Rescue centre offers Kenyan orphans a good future

Rescue centre offers Kenyan orphans a good future
2:20pm Thursday 4th June 2009
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By Tom Shepherd »

A RESCUE centre and health clinic for orphaned girls in Kenya has officially opened after years of fundraising by people in Oxfordshire.
Kenya Children Centres chief fundraiser Gay Goodall, 61, from Warborough, near Wallingford, flew out to Ngoingwa, 40 miles north of Nairobi, to mark the event last month.
'At last, all our efforts are beginning to pay off'
Gay Goodall
The Ngoingwa Centre for Good Future provides round-the-clock care for 120 girls and includes a health clinic and community centre for local people.
The accommodation is a lifeline for the orphans, who could otherwise end up abused, uneducated and destitute. Many of their counterparts are forced to work in the sex industry.
During her visit Ms Goodall unveiled a plaque in memory of her late husband Bernard Goodall, one of the first supporters of the project, who died in 2005.
Fellow trustees and Warborough residents Wilf and Liz Eaton also unveiled a plaque in one of the accommodation blocks to mark their contribution to the centre.
Ms Goodall helped raise £25,000 of the £80,000 it cost to build the centre. She became involved in the campaign after a family friend, married to a Kenyan, highlighted the problems of orphaned girls in the country.
She said: “At last, all our efforts are beginning to pay off, and thanks to some fantastic work from our supporters and local companies, the girls can now start to build themselves a decent future, and when they leave our centre can help other, local orphan girls near Nairobi who are suffering.”
The opening ceremony was attended by more than 200 people, including the mayor of Ngoingwa, and attracted national press and TV coverage. The girls sang, danced and read poetry for the occasion.
The girls are accommodated two to a room and mentored by a house ‘mother’ who follows their development until they are ready to leave.
Businesswoman Ms Goodall said: “By building up their confidence and offering regular medical attention and schooling, the young girls get a lifeline and a decent start in life. It’s something often unavailable for many of their peers who are forced to live in degrading circumstances on the margins of society, facing abuse and exploitation in a country riven by poverty and social conflict.”
To sponsor a child at the orphanage, call Ms Goodall on 01865 258651. Any donations to the charity will be used to feed, care for and educate the orphans.
For further information, visit kenyachildrencentres.com