Orphans are vulnerable children who experience adverse outcomes in the society, such as losing access to education, malnutrition, abuse, neglect, exploitation, and limited access to basic social amenities after losing one or both parents. There are countless children trapped within their cracked walls, in terribly bleak situations. It’s a story we see and hear, time and time again. And, until we agree as a society on what is acceptable, this story won’t change. Thanks to REHEMA PEFA HOME!!!! The Home is a Kenyan organization, founded in 1998 by Kenyan leaders who refused to ignore the orphan crisis in their communities. It’s run by people who genuinely love and want the absolute best for the children. The Home currently cares for nearly 100 children, half of whom are HIV positive.

REHEMA Home is one Organization with two distinct locations, two international fundraising offices, and a worldwide family of supporters. Still, it’s a beautiful Home to the tender little hearts of REHEMA. Services provided are the vulnerable’s basic needs; the Home also reunites children with their birth families once they turn 18 years for Kinship, care, and love if they so wish.

I contacted the orphanage through a friend and requested to be allowed to do my attachment, hence writing a facility report. I was allowed to visit and learn more about the Home.The Home’s location is very convenient; garden estate (along the busy Thika superhighway) is on my way both from Home to my church and to school; hence accessing it was easy. I also chose the Home because, as a Kenyan mother, I felt the urge to extend my love and care to the motherless other than my children. And for sure, bonding with the little tender, beautiful babies of Rehema has been a great way of serving God and my society as a whole and humbled to have served this great family!

The Home provides shelter, food, clothing, education, and most importantly, love and care to over 100 HIV positive children. Every child requires the basic needs, more so, the malnourished children brought to the Home when their conditions are deteriorating. Such are typically put on proper diets, and immediate medical attention is offered to help save their lives. The opportunity provided a practical but rather emotional experience to see the less fortunate through our societies when struggling with poor living conditions, hopelessness, and depression. It was a great privilege being part of the staff who went the extra mile to put a smile on the beautiful innocent faces of REHEMA.

Bravo Rehema Home, live for what tomorrow can bring, not for what yesterday has taken away!

Chapter TWO: INTRODUCTION

2.1 FOUNDING OF REHEMA PEFA CHILDREN’S HOME.

The Pentecostal Evangelical Fellowship of Africa(PEFA) asked career missionaries Ruth and Irvin Schwandt to start an orphanage. It was the overcrowding and horrendous conditions of the government homes that galvanized Irvin and Ruth Schwandt to provide proper, loving care for Kenya’s abandoned and orphaned children. Rehema is a faith Based Organization that caters for children from age Category 0 – 18 Years, Male and Female. The Organization offers Services such as Food& Nutrition, Education, Shelter and Care, Legal aid Awareness on child rights, Health Care for children with disability and HIV Positive and lastly Child rescue amongst many.

Rehema Home cares for over 100children and young adults, the youngest being 6 months old. They receive children who have been orphaned, abandoned, and neglected. On arrival, some are dehydrated, malnourished, and weak. Some suffer from preventable diseases (cholera, malaria, diarrhea, respiratory infections, etc.) simply because of their previous living conditions/ environments that aren’t user friendly or totally lack clean water. It’s inevitable that they will visit a clinic, hospital, or emergency room for acute or routine care. In order to respond quickly for medical attention, the institution created the Harry Kimanzi Emergency Medical Fund to help cover the cost of medical expenses for emergency cases received by the Home.

The contact information for the Children’s Home is:

Location: Garden Estate Area, Nairobi.

Website: https://www.rehemahome.org/nairobiEmail address:info@rehemahomes.com

2.2 MISSION

Rehema Home is committed to caring for each child, regardless of their health status, taking them into our Home and providing

them with love and instilling in them

a hope for a future.

2.3 VISION

The vision ofREHEMA PEFA HOMEis

Where MERCY Changes Lives.

