community profile
Huruma is an urban slum community located in Northeast Nairobi. The community borders the Kariobangi slum, which has been home to a CARE for AIDS center since early 2014. Huruma was made famous in May of 2016 due to a tragic building collapse which killed 13 community members. The community has a high HIV infection rate and its residents live in extreme poverty.
The CARE for AIDS center in Huruma operates in partnership with the Kenya Assemblies of God Huruma Church (pictured) under the leadership of Reverend Geoffrey Kimai.
center staff
Spiritual Counselor, Janepher Mukunya
Janepher grew up in a rural area, in a humble family. She now lives with her adopted teenage daughter. When asked why she chose to work with CFA, Janepher says she has witnessed family members affected by HIV and she wanted to help others like them.
"It’s my prayer my clients may give their lives to Christ. Through the skills the learn, may their lives be totally transformed.”
health Counselor, Jacob Kinyanjui
Jacob grew up in the upcountry of Nakuru. Today he is married to Teresiah and they have one child. Jacob joined the CARE for AIDS team in 2016 and prays for his clients to stabilize in their family so that they can be self-reliant.
center history
YEAR GRADUATES FAITH-DECISIONS ORPHANS PREVENTED
2016-2017 89 11 232
2017-2018 82 18 349
2018-2019 76 15 275
2019-2020* N/A N/A N/A
2020-2021 TBD TBD TBD
*The cohort in the 2019-2020 class was impacted by delays in the CARE for AIDS program caused by COVID-19 lockdowns and health precautions. To learn more about how we responded to the pandemic, visit this page.
graduate profiles
Janet, 2018 Huruma Graduate:
When Janet was a teenager, both of her parents passed away. Not long after this, she became pregnant. Right after she delivered her first child, her extended family married her off, at age 17, to a much older man. Culturally, she had no choice but to marry him. Practically, she also needed help caring for her newborn child. Janet remembers seeing him take medication every day, but when she asked, he told her it was for his back pain. He was actually HIV positive and was taking ARV medications, but Janet had grown up in the rural village and was uneducated about HIV and AIDS.
Not knowing her husband was HIV positive, Janet continued to breastfeed her newborn after getting married. Unfortunately, she contracted HIV from her husband and passed it on through her breast milk to her baby. A few months later, she became pregnant again. At the clinic, she was tested and told she was HIV positive. Her husband denied that he was positive and refused to be tested, though he already knew his status and was already taking medication.
When her 2nd born was delivered, Janet contracted meningitis. She was sent home from the hospital with pain medications that caused her to sleep often. Her husband forced himself upon her while she was on this medication and she became pregnant again. Her youngest two children are less than 1 year apart. Shortly after the birth of her third child, Janet’s husband began inviting other women into their home. He still provided financially for Janet and her children but did not support them in any other way.
Janet eventually recovered from the meningitis but it caused her to lose her vision. She was completely blind for a short time, and then slowly began to see things again far away. Close up, she couldn’t see anything clearly and was unable to read books or road signs or the numbers on her phone. This was what Jacob and Janepher, the CARE for AIDS staff at Huruma center, noticed when Janet joined the CFA program.
Jacob and Janepher took Janet for an eye examination at the hospital. She was confirmed as partially blind and short sighted. She was prescribed glasses and the CARE for AIDS medical endowment fund was able to purchase them for her.
Before getting glasses, Janet was unable to do any of the skills she was learning in CARE for AIDS program because of her poor eyesight for anything up close. Thankfully, once she received glasses, she was able to learn how to make soap as well as beadwork. She is using those skills now to provide food for her children.
While she was in the CARE for AIDS program, Janet found the strength she needed from the support of the program to leave her abusive husband. As an orphan without any family, Janet said that CARE for AIDS became her family. “They encouraged me every week and came to visit me in my home often,” Janet said. She did not have enough money to pay rent for her own place, but one of her friends offered for them to stay with her. Janet makes enough money from selling soap to keep food on the table for her children.