Heshima Children's Center - Dignity Designs

Meaning “dignity” in Swahili, Heshima is a charitable foundation offering special needs children in Kenya, a chance to live a life with dignity.

HOW YOUR PURCHASE HELPS

The craft items sold by Heshima are created by the mothers of special needs children, and so your purchase pays for their salary and also enables the physical & occupational therapy for their children.

JEWELLERY

The beads used by Heshima come only from Africa. They are chosen for their beauty and vary tremendously whether they are made from cow bone, hand painted trade beads, recycled glass beads, ostrich egg beads, coconut beads, fish bone beads etc. All the products cost USD $20 and under. Payments may be made in US dollars or KSH…but no credit card payments. Hours are Monday-Friday 9-4

NORMAL LIFE FOR SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN IN KENYA

In Kenya there are no other private institutions that we know of, who provide this type of service. For parents of children with special needs, accessing any sort of care is a challenge, especially when the public school system also offers nothing. The vast majority of special needs children either stay at home, often locked away due to public shame, or are forced to endure public schooling with no extra help which leaves them vulnerable and in a situation that's hard for them to deal with.

WHAT HASHIMA DOES

Heshima aims to meet the needs of these hidden children. By providing nourishment and basic educational instruction, the Heshima children are also offered occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy depending on their needs. The program is offered to parents for a nominal monthly donation of $2-4 from each family. If space is available, Heshima is therefore accessible to all parents, no matter what their circumstance. The centre is located in a small slum in Nairobi called Ngando which is close to Karen and the children who are helped, come from this deprived area of low income families.

THERAPY

The children receive physical therapy three times a week in a specially designed room at the centre. Equipment to help muscle strength and coordination is available. Many of the children at Heshima have Cerebral Palsy which affects the muscles and so physiotherapy makes life easier for these kids. The center also provides Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy and Horse riding therapy for each child.

MEDICARE CARE & VOLUNTEERS

The children are offered medical check-ups and are offered treatments for ringworm, malaria and other tropical diseases. The centre relies on volunteer medics to assist when available - of course Heshima welcomes any medical teams who would like to visit from abroad! Contact Heshima about volunteer opportunities and they'll get back to you.

Heshima is a Christian Foundation and believes that the body and mind work together. These kids deserve attention to both; and with your help, they'll be given a chance to lead a good life.

FOUNDERS & CONTACTS:

The founders, Tracey and Eric Hagman are passionate about their call to help special needs children in Kenya. Originally from Minnesota in the USA, they have lived in Kenya for over 10 years. Having first hand experience of dealing with special needs children, they soon realised that this was an area that they could contribute to. By using Tracey's artistic talents and Eric's skills in project management, together they make an amazingly committed and effective team. If you'd like to email them direct with questions, directions or to pledge a donation, they would love to hear from you: tracey@heshima.org or eric@heshima.org

To find out more about Heshima visit their website for their online sales catelogue: www.heshima.org....their FB page…Heshima Children’s Center… and also their edopt.net page as well, where you can sponsor a child.