INUA PARTNERS IN HOPE
Recommended by our partners in Kenya, the Swahili word “inua” reflects the team effort and communal transformation. Inua is a verb meaning to lift together, raise up or elevate. This concept of building strength as a community depicts the process by which Inua Partners in Hope helps its at-risk youth restore hope and achieve economic independence. Inua operates in Naivasha, Kenya, located in the Rift Valley Province, northwest of Nairobi. Our work builds relationships with Naivasha’s most vulnerable orphans and youth to help expand their opportunities for a future full of hope.
There are 2.5 million orphans in Kenya and over 25,000 of those are in Naivasha, estimates UNICEF. Children continue to suffer the loss of one or both of their parents as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. When this happens, the burden of care falls to elderly family members and the oldest sibling left behind—all of them trapped in poverty.
Inua Partners in Hope is a comprehensive program embracing the well-being of the whole child. This program transforms lives by empowering youth-led families with:
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food and housing security
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emotional and spiritual well-being
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health and hygiene
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legal support
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education and vocational training
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entrepreneurship
Since 2009, Inua Partners in Hope has continued to move these vulnerable, broken children and youth from desperation and grief to a productive life of hope.