care restored Mourine and her sister's futures

In Western Kenya near the Ugandan border is the town of Busia, where Mourine, now a 27-year-old vibrant young woman, grew up.
 
She is the youngest of two and now lives in Nairobi where she runs a hotel with her husband and is the praise and worship team leader at her church. But before she made it to Nairobi, Mourine had to face several challenges.
 
Mourine lost her parents at a young age and moved in with her aging grandmother. Her grandmother, too weak to help Mourine and her sister with basic needs like food and clothing, soon began going door-to-door in the neighborhood to beg for food.
 
When their grandmother’s health deteriorated and she was admitted to the hospital, Mourine and her sister grew desperate. They stopped attending school after constant bullying. Their self-esteem plummeted and they would have trouble sleeping at night wondering why their life was so different from their neighbors.
 
Not only did they struggle for food, but their house had a leaky roof, they didn’t have the proper uniforms for school and were constantly left to fend for themselves.
 
One day Buckner Kenya visited Mourine's home after conducting social welfare visits in the area. This led to Mourine and her sister receiving care through the Buckner Kenya kinship care program, a program designed to help kinship families with basic needs like food, clothing, school and medical care. After receiving care from Buckner, their lives changed drastically.

Mourine received emotional support, her family was provided enough food, and she and her sister were able to reintegrate back into school.

Soon Mourine began to smile and even excel in school. She passed the test to attend high school and was provided scholarships and other basic needs while she was there. Following high school, she was able to keep her grades up to enroll in college and earn her certificate in early childhood development and graduated in 2021.

Mourine taught at a private school in Nairobi, where she saved enough money to start her own thriving hotel business. This business has allowed her to be self-sufficient and save more money to further her education.

Mourine’s life has changed tremendously due to her interaction and engagement with Buckner. Kinship care through Buckner provided a path for Mourine to walk with confidence and determination.

6-year-old Edwin and his siblings were orphaned, kinship adoption provided a renewed path

Edwin is a 6-year-old boy from a small village in western Kenya. He is the youngest of three and his parents died in 2019 and 2020.

After the death of his parents, Edwin went to live with his aunt. Unfortunately, his uncle was an alcoholic who denied food for him and his siblings and constantly threatened to kick them and his wife out of the home.

Eventually, Edwin and his siblings moved in with their grandmother. When they started having trouble paying the school fees, they asked for help from the government, who referred the family to Buckner. Edwin was accepted into the Buckner residential program in Kenya where he received medical care, nutritious meals, a place to sleep and the attention of loving caregivers.

After he adapted to his new environment, he was able to reintegrate back into his family. Today, Buckner is still able to support him with school fees, food and more as needed.

Edwin is a fun, energetic, responsible young boy. He loves going to school and wants to be an electrical engineer when he grows up.
 
Kinship care provides a safe, familiar environment for children experiencing tumultuous and challenging things in life. Buckner is dedicated to finding families for children and putting the child’s needs first. When reunification isn’t possible, finding a home that offers stability, belonging and even familiarity can go a long way.

Find out more about Buckner Kenya.