Families Mentoring Families Blog

children literacy

Where Children in Nairobi Get to be Kids Again!

October 31, 2026

About 25 children are outside playing, with the adult mentor who looks after them nearby, and behind them stands their Learning Center, a shelter of corrugated steel built from whatever materials were on hand. It may not look like much, but for these children it's the place where they're safe enough to just be kids.

For many of them, that wasn't always possible. They live in Nairobi's informal settlements (slums), where families are stretched by extreme poverty and the long shadow of HIV/AIDS, and some have been abandoned, some have lost parents, and others have watched their families break apart. They're called Orphans and Vulnerable Children, but behind that label is a child who wants to be safe, fed, taught, and believed in.

That's why our Learning Centers exist across Kenya, Uganda, and other parts of Africa, where children receive an education, psychosocial support, and what we call Hope-Based Interventions, practical care that helps them heal and start building a future of their own. We want every child who walks through our doors to grow into someone bold enough to live a full, joyful life with a desire to give back to their own community.

A shelter made of steel sheets can hold 25 children and a mentor who believes in them, so imagine what it could do with your help.

You can  

to keep a Learning Center open and children learning, or be a volunteer and be part of this work yourself.

Every child deserves a chance to hope, and I'd love for you to help us give it.