community profile
Mukuru Kwa Njenga is a slum bordered by the airport, the Industrial District, and an area of town called Taasia. This community is right in the middle of the intersection of affluence, industry, and export, but those living in Mukuru are experiencing abject poverty. Most of the community members are from the Kamba tribe and work in the neighboring Industrial District.
Center staff
Medical Counselor: Joyline Wiyema
Joyline and her husband, Steven, have one daughter. Joyline studied Medical Counseling at the Kenya Institute for Social Work and is thrilled about the opportunity to work with CARE for AIDS in her community.
“I am grateful to be equipped with knowledge to help people at my seminar, especially when it benefits the children that are less privileged in the society."
Spiritual Counselor: William Wasilwa Sanya
William and his wife Christine have three children. He grew up in rural Kenya in difficult circumstances. He loves to share the good news of the Kingdom and hopes to further his studies for increased effectiveness.
"A very rewarding time was when one of our client who had lost hope and was contemplating suicide chose to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior.”
center history
YEAR GRADUATES FAITH-DECISIONS ORPHANS PREVENTED
2015- 2016 66 33 201
2016-2017 50 33 250
2017-2018 62 5 182
2018-2019 79 19 383
2019-2020* 66 31 197
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.
client profiles
Norah, 2021 Client
Norah is a widow and a mother of three girls. She is 33 years old and washes clothes for a living. She joined our program in March 2021 when she had defaulted on medication and her body had started to react by being sick, but now she is virally suppressed and more healthy compared to when she first joined the program.
At first, we were concerned about her illnesses that were on and off. She revealed that she had stopped taking the medication. We counseled her and she agreed to start taking medication. We referred her to a hospital nearby because she hadn’t taken medication since she got to Nairobi. But she had remained in a WhatsApp group where she learned about us.
Norah had a sickness that had tormented her for a long time. She experienced severe pains in her abdomen and could not even walk when she had them. With CARE for AIDS support, she underwent a scan that revealed she had an infection that had not been treated for a long time and hence became severe.
We supported her and bought the medication. Today, she is happy because she is at peace and out of pain. Norah is very grateful to CFA for food support which she says is like weekly manna that she can’t afford to miss because the packs really help her. She is happy and committed to the program because she says it helped her regain her health.
When we issued the Bibles, Norah decided to open her heart and testify how she had tried to save money to buy a Bible but all in vain, and now God had answered her prayer. She said, “May God bless the donors. I don’t know you but you support us. I will forever be grateful to CFA. Thank you.”
ann, 2019 graduate
Growing up, Ann was one of many children in a polygamous family. Her father arranged for her to be married when she was only 12 years old. Despite her many obstacles and a lack of access to education, Ann worked hard and raised her children to be loving, thriving adults. She and her husband had been married for over 20 years when Ann found out about her HIV status— she thought they would be together forever, but when she got home from the hospital to tell him the news, he forced her out of their home and off of the land she worked so hard for her family to own.
Although it was over ten years ago that her husband left her, Ann still gets emotional when talking about it. She doesn’t know for sure how she contracted HIV, but she was always faithful to her husband, so her assumption is that he passed the virus on to her after having an extramarital affair. After being run out of her own home by her husband, she got very sick. On top of her physical health troubles, she had no opportunity for work and could barely eke out a living in the slums of Nairobi. In the fall of 2018 she was planning on taking her own life, but then a friend introduced her to a counselor at CARE for AIDS.
Ann joined the CARE for AIDS program in Mukuru Kwa Njega and immediately connected with the counselors and other clients. She found a community that embraced her and learned how to take her medicine and live a healthy lifestyle. After nine months in the program, Ann is thriving. She is the life of the party and has made many close friends— she is even sharing her home with a few of her fellow clients while they make a business plan together. She is a member of a strong savings group and has plans to eventually buy a new plot of land and build herself a new home.
Join us in prayer that Ann will continue to thrive and that she and her friends would help others learn to live a life beyond AIDS.
peris
Peris is 29 years old and is the mother of two beautiful little boys. When she disclosed her HIV status to her husband he left her and the boys to fend for themselves. She quickly became very depressed and feared for her children’s future. At one point, she considered killing her sons and then taking her own life. In her mind, death was better than the life of an orphan.
By the grace of God, a community health worker introduced Peris to the CARE for AIDS program in her community (Mukuru Kwa Njenga) and she joined the first class of clients in May of 2015. Prior to coming to the program, Peris had worked as a casual laborer at a large construction site near her home. This hard labor made her heath deteriorate quickly, and by the time she joined the CARE for AIDS program she was nearly bedridden.
After a few months of counseling and receiving nutrition supplements from the CARE for AIDS center, Peris’ health and emotional outlook began to improve. She particularly enjoyed the bi-monthly economic empowerment seminars, and picked up skills like cake baking very quickly.
Today Peris runs a small cake business out of her house and no longer has to work as a casual laborer. In fact, the construction workers near her home are her most loyal customers.
When asked about her experience at CARE for AIDS Peris says:
"Today I am not the same weak miserable girl I was nine months ago... I am alive together with my children and together we will live."