Adopt a child
The Adopt a Child in Kenya programme
The Adopt a Child programme runs thanks to close cooperation with our long-standing partner — the Salesian Bosco Boys centre in Nairobi, Kenya. You too can help children in need — specifically former street boys and children from the slums — through a regular monthly contribution of €33. With it you will give one of them not only food and a roof over their head, but also a good upbringing and education, support, and hope for a better future.
Who can take part?
Through this programme we strengthen solidarity and a sense of social responsibility in Slovakia. The programme is open to:
- individuals,
- parishes,
- schools,
- companies,
- communities.
BOSCO BOYS Centre, Nairobi
“Don Bosco Primary and Junior School is more than just a school. It is a place where young people are guided to grow, to learn and to become the best version of themselves.
Rooted in Salesian values, we focus not only on academic excellence but also on building character, faith and a sense of responsibility.
Here, students are encouraged to be diligent, to care for one another and to prepare themselves to one day bring positive change to the world.”
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all who contribute to the growth and success of our community.”
Fr. Bernard Obino Onyiego, SDB
school principal
The Bosco Boys centre helps children who are getting by in life without the support of parents or relatives. It gives them a substitute home and a basic education.
The beginnings of this project for children in need in Nairobi reach back to 1990, when the Salesians of Don Bosco began working in Kenya with boys living on the street. Thanks to the support of many donors and sponsors, the Bosco Boys centre grew up over the course of several years. Today it supports roughly 600 children, providing them with a basic education and enabling them to continue their studies at vocational training schools, secondary schools and universities.
How Bosco Boys changes the lives of boys from the streets
Bosco Boys provides a home for boys, most of whom used to live on the street. It also includes Don Bosco Primary School, which is attended by other boys and girls from poor families in the neighbourhood as well. After finishing primary education, pupils with good results can apply to study at secondary schools and universities, and the centre’s leadership continues to support them in that. Pupils with weaker results are given the chance to train in a trade — carpenter, welder, car mechanic and the like — in the workshops of the Bosco Boys centre itself or in other Salesian technical training schools.
How the various Bosco Boys facilities work
Bosco Boys covers a range of activities at several locations in Nairobi. Its core part is the boarding primary school in the Kuwinda neighbourhood. The Bosco Boys – Kariua outreach facility is the contact point for boys living on the street. When one of them shows interest in studying, a social worker helps him work through his situation. The Bosco Boys Langata centre is the entry point for newly admitted boys from the street. The boys spend their first few months — or years — there. The goal is to root out of their behaviour the bad habits picked up during life on the street, especially drug addiction, and to prepare them to move up to the next level of education. Bosco Boys also runs a kindergarten in a nearby slum.
How children’s talents and self-confidence grow thanks to your support
The children at Bosco Boys are given a new chance to build a better future, for themselves and for society as a whole. Many of them have a gift for sports, music, dance and a host of other talents, which they show in various competitions. They have dreams and ambitions, not even a fraction of which would come true without the help of many donors. The gratitude — and the desire to pass on the help they themselves have received — is palpable on every visit to the centre.
The goal of the Child Adoption programme in Kenya is to create a suitable educational environment where children can grow and develop with the awareness that they are loved and that someone cares about them, in the following ways:
- a new home for street children in Nairobi
- quality formation – building social habits
- education (at every level)
- the goal is for the child to return to their family
- strengthening solidarity and social responsibility in Slovakia
Fill in the form in the Adopt a Child section and we will promptly send you a Pledge and further instructions by e-mail. The Pledge is concluded for at least one year, so that we can plan resources for the Bosco Boys Centre more accurately. On the basis of the Pledge we will assign you a child and send you a photo of the child together with information about them.
The regular monthly contribution for one adopted pupil is EUR 33. This amount represents the average cost per child. The contribution can be sent monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually. We are not able to combine partial contributions from different donors on our side. Groups or communities that are interested can agree on the adoption among themselves and contribute under a single name. If you like the Child Adoption programme in Kenya but cannot afford to contribute EUR 33 each month, you can support our work with a one-off gift or with a smaller regular gift. Every gift helps!
