Crispin's Orphan Project

We've visited this project before and are greatly in awe. Crispin started in 2007 with 10 orphan kids. 70+ are now at the center (140 kids total use services at the center) 12 live there because they have no extended family to help raise them at this time. Crispin and 4 staff run the project. The model he follows is to help with day care and school and needs that the extended family can't supply. At night most of the kids go to grandmothers and other family/community homes. There the children get love and nurturing. It takes a village to raise them. Some are HIV positive. Many were found in dumpsters or wandering the streets.

Crispin knows what it is like as he was an orphan at 7 with a 4 y.o. sister. He started this project so others wouldn’t suffer as he did. Crispin was lucky to have a grandmother take them under her wing and encourage him to pursue education. (Grandmother is term used to describe an older person, not necessarily your parent’s mother). He is doing the same with all the kids in the orphan project.

The St Mark Endowment fund sent a financial gift with us that will help to buy food and pay for medical needs for this growing population. We delivered knitted hats and small toys to the kids. Next time we will need more hats! Earla, Benjamin and Lisha helped to serve lunch; a gruel that is enriched with vitamins and nutrition needed by the kids to aid in fighting off HIV. Enjoy the pictures. I’ll put the expanded story onto the Safi web page shortly along with links to Crispin's site.