Our Approach

Rescue, rehabilitate, reunite.  

Shelter Yetu believes in the worth of every child, and every child’s right to have a safe environment to learn, grow and play. And we believe the very best place for a child is in a family. That’s why we work on the streets of Kenya to rescue children, rehabilitate them, and reunite them with their families.

RESCUE 

We rescue vulnerable, at-risk children from the cruel dangers of life on the street.

Our social workers reach out to children while they are still living on the streets, building relationships with them through shared meals, counseling, and sports. 

We work with each child to find his family and understand the circumstances that drove him to a life on the streets. Often, the child experienced difficult circumstances either at home or at school, and opted for the streets as a way to escape from the difficult environment.

Boys are then rescued from the streets and brought to Shelter Yetu where they are provided with all the resources they need to heal.

REHABILITATE

Shelter social workers will work with each child and his family to develop an individual plan for rehabilitation and reunification. where they will be nurtured and cared for as they learn all of the skills they will need to return to a safe family in their community.

Upon arrival, children are provided with clean clothes, medical care, food, a warm bed to sleep in and loving adults who will care for them.

Children are provided with both group and individual counseling, life skills training, remedial academic work and spiritual care. They also participate in normal family chores (milking the cows, washing their clothes, helping to prepare food), and learn how to be leaders in their communities. They also have the opportunity for recreational activities such as sports, hiking and camping.

Social workers work with the children’s families to prepare them for reunification. They counsel them on parenting skills, and also help them with emergency food and medical care, as well as ensuring that all children in the home have the opportunity to attend school.

In cases where the child feels that either he is too old or too far behind to return to school, we give him the opportunity to study carpentry and welding at the Shelter. The course allows the boy to become fully trained and certified in carpentry, before being reunited with his family and placed in an internship.

REUNITE

Social workers assess a child home to make sure both the family and the boy are prepared for reunification. If the family is ready, and a loving parent or family member is prepared to provide for the boy’s basic needs and schooling, the boy is reunited with his family. Shelter social workers continue to conduct follow up visits at home and at school to make sure the child is progressing well.