sponsor

If you’re looking to make a difference, we invite you to become a Rafiki Mwema sponsor. Rafiki Mwema is home to many children who have suffered unimaginable abuse. It is a safe space where they heal and receive care. But all this comes at a cost. Each month we must raise enough funds to stay operational. To achieve this we rely on our community of sponsors and donors who generously donate and help us keep our doors open. We invite you to join us as a Rafiki Mwema sponsor.

Rafiki Mwema was established in Australia in 2013 to provide therapeutic safe houses in Kenya for young girls and boys who have suffered horrific abuse. The therapeutic safe houses are located on a secure 14-acre property known as ‘Doyle Farm,’ and are home to 70 children from as young as 18 months old up to 18 years old. Through our Outreach Program, we continue to check on another 150 children who have returned home to their communities to ensure they are safe.

While they’re with us, we work to reboot the safety and love the kids feel so they can grow up to be balanced and loving adults. That’s the key to breaking the cycle of abuse.

But all this comes at a cost. Without the ongoing support of our sponsors we would not be able to continue this critical, life changing work.

Rachael has been a Rafiki Mwema sponsor for the past three years. Each month she donates to our children, making an invaluable ongoing contribution. Here she shares her motivation.

Tell us about the children you sponsor with Rafiki Mwema.

We sponsor two children who are the same ages as my boys. It’s a beautiful connection for the ladies here at work, my family and I. It’s lovely to see the updates and how the boys in Kenya are going.

Why did you choose to become a Rafiki Mwema sponsor? 

I love that Rafiki Mwema give the children in their care a second chance at life. Children who have suffered so many horrors that we can’t imagine and have then been given unconditional love at Rafiki. This has changed their lives and their future. Also knowing that the funds we give do get to the children. Rafiki use the donations to build a better future for the kids.

What motivates your continued support? 

All children deserve to receive love and to live their childhood without a care in the world. However, these children have not been afforded that. They have suffered terribly, often at the hands of those who should be protecting them. I know how lucky we are here in Australia; how lucky I was to have the upbringing I had and how lucky my children are. All children deserve that and our support helps some who have not had that opportunity to experience love and safety and begin to heal.

What’s your favourite part of being a Rafiki Mwema sponsor?

Being able to share the photos and stories of the children in Kenya with my children. Showing my children how important it is to care and how much difference you can make in someone’s life by showing them that they really do matter.

We thank you Rachael from the bottom of our hearts! 

If you’d like to find out more about becoming a Rafiki Mwema sponsor, visit us HERE. With your support we can give every child the chance to live a healthy and productive life.

If you are thinking of becoming a Rafiki Mwema sponsor, our answer is YES! Do it! Through this selfless action you will be directly changing the lives of the children in our care now and for generations to come. There are also many personal benefits to becoming a Rafiki Mwema sponsor as explained by our FIRST EVER sponsor Angela. Read on for her story…

Every month we pay AU$45k just to keep our doors open. Behind these doors is where we care for children who have experienced immense trauma. We provide a loving, safe space for them to heal and provide them with the chance to live a heathy and productive life. We do not receive any government funding and rely solely on the generosity of sponsors and donors, just like you. It is with your help we can meet our running costs and fund projects that help transform the lives of these children. 

Angela is one such person. She has sponsored the children at Rafiki Mwema since 2014 and was our very first sponsor. The importance of her involvement to our children can be best explained by watching this video, taken when they were told of her support. WATCH NOW. 

How does your chosen sponsorship work?

I currently sponsor two children every month, which is a total of $100. The money comes out of my account on the same day each month and I receive a tax invoice via email. At the end of the tax year I’m able to claim the payments as a deduction on my tax return. When I first became a sponsor the $50 was a lot for me to donate each month. But six years later I am able to comfortably donate $100 per month and I support some of the other Rafiki projects (such as the Rafiki Feeding Program).

What initially attracted you to Rafiki Mwema? 

I met Sarah via a mutual friend. I was organising a fundraiser for another charity and wanted some advice from her. She told me about Play Kenya and Rafiki Mwema and knew I had to be involved.

What motivates your continued support? 

Sarah and Anne-Marie’s passion for Rafiki Mwema and the heartbreaking stories of the trauma suffered by the kids in their care constantly remind me that the small amount I donate can really make a difference. I know where my money is spent, and that the Rafiki team work tirelessly to support the children. 

What’s your favourite part of being a sponsor?

When Anne-Marie told ‘Mary’ that she was the first child to be sponsored she was so surprised, excited and happy – she shrieked with joy. Sarah shared the video of her reaction and I burst into tears. Something so small to me made such a huge difference to someone else. Being a sponsor and knowing that it’s not just about the money I’m donating; it’s the sense of worth that you hope the child is feeling. You hope they know they DO matter, that someone they don’t know cares enough to support them through tough times. That’s what keeps me sponsoring and supporting Rafiki Mwema.

We thank you Angela from the bottom of our hearts! 

If you’d like to find out more about sponsoring, visit us HERE. With your support we can give every child the chance to live a healthy and productive life.