2.4 CORE VALUES OF REHEMA PEFA HOME.

Rehema Pefa Home is guided by the philosophy of “Love and Care”, while honesty and integrity are the essential ingredients of a strong and stable organization, financial sustainability is crucial to the survival of the same Organization. The staff conduct their duties in accordance with the rules and regulations set by the board of management with focus on the following core values: Inclusivity, Team Work, Compassion, Commitment, Integrity, Professionalismand Accountability. The Home is committed to the highest ethical standards observed at all times by the members as well as their staff and visitors.

2.5 SERVICES OFFERED BY REHEMA PEFA HOME.

The Home falls under child welfare sector and this Organization has been recognized by the Kenya Foster Care Network (KEFCAN), founded in 2008 for the promotion of best practices in the child welfare sector.It caters for the children separated from their biological families at very tender ages byproviding a homely comfort to make it a home away from Home. The services offered are:

2.5.1 CHILD RESCUE.

In most cases, it’s usually the first service offered to every new member of Rehema Pefa Home.The Home only admits children of age 3 years and below, to be able to mold their characters since it’s easier when they are young. This gives room for the young ones to automatically adapt to the Home’s culture or traditions as they grow up.

Once an abandoned child has been rescued, they are taken to the police stations for statement recording hence they are kept in the safe custody of the authorities as they continue with further investigations on the matter. Once they a certain that the case is genuine, they summon the home management to pick the infant for admission into the Home.

A child can also be rescued from a severely ill parent who can’t be able to take good care of the child anymore or if there is loss of a mother during delivery or a mother could be mentally challenged, hence expose the child to unfavorable conditions.

The process of rescuing a child is not a simple one. The Home work together with governmental agencies and in accordance with all the laws and regulations to ensure everything is done the right way and with the child’s best interest in mind. Every case is well documented and filed, investigated and communication reports are catalogued and sorted, to give the social workers access to an up-to-date information.

2.5.2 Shelter and Care.

The Home provides buildings/facilities/open spacewhere children play anytime they want.Since play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold, especially in young brains,they have been created for an indoor games room, fully equipped with all kinds of toys and indoor games gadgets, where the toddlers are kept during the cold season to shield them from the cold weather or during the day when it’s too hot to enable them play comfortably. The toys are for different age groups; the toddlers have to be guided on their usage by an adult at all times to prevent accidents.

The Home has a total of six dormitories, the first is for toddlers and infants, that’s age 3 and below. The second is for junior girls, hosting age 3-10 years and subsequently junior boys hosting boys of the same age group. The fourth and fifth are for senior girls and boys of ages 11 to 18 years, allocated in different buildings within the compound.

Once the boys attain the age of 18 years, they’re allowed to stay outside the Home, on rented houses but the Home caters for their upkeep. Female college students aren’t allowed to stay outside the compound unless on a special case/arrangement but allocated the sixth room, fully equipped with laptops and mobile phones for their study, social life and research work.

2.5.3 Food, Health And Nutrition.

Most babies upon arrival are usually in very wanting situations because of their previous living conditions. First and foremost, the general hygiene of the child is taken care of, if the child is malnourished, he or she is put on a proper diet to enable them gain a healthy condition. If need be, depending on the situation, the Home seeks furthermedical attention for the child.

The Home takes children’s health very seriously because they know and believe that a healthy child is a productive child. The management organizes periodical medical camps where the children’s health is well checked and relevant/ appropriate medication administered just within the compound.

Since most of the children at Rehema Pefa Homeare HIV positive, their immune system is a bit low hence majority of them are prone to illnesses, all these special cases arehandled at Gertrude’schildren’s hospital. The hospital equips the Home with all the medication as per their diagnosis and these are administered to them by the director who is also a nurse by profession. This can be very expensive especially if a number of them are unwell or if there is an emergency at the Home, the board of management came up with Harry Kimanzi Emergency Medical Fundto cater for such cases.

The Home offers a well-balanced diet throughout the week. The infants are fed on special baby formulas depending on their conditions till weening stage where they gradually introduce them to solid foods until they are able to consume the normal home food.Below is the homes menu from age three. This is consumed by the staff and the volunteers who work at the Home during the day as well.

N/BThe below menu is subject to change depending on the prevailing market conditions.

Infants have their special feeding program, discussed in the next chapters.

