Kisima Child Care Academy and Orphanage
Kisima Child Care Academy was started by Martin and Margaret Simiyu in 2006. Gerda Fink met Martin on a trip to Kenya in 2007 and became aware that he and his wife were attempting to care for the 83 orphans on their own. At that time Kisima consisted of three mud classrooms. The children sat on the dirt floor for their lessons and slept four to a blanket. They walked a mile for water. Gerda began raising money to help them in 2008. In 2012 Bonnie Lefbom came on a visit to Kisima and subsequently was instrumental in starting For The Kids International, Inc,, the 501(c)3 organization created to support Kisima and other organizations helping children around the world. She is now President of FTKI and leads the effort in giving the deserving children at Kisima chance at a productive future.
With the generous help of supporters, there are now eleven brick classrooms. The original boys' and girls' dorms were built in 2011 and the dining hall in 2012 thanks to the generosity of a family foundation in the Washington, D.C. area. In 2017 a larger girls' dorm was built and included two rooms for private housing for female teachers. The boys have the two original, smaller dorms. A deep borehole well was drilled in early 2019 and a distribution system will be installed soon. Currently four acres are farmed for maize and beans and there are vegetable gardens and an area of fruit trees. There are cows, chickens, and rabbits.
Kisima provides daily meal and education for 300 students from preschool to grade 8. Forty students are orphans who receive full support with clothing, meals, and housing. The remaining students are impoverished local children who would otherwise not receive any education. We also fully support 60 KCCA graduate orphans in many boarding schools in the region and 40 high school graduates in colleges and universities.
Kisima Child Care Academy
Naitiri, Kenya
Bettering our best
SUPPORTED BY FTKI
Our History
contact US
Bonnie Lefbom
President, For the Kids International, Inc.
6614 Van Winkle Dr.
Falls Church, VA 22044
admin@ftki.org