Solar Panel Battery Replacement Pendekezo Letu Center

$1723 Raised of $1,723 Goal

Project Summary: 

The project entails refurbishing the existing solar panel installation at the Pendekezo Letu Center

Number of Children Impacted: 125 children, including teenage mothers and their babies.

Impact

Short term:

• The project is refurbishing an already existing (but not currently functioning) solar power system by replacing the solar batteries to ensure a continuous supply of reliable and affordable energy at the rehabilitation center in Ngoliba. Solar energy is considered safer, pollution-free and renewable compared to electricity which is unreliable. .

Long term:

• The project will Provide consistent supply of power for continuity of operations at the rehabilitation center and ensure sufficient lighting to enhance security of children and property. In addition, it will allow the center in developing a sustainability model by finding cost effective solutions to the already high costs of running the place. The funds that will be saved as the home will no longer have to pay for electricity will be invested into the school feeding program of 20 girls who are re-integrated with their family (meaning the center pays for the school meals for girls living at home, so they don't have to come live at the center for lack of food).

Partner Background: 

Pendekezo Letu (PKL), meaning “our right to have a choice” in Kiswahili, is a registered Kenyan, non-religious, non-profit organization. It was established in 1997 to assists young girls living and working on the streets, their families and other vulnerable children living in marginalized urban and rural communities in Kenya.
PKL's efforts are concentrated in five major slums in Nairobi County (Mathare, Kibera, Majengo, Dandora & Korogocho), as well as a number of smaller informal settlements within rural satellite towns in neighboring Kiambu county. These efforts include; short-term, residential rehabilitation of girls living and working on the streets, education support, family empowerment, vocational skills training, access to justice for children in conflict with the law, capacity building of community child protection, lobbying, and advocacy.

Every year, PKL recruits 100 "street" girls (homeless) to undergo a 10-month rehabilitation at PKL’s halfway home located in Ngoliba, on the outskirts of Nairobi. The 10 month (March to December) rehabilitation process includes intensive guidance & counseling, provision of basic needs and safe shelter, basic life coping skills and remedial education.
After 10 months, the 100 girls are reintegrated with their families and are enrolled in formal primary schools alongside their school-age siblings (about 200) by the provision of school uniforms, stationery, enrollment fees, and feeding program fees. Every rear, PKL enrolls between 250 – 300 children in primary schools.

Additionally, PKL has a full-time lawyer and a paralegal to represent Children in Conflict with the Law (CCLs) in the juvenile justice system (JJS) . Those who are released from the JJS are reunited with their families, receive guidance and counseling and are enrolled in schools or vocational skills training.