2.6 REHEMA PEFA HOME’S MENU.

DAY / TIME	BREAKFAST	LUNCH	SUPPER
MONDAY	Tea, uji and bread	Veges stew & chapatis	Rice and beans stew
TUESDAY	Tea , uji and bread	Ugali, eggs & kales	Githeri & vege salad
WEDNESDAY	Milk and Weetabix	Beef pilau & vege salad	Ugali and fried cabs
THURSDAY	Tea, uji and bread.	Githeri & vege salad	Chips and sausages
FRIDAY	Chocolate and pancake	Ugali & kales.	Veges stew & pastas
SATURDAY	Tea, uji and bread	Eggs & bread sandwich	Githeri & vege salad
SUNDAY	Milk and cornflakes	Mincemeat & spaghetti	Peanut butter & bread

N/B:Fruits in season accompanies both lunch and dinner for a well-balanced diet.

2.7 RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES.

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs22: 6 Rehema Pefa Home has a children’s ministry that allows every child to participate fully, this embodies the great adventure of knowing God at an early beginning, discovering His word and enjoying dwelling in spirituality and holiness. The Home seeks to draw the young ones into a closer walk with Jesus, this empowers them to be able to extend this love to others and lastly, it translates to socially responsible citizens. The children’s ministry is divided into groups according to age groups where they’re allocated duties every week to administer to others. Also, prayers are conducted every evening by all the groups before bed time. This also strengthens their bond as a family. The members of staff also conduct weekly prayers every Thursday at lunch time where the children are also allowed to attend and participate in various areas.

2.8 EDUCATION / TRAINING.

Majority of the children are under a full educational sponsorship program up to secondary school level. Ten of them have also benefited through post-secondary sponsorship to pursue education in middle level colleges and universities, courtesy of partners. The sponsorship includes school uniforms, stationery and field study tours. One of the Homes pioneers justgraduated from United StatesInternational University- Africa with his Bachelors of Science in Applied Computer Technology. The management thanked all of their amazing donors who invested heavily in his education (pleasesee photo at theappendixes section).

There is also a leadership development component under this program that ensures children’s leadership capacities are developed while at a young age. A focus is put oncoaching for formal education and career development to ensure that the youth are innovative and consciously equipped with the right skills for various marketable career paths. Career initiatives for the higher educationchildren include, mentorship, assessment testing and counselling, Individual learning plans, job search assistance, skills development, apprenticeship and internships. This is done with the help of the social worker, the management together with the board of directors.

Children also participate in cookery and laundry classes both male and female over the weekends to enable them get a hands on experience. This is usually fun filled, graded and the best are awarded some tokens. It also prepares them for life after departing home where they are self-reliant hence have to perform the activities individually.

2.9 LEGAL AID AWARENESS ON CHILD RIGHTS.

This is administered by the homes social workerto enable the children know their legal rights and understand the Kenyan laws pertaining to children’s rights.This knowledge helps the Children know how to go about conflicts in the society and how to seek justice. It also strengthens their understanding on children rights and significantly reduce all forms of violence to children in the society. The social worker helps them get the legal aid services in children matters ranging from custody and maintenance to land and succession issues especially, when the men turn 18 years and are willing to reunite/or be attached to their biological families as African customs or traditions requires.

2.10 YOUTH EMPOWERMENT.

Once the children graduate from college or university and are able to secure a job hence financially stable, the young adults are integrated back into the community through a gradual disengagement process. The social worker assists them secure a house at a place of their convenience hence constantly makes follow-ups to ensure a smooth transition. This change is never smooth at times because of the attachment children have to the Home but the social worker offerssupport through counselling and guidance when need be. Constant follow-ups, communication/ feedback is encouraged hence the teenagers are still encouraged to visit the Home anytime they so wish to bond with the family members. This reduces loneliness and contributes to a gradual transition/adaptation with the outside environment.

