Our Academics
Bethesda children's ministry boys under rehabilitation ,have been attending public school whereby they were undergoing stigmatization hence run back to the street. This made Bethesda think of how to prevent them back to the street thus we came up with an idea of starting a preventive program which will cater for basic education.
Another issue which was born on the way, there is a neighborhood slum next to our project. While doing evangelism, we found that school aged kids are not going to school due to poverty and lack of parental care. Most of these slum kids are of single mothers and fathers. Then these kids end up going to the street of Nakuru thus making us rescue them from the street being on drugs.
From the above two points, the idea of starting A Preventive program was born in the year 2011 with the aim of feeding the kids at our center and providing them with basic education then go back to the slum and those under rehabilitation spend full time under our care. The kids from the slum are paying nothing as majority have no parents or guardian to care after them
At moment we have over 100 kids under this program with eight teachers for grade one to six (as of 2020),that we are looking forward as per ministry of education ,make it a primary school school that will fully offer education like any other education institution but under Bethesda children ministry, because no government funds towards this noble idea. Bethesda Children's ministry caters for meals, infrastructure, staff salaries and school materials.
The requirements to manage the school is the main challenge at the moment but through faith of HEBREWS 11;1, we will make it.
Street Work
Once in a week we go out to visit the children in the street, in their different bases. Usually we visit some of the bases in the town centre where most children usually stay. We don’t provide any food, but relationship and medical care. Even though we focus on boy’s aged 8 - 14, we try to get contact also with girls and older boys in order to link them to other service providers.
Follow up Programme
When a child is re-integrated back to his home, either if he comes directly from the streets or from our centre he is put in our Follow up program. Once in a week we go out to visit one of our children in the FUP. The main aim is to follow up the child’s performance in school and the situation at home at large so as to make sure the child does not go back to the street again. Once a year we invite all our boys to come back to Bethesda Children Centre for Boys Camp. That gives us the opportunity to closely follow up each boy’s behavior, performance in school and at large the situation at home.
Preventive Program
Every Friday we have an outreach program at sobea slum to meet and share Gods` word and find out the vulnerable and not going to school. Parents and their children are invited to our Bethesda chapel every Sunday.
Children are interviewed and recruited to the program as per the need.
Bethesda Children's Centre
Many of the children in the streets need to be rehabilitated before they can be re-integrated with their parents/relatives. The rehabilitation period is depending on:
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1) The time the child has spend in the street.
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2) The use of glue and other drugs.
3) The situation at home.
The Centre has an age limit of 8-14 and our current capacity is 30 Boys. As part of the rehabilitation we offer formal school and in the weekends they have activities such as handicraft, acrobatics, choir, Bible study and ball games. We also train the boys in farming. Every Wednesday and Sunday the boys attend church for spiritual guidance. Professional counselors from government and NGOs assist us by counseling the boys.