What Your Donations Provide
Since 2014, when the Colorado Mission Committee became involved with the Tumaini Youth Center in Kitale, Kenya-your donations have helped provide clothing, shoes, mattresses, blankets, kitchen furniture, utensils, and school supplies for our fluctuating number of children at TYC.
Self-Sustainability
From the beginning, the Colorado Mission Committee’s goal has been to select projects recommended by the African Board of Directors that will enhance TYC’s self-sustainability and the living conditions for the staff and children. During these past 4 years, livestock (cows, chickens, pigs, goats) numbers have doubled in size. These increases were made possible through your donations, which have enabled TYC to sell some of the offspring for operating expenses. We also raise our own feed crops such as hay and corn and sell the excess in good years.
New Irrigation System
One of our most productive projects was a new irrigation system completed in 2017. The cost was $1875 U.S. dollars. This irrigation system provides water during the dry season (5 to 6 months per year) so corn, cabbage tomatoes, and beans are available to children and staff year round. Any excess crops are sold for additional funds for the orphanage.
The new irrigation system allowed the staff to cultivate a plot for a small banana plantation. The staff dug 130 holes, and planted 130 plants. Approximately 100 have produced successful banana plants. These plants will be trees producing fruit in fourteen to eighteen months.
During the past 18 months, the TYC staff has also put together a grinding mill. Your donations allow the TYC staff to grind grains and legumes on site eliminating transporting the grains off-site for processing.
Four-Unit Apartment Complex
Our largest undertaking to date for projects at the Tumaini Youth Center is a four-unit apartment complex. This complex was completed in the spring of 2017. Not only does it provide needed housing in the area, it also generates annual income for operations at TYC.
The building project video for the four-unit apartment building shows the construction stages of this $60,000 project. Due to security being a major issue in Kenya, donations were also used to construct a security wall that surrounds the apartment complex. This is a mandatory amenity for the rentability of the apartments.
We completed a second apartment complex (8 units in total) in 2022, this became a building for self-sustaining revenue for the AIC and TYC.
Girl's Domitory
A new 4,411-square-foot girl’s dormitory was completed in May 2019. This building has become a vast improvement over our current facility. It has provided needed room for expansion as well as more privacy among the female orphans and staff members. It has 12 small private rooms for the teens and 6 shared (two beds per room) for the younger girls, as well as four shared bathrooms.
This new facility supplies housing for up to 24 orphaned or abandoned girls along with staff members. The girls have 3,216 square feet of living and bathroom space. The large common area measures 588 square feet and has multiple uses. It serves as the dormitory’s living, dining, and meeting facility, along with a 620-square-foot, Matron’s apartment in the center. This is for Tecla, the resident matron, and has a Bathroom and Kitchen. Included in the buildings foot print are four small yard areas for the children.
This building including furnishings cost a little over $57,000 in American dollars. In comparison, this size building constructed in Colorado would cost in the ballpark of $750,000.00!
The work on the building was completed on March 30th, 2024 and officially commissioned with prayers on April 6th, 2024.
The old boy's dormitory that has since been replaced
Revenue-Producing Projects
One of our long-term goals is to be able to host pastoral conferences at TYC. We are considering building living quarters that could be rented to visiting religious groups. This will bring pastors together from around the region to train, educate and fellowship with one another. At the present time, the African Inland Church, which is the overseer of TYC, is helping with the social problems involving orphaned and abandoned children. Conferences could be held in the large church located at the center, which was donated by a wealthy man from Kitale (see story under About Us).
Non-Revenue Producing Projects
Tied to this project will be a water filtration system. The water on site is drinkable, but not all the time, and there is not always enough. There are simple systems by Clean Water, Sawyer, Pelican, Sweet Water and Pure that can purify 170 gallons/day for a one-time cost of approximately $550.
A project that would not bring in revenue but would be an asset for the center is a soccer field and a new ball. The kids have very little recreation or fun in their lives. They work around the center or go to school. There is always some free time. The kids make soccer balls out of old socks and clothes and kick it through the uneven fields at the center. It would be fantastic to set aside an acre of land to be cleared and leveled for a soccer field. The joy it would bring to the kids would be immeasurable. Plus, it would be a community builder as other families and kids from nearby could come and play and fellowship.
Sign Up
Welcome! We would love to keep you updated on God's exciting work in Kenya at the Tumaini Youth Center.