2.11 SPONSORING A CHILD AT REHEMA PEFA HOME.

Sponsoring a child at Rehema Home is easy, safe, and rewarding! Get started with 3 simple steps. You’ll have put a smile on a face that really needs it. Follow these simple three steps:

Go to rehemahome.org/sponsor and click the child’s photo to read their bio. Once you’ve chosen a child to sponsor, click the ‘’start sponsoring ‘’ button.
You’ll automatically be directed to Rehema’s secure PayPal webpage to set up your monthly payments. All online sponsorships are managed by PayPal to ensure maximum security.

You’ll then receive an email confirmation from PayPal, a digital sponsor packet from Rehema Home, a physical sponsor packet from Rehema Home, and a letter from the child you chose.

2.12 REHEMA PEFA HOME’S CHARITABLE OBJECTIVES.

The trustees must apply the income of the charity in furthering the following objects (“the objects”):

To relieve financial hardship.
To advance education.
To relieve sickness and preserve and promote good health amongst children and young people in Kenya in such ways as the trustees from time to time may think fit, including (but not limited to) provision of support (in the form of funds, goods and services) and assistance to the Rehema Pefa Home in Nairobi, Kenya.

2.4 THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF REHEMA PEFA HOME.

The Home is headed by the board of governors, who select the top management which includes a Director, assistant director and the general manager. The management operates within the interests of the BOG and are responsible for the general operations at the Home. Each section is headed by a trained personnel who oversees all the work procedures in their relevant areas, and conducts periodic trainings/ appraisals as well. The Home has an approximate 30 employees spread out on a 24 hour shift for seven days a week

Above, the organization structure of Rehema Pefa Home.

2.14 DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMUNITY BASED ATTACHMENT.

The Home receives hospitality students within Kiambu county or any other recognized institution with special arrangements but doesn’t accept more than 10 individuals from the same institution to avoid overcrowding hence, be able to control the numbers.

The Home operates on 24 hours’ basis but only allows students to work between 8.00am to 5.00pm unless there’s a special arrangement or permission to extend beyond the stipulated time.

From 5pm onwards, only residents are allowed within and this is the time the dogs are freed from their cages to bond with the residents, feed and offer security at night till dawn. In the morning, they are locked once again since some of them are very hostile hence might harm strangers.

Upon arrival at the Home every morning, the students are required to sign in at the registration desk where all the forms are monitored and report to the Catering manager for section allocation.

Duty allocations are done by the section heads and on a first come first served basis. The first students/ trainees to arrive are normally sent to the kitchen because that’s where there is bulk of the work in the morning.

The second group then goes to the laundry to assist in the sorting, mending, washing, rinsing, drying / airing and ironing of clothes that have been used overnight and the previous day before the children change into their school uniforms.

The last batch of students are shared amongst housekeeping, store and infants’ departments. Where they are located duties upon arrival by the person in charge who also works alongside the volunteers to offer guidance.

Usually, there are three 15minutes breaks in between like the 10 O’clock tea break, lunch break and the 4 O’clock tea break. The Home offers meals and drinks but only to trainees who are on duty.

The attachment period was supposed to be 225 hours of working within the Organization, but due to my commitment, loveand dedication, I worked for an extra 25 hours making a total of 250 hours in order to bond more with the beauties of Rehema.

As an evening student I could not be able to work for 9 hours hence on the days I had classes, I would ask for permission to be released early to be in class on time. I also took days off on those days I had examinations to give itthe full concentration it required. That was done on special arrangement with my immediate supervisors.

The staff at Rehema are very friendly and supportive. Every morning before the shift begins, a small service is conducted and on thursdays every week, the staff members conduct a lunch hour service to strengthen their faith.

N/B: An Illustration of the daily schedule for the Home is attached at the appendix section.

I designed my schedule for easier coverage of all the daily activities, this was checked at the end of each working day by the section head I’m attached to.

2.14.1. Working Hours

The Home is open from Monday to Sunday but the volunteers or visitors are only allowed in from 8 am to 5pm unless on special request to extend.For instance, on the day I volunteered to give the children a treat to a special dinner, I requested the management to allow my family to extend till 6pm in order to carry out the clearanceand washing of plates. It was indeed a memorable occasion.

CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE

I reported at the Home at 7:30am in the morning since it’s very close to where I reside and was introduced to the managing director who was expecting me. After a brief introduction of self and the intention of the visit, the MD introduced me to the Catering managerwho took me through the operations at the Home whereby we visited all the departments for introductions with the supervisors hence began working in the kitchen as I bond with the entire family.I was given a warm welcome into the Home, this enabled me toquickly adapt to the system.

2.15 BABY FEEDING PROGRAM FOR NEWBORNS AND TODDLERS.

Babies at Rehema Home have no access to break milk, therefore proper meal planning is put on their diet to ensure they get all the essential nutrients required at every stage of their delicate growth.

From 0-3 months, the infants are fed only on baby formula with sips of plain boiled warm water in between to avoid dehydration. Given in small helpings and added gradually till the baby begins to show signs of beingfully fed.

From 3-6 months, they Introduce solids one at a time, in a running/ light or very thin consistency and in small amounts at the beginning. The most preferred is baby porridge, mashed vegetables/starches and fruit blends. Some babies get constipated if given too much solid food at an early stage, give plenty of water and introduce solids gradually. Again, feeding the infants on baby formula is very expensive, hence the Home introduces the solids a month earlier to cut on costs.

If the baby is not responding well to the early weaning, then they stop the weaning immediately and start by substituting one food at a time. If the response is okay, substitute another food, and so on till all the different meals are fully introduced. The slower the pace the better as long as the baby is responding well to the weaning process, the formula feeding should go alongside the weaning for better results.

From 6-9 months old babies.

Dawn time (5am to 6am)> Infant formula.

Breakfast time (8am to 9am)>Iron fortified infant cereal mixed with plain yogurt.

Morning Snack (11am-12pm) >Mashed fruits mixed with full fat yogurt.

Lunch (2pm-3pm)> Infant formula or a blend of vegetables with cooked ground beef or chicken.

Afternoon Snack (5pm-6pm) > Vegetable puree mixed with fresh diluted milk.

Dinner (8pm-9pm) >Canned or cooked lentils or peas with minced chicken and mashed bananas.Or ground fish or pork with mashed potatoes and homemade passion juice.

Bed time (from 11 onwards) >Infant formula with warm sips of glucose water.

From 9-12months old babies

Dawn time (5am to 6am)> Infant formula or warm cow’s milk.

Breakfast time (8am to 9am)>Iron fortified infant cereal mixed with plain full fat yogurtor Vitamin D drops or assorted fruit blend with cooked soft eggs.

Morning Snack (11am-12pm) >Weetabix/cornflakes in warm milk with sips of warm water.

Lunch (2pm-3pm)> Infant formula or minced meat of lamb, pork, veal or beef

Served with soft boiled rice, mashed potatoes or soft boiled buttered pastas.

Afternoon Snack (5pm-6pm) > Vegetable puree mixed with diluted milk or infant baby porridge mixed with full fat plain yogurt.

Dinner (8pm-9pm) >A blend of assorted vegetables in butter with minced chicken and mashedbananas. soft fish or pork with mashed potatoes and homemade passion juice.

Bed time (from 11pm onwards) >Infant formula with warm sips of glucose water.

From 12months -2 years.

It can be cumbersome preparing food for different age groups due to the big number at the Home, therefore this age group is given the same meals as for age group 9-12 months but the portions are increased with a difference in a much higher milk content. This group is given half cup of whole cow’s milk (3.25%) twice a day, morning and at lunch time before their afternoon sleep.

2.16.1 Points to Note When Feeding Rehema’s Infants.

Babies are supposed to be bathed , changed, before being offered breakfast.
The meals are offered 2-3 times a day, an average of 4-6 times a day.

Start with small helpings such as 1 tsp and increase gradually till the baby gets full.

The babies are supposed to be supervised during feeding to avoid chocking especially, those being trained to feed on their own, foods should also be cut into small manageable pieces.
A lot of concern is given to food allergies; the care givers introduce one new food at time with a two-day period in between. The period is for observing if the infant reacts to the new meal.
Since the infants have no access to breastmilk, give formula feedings in between as snacks.

