Current Project
The Treasure Houses are temporary rescue centers for orphaned and vulnerable children, young mothers and rescued brides that have faced abuse, abandonment and neglect.
The Treasure Houses are more than safe places for for children and also young mothers with children to learn and grow; they are homes where the children can find healing and hope. As a rescue center, the purpose is to assist those who have nowhere to turn with their "next steps" in life. One of the main goals is to help each child have a forever family. In some cases that means reintegration with their own relatives, fostering or adoption. It is extremely important for a child to know their culture and “their people”. Although the Treasure Houses are full of love, it is never the end goal to keep a child there forever. Every child longs for a family of their own and we work hard in order to try to help this happen.
Located next to the Acacia Ranch, the Treasure House sits on two acres of rented land. One acre is fully developed with an already producing garden. Future plans include the continued development of the Acacia Ranch. Our vision is to eventually build our own cottages on the land we own so that we do not need to rent long term.
Learn about the orphan crisis in Kenya.
The orphan crisis in Kenya is on the rise, and the numbers are staggering. Due to the high unemployment rate, shame inflicted on unwed mothers, and disease, many children are abandoned or orphaned in Kenya. Youth that find themselves pregnant are often shamed and outcast, leaving them with no safe place to go. ITHM partners with the District Children's Office (DCO) to rescue and place the vulnerable in safe care, while finding the best solutions towards equipping them for their future.
The DCO estimates that there are 2 cases of abandoned children per month. This is in one of 262 districts in Kenya. Children who are placed in homes for reasons other than abandonment, range between 3 to 9 children per month. Many are placed temporarily or on a permanent basis, depending on the nature of the case. Girls and young women rescued from circumstances like early marriage, defilement, female genital mutilation or physical abuse and early pregnancy need care and protection.
According to a study published in 2014-2015, the number of children's homes in Kenya numbered at 798. Of these, 422 are registered, while 376 are not. The children in these homes number to about 50,000. This number is expected to have risen in the past two years. Numbers like these make children extremely vulnerable to abuse and trafficking. Once they are released at age 18 from an institution, many no longer have a safe place to call home.
In the Kajiado North and West districts, in which ITHM operates, the current number of known children's homes is fifty-two. These homes house an estimated 2,500 children in Kajiado North and West districts alone. Many of the females leaving these institutions leave ill equipped and fall through the cracks once out of the care of the orphanage where they were raised. ITHM comes in to rescue these girls from falling through the cracks into lives of trafficking, servitude, drug abuse, repeating the cycle of abandonment with their babies, etc.