We renew the Pledge automatically when we cannot reach the donor by phone, post or e-mail and the donor’s contributions continue to arrive regularly on our account each month. We inform the donor about the renewal and they may cancel the Pledge at any time.
You can also make a Pledge to support a child in the Child Adoption programme in Kenya by phone, but only if the child is still at the centre. A SAVIO o. z. staff member will call you before the Pledge expires and you can arrange a renewal. The shortest possible renewal is for 1 year. After the renewal you will automatically receive an e-mail confirmation that it took place on the basis of the call. The e-mail will also contain the following information: the Pledge expiry date, the contribution amount, the IBAN and the variable symbol.
SAVIO o. z. reserves the right to cancel the Pledge if contributions for the adopted boy stop arriving from the donor and the donor cannot be contacted. We will cancel such Pledges according to the schedule below and we will notify the donor by e-mail and post.
- 6-month grace period for regular monthly contributions
- 1-year grace period for regular quarterly and half-yearly contributions
- 1.5-year grace period for regular annual contributions
The financial contributions do not go directly to the boy you support, for several reasons: the children are not yet able to manage money, holding larger amounts of money may put them at risk, and children without a donor would feel left out. Contributions from adoptive parents are therefore sent twice a year to the account of our partner, the Bosco Boys Centre in Nairobi.
At the Bosco Boys Centre the boys are provided with accommodation, three meals a day, clothing as needed, and health care. Your contribution is also used to buy school supplies, the school uniform and to cover any school fees. At Bosco Boys the children also take part in various leisure activities. We keep in regular contact with Bosco Boys and we also monitor how the funds entrusted to them are used.
We use 15 % of the donors’ contributions to cover costs associated with running the Child Adoption programme in Kenya. This means that of the EUR 33 that arrives in our account, we use EUR 4.95 for communication with our partner organization, gathering information about the boys, bank fees on money transfers, donor communication (sending letters, e-newsletters, photos), acquiring new contributors, accounting and updating the website. The remaining EUR 28.05 is sent to the Bosco Boys Centre where your child is.
We greatly appreciate your support and we respect any decision to end it on your part. However, in view of the issues that arise when a donor withdraws from a Pledge, we also expect a degree of loyalty from the donor. If a donor decides to end their support, they need to let us know at least one month in advance so that we can arrange a replacement donor.
You can adopt a child at any time of year. The minimum length of support for a child is one year, so that we can plan resources for Bosco Boys more accurately. You can start supporting the boy once the Pledge has been delivered and the child has been assigned to you.
We update the lists of children twice a year. Sometimes the child assigned to you leaves the centre, returns to their family, finds another sponsor, completes their schooling, or — sadly — dies. We inform donors about the situation and offer them the option to adopt another child.
If the situation described in point 12 arises, the money you contributed for the child who can no longer be supported through our system will be credited to your new child.
By making the Pledge you give us consent to use your contact details to communicate with you about the Child Adoption programme and our other activities by a regular electronic newsletter. We will communicate with you about the Pledge, its renewal, changes of child and correspondence with the children. Each quarter we will send you Reports from the Salesian Missions by post.
Under normal circumstances the child writes a letter once or twice a year. Twice a year we also invite donors to write letters to the children, which we send to Bosco Boys in a single batch. You can send a letter or a postcard in English, and please use printed (not cursive) handwriting.
We do not send material gifts to the children, as it can cause jealousy and disagreements among the others.
We are not in a position to arrange donor trips to the Bosco Boys Centre. Visits to the children could also cause jealousy and disagreements among the others.
The school year in Kenya starts in January and ends in November. It is made up of three-month “trimesters”, each followed by a month-long holiday. Children living at Bosco Boys spend their holidays with their family or relatives where possible, but several always remain at the centre. In August and December a holiday camp is organized for the children, which children attending other schools can also join. Primary school in Kenya has 6 grades, at the end of which pupils sit a nationwide final examination. After passing it they receive a certificate of completion of primary education. They then continue to Junior Secondary School and Senior Secondary School, or to vocational training centres.