Texture variation is important at this stage, begin with soft foods preferably pureed, mashed, blended, minced or ground. Then gradually introduce the solids in between as you adjust the contents and textures.
Once the babies have been given breakfast, they are taken outside for direct sunlight, with bare feet for vitamin D. During the cold season, they are kept indoors but given vitamin D drops.

If the care givers observe anythingunusual in an infant, they immediately report to the Director, i.e. high temperature, persistent cries, vomits after feedingfor immediate action.

2.16 DATA COLLECTION METHOD

The guidelines for this Community Based Attachment report required the data collection method to be questionnaires. However, due to the strict organizational policy at the Home, the management strictly discouraged this method which limited me to taking notes on daily basis as I go through the various departments. Taking of photos anywhere within the Home is prohibited too unless authorized by the management.

I therefore resorted to observation and question and answer method to gather all the information required for compiling this report.

2.17 FINDINGS

The Homes major purpose is to offeracceptable standardsof shelter and care which entails balanced food & goodnutrition, Education and Health Care for children with disability, abandoned and HIV Positive ones just to mention but a few.

The Home is committedto honesty and integrity; hence the essential ingredients that make their Organization unique. The staff conduct their duties in accordance with the rules and regulations set by the board of management with focus on the core values such as inclusivity, they also draw their team members across the globe regardless of race or ethnicity. The diverse team members bring with them lots of skills and professionalism shared across board. Themembers work as a team with major focus on providing utmost love and care to the children. While performing their duties, they show a lot of compassion and commitment to their work. The Home is committed to the highest ethical standards observed at all times by the members as well as their staff thus their good reputation on integrity.

The Home admits children of age 3 years and below, this enables them mold their character since it’s easier when they are young thus giving room for the young ones to automatically adapt to the homes culture, values or traditions as they grow up.

They draw their children from the society through death of a mother and there is no one to care of the infant, mentally challenged mothers who can’t be left with their babies, abandoned children rescued by the police, orphaned children from very poor backgrounds amongst many cases.

The Home ensures comfort of the children through shelter and care, ensures good nutrition by providing a carefully balanced diet. The children are also introduced to religious activities to strengthen their faith and introduced to the Kenyan system of education. Once they graduate from a college or university and are able to secure a job and become independent, the young adults are integrated back into the community through youth empowerment initiatives or programs offered by the social workers together with the board of management’s support for a smooth transition. They are also allowed to reunite with their biological families if they so wish-the social worker oversees this process to ensure a smooth transition.

2.18 ATTRIBUTES OR SKILLS ACQUIRED.

Being at Rehema Pefa Home has made me a better person than I actually thought I was. I now have a better understanding of what the less fortunate go through in our societies behind closed doors unless they voice their problems to the society. I have learnt some important human skills such as:

Compassion and empathy to the orphans.

Most of the children at the Home are either motherless or having mothers with challenges hindering them from raising their young ones. This separation comes with a lot of emotions, as a mother, I had to be sympathetic and conscious of their needs especially when in distress situations. You’re left with no option but to have the desire to alleviate it to put a smile and hope to an innocent face.

Humility in expression

The state of being humble and friendly to them gives room for openness and freedom of expression. Thus, they are able to pour their hearts out to you as a mother figure they see close to them. This helps in solving so many issues the children have.

Importance of a balanced diet/good nutrition specially to malnourished children.

Rehema babies are fed on well-balanced dietswhich give them the following benefits:

a). Improves the children’s Well-Being>Eating a poor diet reduces physical and mental health in children because ithinders themfrom being physically active especially the babies that need to play a lot. This can be prevented by ensuring that their diet is full of essential fats, complex carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.

b). Management of A Healthy Weight>Consumption of nutritious diet filled with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy and protein helps maintain a healthy body weight. In order to achieve a healthy weight, diet and exercise program are needed to attain the desired goals. Variety of fruits and vegetables to meals helps control weight, blood pressure and cholesterol.

