User:Rafikimwema/sandbox

=== Rafiki Mwema began with a simple, rented house in Nakuru, Kenya. In 2011, the doors first opened for girls who are survivors of abuse and needed a safe refuge while their case went through the courts. === Within a week, Rafiki Mwema was caring for 22 little girls, and their home has been full ever since - even after opening another three homes. Today, Rafiki Mwema cares for 70 children, both boys and girls, on a beautiful farm outside the buzzing city of Nakuru.

In Swahili, Rafiki Mwema means loyal friend - and that’s exactly what they are for each child who comes to live with them.

In Kenya, there’s a great need for this type of refuge. Culturally, girls who have been abused or sexually assaulted are highly stigmatised. They’re blamed for what’s happened to them. This stigma puts them at risk of further harm, so the girls aren’t safe in their homes and villages. The legal system places them anywhere they can - usually orphanages and even in remand centres, where they live with hundreds of other children and too few staff. In these places, harsh discipline and physical punishment is common, which causes more unimaginable trauma.

And so Rafiki Mwema was born of a desire to provide these traumatised girls with dignity and empathy to help them heal from their trauma. To give them back their voice. To let them know that what happened to them does not define them and to empower them to take control of their story.

Rafiki Mwema is so much more than a safe home, as important as that is. Their key workers, who the children call aunties and uncles, provide trauma-informed parenting. Key workers will never care for more than two children at a time so that each child receives all the support they need. Children develop a trusting relationship with their key worker, which helps them develop attachment security - critical to their recovery.

Rafiki Mwema’s deep commitment to the protection of children doesn’t stop at their doors. The charity aims to bring about systemic cultural change - to end the stigma, to encourage children and adults to report abuse and to promote children’s rights. They work throughout the community with families, schools, villages and government officials. And they’ve achieved some amazing outcomes.

In a first for Kenya, Rafiki Mwema was instrumental in introducing video links to courtrooms, allowing children to testify from a safe space, far from their attacker. Because poverty is a major risk factor in child abuse and neglect, Rafiki Mwema assists caregivers - usually mothers, aunties and grandmothers - with micro-finance to help them start small businesses and lift themselves out of poverty.

Poverty and abuse is also the reason that thousands of children live on the streets of Kenya’s cities. To care for these desperately vulnerable children, Rafiki Mwema runs a program that provides meals, a place to bathe and first aid for one large street family made up of around 90 children, mostly boys. Through this program, Rafiki’s team does all they can to find family members who will take in and care for the children. If no one can be found, then Rafiki will work with the childrens’ department to place boys with them.

For a team of less than 100 people in Kenya, and an even smaller team of mostly volunteers here in Australia, Rafiki Mwema achieves an incredible amount. Here are a few more examples:


 * An outreach team regularly visits the many children who have left Rafiki Mwema and moved back into their communities, to make sure they are being cared for, are safe and are going to school.
 * A transition home provides support and guidance for girls who have turned 18 and are stepping into independent life after leaving Rafiki Mwema. These girls are at risk of becoming sexually active before they’re ready, of unplanned pregnancy, of being unemployed and of dropping out of their higher education or vocational training courses. So Rafiki Mwema stays by their side to help them cope, keep them safe and equip them to succeed as they navigate their new freedoms and responsibilities.
 * Medical care and hospital stays have costs covered for boys who live on the street and are sick or injured enough to need more than first aid. Often, hospitals will reject these boys due to cultural stigma and because they can’t pay for treatment. Rafiki Mwema steps in to advocate for the boys and ensure they receive the treatment they need.
 * A purpose-built school called Jasiri Rafiki, where children can learn in a supportive environment and are taught by thoughtful adults who understand how trauma can impact a child’s ability to learn. The teachers receive training to learn how to respond appropriately to big behaviours that, in the traditional education system, may see children expelled or further traumatised by corporal punishment.

In all that Rafiki Mwema does, their overarching mission is to heal each child from their trauma with attachment, love and empathy. While it can be overwhelming to hear some stories, it’s so important that we listen to, affirm and believe survivors of abuse. Join us every week for more stories from Kenya, interviews with Rafiki Mwema key workers and volunteers and so much more.