Students at Kayole Community School in Nairobi, Kenya were thrilled to have books and supplies for the first time.

Education remains one of the most valuable tools for overcoming poverty, yet it remains out of reach for the world’s poorest children.  Approximately 77 million children do not attend primary school, and 97% of them live in developing countries.  Education not only helps children escape the grasp of extreme poverty, but also assists in the prevention of HIV, aids in the delay of marriage and pregnancy, and helps to maintain more peaceful societies.  Therefore, AYA strongly supports programs that are helping AIDS orphans and impoverished children receive an education.

We help non-government schools in Kenya and Uganda with funds for textbooks, desks, educational materials, and classroom construction.  These non-formal schools are essential to providing education to the poorest and most vulnerable children who cannot access the government school system because of their challenges of living in extreme poverty and the inability to afford requirements like uniforms and school supplies.  AYA has also established a Teacher Training College to provide a free, two-year training program to teachers of non-formal schools.

This grandmother makes enough income from milk sales to send her three orphaned grandchildren to school.

AYA strongly believes in creating opportunities that will provide a long-term means of self-sufficiency for orphans and their guardians.  One of the best ways to achieve this objective is through micro enterprise.  People living in poverty do not lack the motivation to change their circumstances, but the resources necessary to do so.  Therefore, AYA supports several projects that facilitate small loans or grants to the guardians of orphans.

The Fort Portal Micro-Grant program was created to give guardians in rural Uganda $100 grants that are typically used to purchase a cow; thus, giving the family an ongoing source of income from milk sales and breeding.  Several smaller micro-credit groups that AYA supports in Nairobi were organized and created by impoverished parents living in the slums.  They began by pooling small amounts of money and making loans to each other to start income-generating projects.  These loans and grants may sound like a relatively little amount of money, but they provide the foundation to dramatically change the lives of children and families living in extreme poverty.

Children gather water from an AYA/USAID sponsored well

AYA runs a farm in Kenya that provides food to orphanages and supplements school feeding programs.  The farm not only provides thousands of children with a daily meal; the organizations helping them are able to improve their impact by using money typically spent on food, to pay teachers and buy textbooks, medicine, and other necessities.

We also construct wells and other clean water projects.  We recently completed construction on 30 new clean water projects throughout Uganda, which were funded by a grant from USAID. In addition to providing access to clean water to almost 10,000 people, AYA also provides health education and hygiene training to community members and local schools.

A grandmother in Uganda who cares for her ten grandchildren after their parents died of AIDS.

With families and communities already overburden as the AIDS pandemic progresses, many children find that there is no one left to care for them.  As a result, countless children are left no choice but to survive on the street where they are subject to violence, abuse, and drug addiction.  However, many community organizations and families have opened their doors to these vulnerable children.  AYA works with a number of orphanages and group homes throughout Africa that are caring for orphaned and abandoned children.  Many were started by compassionate individuals, with little more than the desire and commitment to provide a loving home for these neglected children.  As well, relatives and neighbors often take in orphaned children.

AYA strives to provide valuable resources to these organizations and individuals who are struggling to provide the necessary care for orphans.  While they are not short on love, many homes lack enough beds, money for school fees, and the resources to provide three meals per days.  AYA helps these organizations and families through grants and funding for operations and projects to provide sustainable income, such as raising poultry or starting a small business.

Girls waiting at Comboni Mission Sisters to pick up food for their sick parent and family members.

Accessible, community health care is also a key factor in improving longevity and quality of life. AYA has partnered with The Medical Mission Sisters in the Korogocho slum in Nairobi, Kenya, Bringing Hope to the Family in rural Uganda, and Lambano Sanctuary in Johannesburg, South Africa, to provide much-needed medical care to underserved populations.  In addition to providing care to HIV-positive children these clinics also strive to provide prevention and treatment for malaria, infections, diarrhea, and other treatable conditions that kill millions of children each year