c).Maintains children’s Immune System>Poor nutrition is the most common cause of immune deficiencies worldwide. Maintaining a good immune system requires intake of proper vitamins and minerals, eating a well-balanced diet, including fruits, vegetables and food low in fats in order to guard our bodies against diseases.

d).Reduces The Risk of Chronic Diseases in children>Risk factors for chronic diseases, like type 2 diabetes, have been increasingly seen at younger ages as a result of unhealthy eating and weight gain (Centre’s for Disease Control and Prevention). Dietary habits are typically established in childhood and carried along into adulthood, making it crucial to teach children the importance of eating a healthy diet at an early stage.

e). Gives the children warmth and Energy> We derive energy from the foods and liquids we consume. The main nutrients our body uses for energy are carbohydrates, fats and protein. Carbohydrates such as whole-grain breads and starchy vegetables are the best for prolonged energy since they are digested at a slower rate. Water is necessary for transportation of nutrients, and dehydration can cause lack of energy.

f). Healthy Eating Positively Affects the babies Mood >Diets low in carbohydrates increase feelings of tension hence we are more likely to choose unhealthy foods whereas diets high in carbohydrates have a more uplifting effect on moodbecause it leaves an adequate supply of iron, omega-3 fatty acids and iron.

g).It’s Expensive to Be Unhealthy>Healthy eating habit is instilled on the children at a very tender age by the home manager. Coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes are referred to as life style diseases because of our eating habits. Healthy eating prevents thesediseases by a big margin.

Patience with physically challenged people.By putting once self in their situations, trying to be courteous and show understanding when around them. Offer assistance when needed especially when one is not able to stand on their feet i.e. offer support and ensure their way is cleared for ease of passage.
Importance of clarity when communicating something to the children.

Clarity enables one to highlight important points when talking to the children. Also, practice using pauses between sentencesand tone lowering when conveying messages to allow your listener to connect to your points for better understanding before any reaction.

Dealing with children who are slow learners.

While working at the Home, we would be assigned to assist the learners with their home works in the afternoons after completing most of the home chores. Some learner’s situations are completing wanting maybe because of their past experiences. I therefore had to understand what they have been through a lot in life and try my best to be patient with them while assisting them.

2.19 CHALLENGES EXPERIENCED AT THE HOME.

Generating this report hasn’t been a walk in the path, first and foremost,there were lots of reservation from the management in gathering the data for this report. I therefore resorted to observation / question and answer methods but again the staff members were also reserved and wouldn’t open up as such and share some of their experiences or knowledge for fear of victimization. The ones who were willing would share just a piece meal of information forcing me to research on my own or consult fellow volunteers from United States International University (USIU Campus). I also gathered some useful information from the children, especially the college going ones since they have been at the Home for longer period hence have all the answers to my questions on their fingertips. Having stayed at the Home for a long period also contributed to this bonding hence the young adults were very free to share any information without any hesitation.

Some of the staff members are deeply rooted in vernacular speaking especially the junior staff even at work places making other staff members feel displaced or rather unwanted. This was noted in the food and beverage department, where the person in charge assigns duties in vernacular and ends up speaking in native language from morning till evening. This is a very big problem that needs to be addressed as it hinders unity that results in team spirit amongst staff.

Another big problem I noticed at the Home is that a big number of staff is from one ethnic group hence they tend to control most of the activities at the Home. This is depicted even on how children are handled. At times there is open biasness / favourism on those that are from their ethnic group. The less fortunate ones remain voiceless until one comes to their rescue.

The Home is old enough to have a pre-school even up to primary school level within the compound for convenience but there’s none. The toddlers are again ferried every morning to school and back at lunch time.

CHAPTER three: Recommendations and conclusions.

3.1 RECOMMENDATIONS

The homehosts children of ages 0-18+ hence it would be important for the Home to expand and have a pre-school within the Home for the toddlers with well trained teachers.I recommend this because once they turn 3 years, they’re sent to school and majority of them have weak immune system. Exposing them to the cold weather early in the morning is a bit disturbing especially during the cold season.

On Sundays, because they fellowship at Pefa Dornholm branch, the children are ferried in trips to and fro to attend the service which in turn is too costly and time consuming as well. It would be easier and cheaper sending just one/two persons to the Home to administer to the children every Sunday.

The Home has different babies and children with diverse backgrounds. Some of their stories are so touchy or heartbreaking. I learnt that the attachment is needed for each student so that they can be able to develop people’s skills that are important when dealing with different types of people even in the hospitality industry. I thereforeI recommend that all students who go for community based attachment take this opportunity very seriously in order to benefit or sharpen their skills on life skills development.

I strongly recommend that the management of Rehema employ a qualified home manager with strong interpersonal skills, an all-round person and one who’s able to hide likes anddislikes hence able to accommodate people from all walks of life and make it a home away from Home for the children’s sake.

3.2 CONCLUSIONS

The attachment is a valuable part of each students learning. Regardless of the industry one is in, it impactsimportant life skills and human relations that may otherwise not be taught in a classroom setting. Hence, the chance I got to work at the Home enabled me to have a passion to be constantly involving myself with community work to support the good causes in health, education and childcare

4. QUESTIONAIRE

Dear Respondent of REHEMA PEFA HOME.

The purpose of this questionnaire is to get information that will assist in drawing a report for my community Based Attachment which is a requirement in order to complete my degree at Strathmore university in Hospitality management. Kindly be advised that filling this questionnaire shall not be coerced and that the information you provide will be treated with strict confidentiality. Your feedback will be used for academic purposes only.

Respondents’ name…………………..…Telephone number…………………

SECTION A: GENERAL INFORMATION

Indicate your designation at the home________________________
Which department do you work at the Home?

____________________________

Kindly indicate your position in the Home.

General Manager/Managing Director
Head of unit, section or department
SupervisorBaby section
Maintenance
Assistant cooks.
Other (please specify) ______________________

What is your gender/sex? (Please tick one) Male Female
Indicate the number of yearsyou have worked at the home _______________________
What is your role at the home? ___________________
List any challenges you experience during work______________________________
What motivates you to serve at the home? _____________________________
Would you recommend the home to a friend? No__________Yes_________

Reasons: _________________________________________________________________

SECTION B: Rehema Homes’ Purpose.

10.Give a brief explanation of the employee organization structure? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Who are the main beneficiaries of this home? _______________________________________________________________________
Kindly give a brief objective of the home? ____________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

13.How does the Home acquire Rehema babies/ children?

____________________________________________________________________

14.What values do you uphold in this Home?(please list)

________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________

15.What challenges do you face while providing services?

_______________________________________________________________

Any other comments

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks for creating time to fill this form!

REFERENCES

Website: https://www.rehemahome.org/nairobi

appendix

APPENDIX 1: DAILY WORK SCHEDULE FORM.








STRATHMORE UNIVERSITY
COMMUNITY SERVICE STUDENT’S PERFORMANCE / ATTENDANCE FORM.

STUDENT’S NAME: ATIENO A. MILLICENT. ADM NO: 101672
FACULTY: BHM EC. UNIT: COMMUNITY BASED ATTACHMENT.
HOURS: 9ORGANIZATION ATTACHED: REHEMA PEFA HOME.
DATE	TIME IN	TIME OUT	DUTIES COVERED	DURATION	SUPERVISOR’S SIGN
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
TOTAL NUMBER OF HOURS COVERED IN A MONTH
STUDENT’S SIGNATURE………………………… SUPERVISOR’S SIGNATURE………………………
ATTACHMENT COORDINATOR’S SIGNATURE…………………DATE:………………………………….

APPENDIX 2: SUPPORTING IMAGES REGARDING REHEMA PEFA HOME.

Figure 1: THE MAIN ENTRANCE / GATE SIGNAGE.

Figure 2: Rehema Pefa Homes main house.

Figure 3. A section of children enjoying a ride in their new bus.

Figure 4. REHEMA PEFA’s Own graduates

Figure 5: A section of staff at Rehema Pefa Home.

Figure 6: Some of the children bonding with the Home’s visitors.

Figure 7: Sun drying of the laundered clothes at the laundry department.

Figure 8. Meal service at the dining room