Baby Life Rescue Centre Covid-19 Relief

Baby Life Rescue Centre is an orphanage in Mombasa, Kenya that provides a home for newborns, babies and children who are abandoned (on a daily basis) in hospitals, bathrooms, dumpsters or even left on the side of the road. Orphanages like this one are essential in Kenya where abuse, neglect and abandonment of children is commonplace. 

Baby Life Rescue Centre relies on volunteers in order to pay caregivers and staff, rent, utilities, food and other essential needs to keep babies and infants clean and safe, as well as to pay hospital bills. Baby Life Rescue Centre depends on its volunteers, as these volunteers pay for their stay, and thus provided the means for the rescue centre to cover their expenses.

As we are all aware of, there is a worldwide pandemic happening at the moment, Covid-19. While this is impacting each of us and will continue to impact each and every one of us in different ways, at Baby Life Rescue Centre international travel bans prevent volunteers from being able to come to Mombasa. No volunteers = no income. A lack of income means that hospital bills cannot be covered, rent and utilities cannot be paid for and the food, diapers and caregivers for over 30 abandoned children cannot be provided. It is very possible that these rescued babies may once again find themselves without a home or a safe place to grow-up. 

While our governments are attempting to provide financial support, banks are lowering interest rates, and rent and mortgage payments (for example) are possibly being deferred, or in any case, there is greater leniency in meeting payment deadlines; in Kenya, they are not so fortunate. Kenya is run by a government that is corrupt and due to the widespread poverty that exists within Kenya and a population of about 50 billion people, it will not be possible for most people to get the support or help that is needed at this time. 

On a personal level, I spent the summer of 2019 volunteering with International Medical Aid at a public hospital in Mombasa, Kenya. During my time here I met a baby who was abandoned at birth and left in the New Born Baby Unit. I fell in love with this little guy (to be honest, all of the volunteers fell in love with him). However, I spent so much time with him that each time I entered the unit the nursing staff began calling me his "Mama" and would refer to him as my baby. For three months this little baby had no official name and was affectionally referred to as HOD (Head of Department) since he was there for such a long period of time. While still in Mombasa I researched adoption and visited the Department of Children at the government offices to try and gain more information on adoption. Sadly, due to high rates of child trafficking the Kenyan government has put a ban on international adoptions from Kenya until a proper policy can be put into place.


The day I had to leave Mombasa was emotional. I knew that despite what restrictions existed right now, I would and still continue to hold out for when adoption will be possible. A week after I had left, I was contacted by the nurses at the baby unit who told me that "HOD" was finally placed into an orphanage. They also told me that he had had to be given a legal name at the time of placement and they had named him Alex, after me. I was given the name and contact information of the directors at the orphanage, Baby Life Rescue Centre and that is how I have been able to stay in touch with baby Alex weekly, to see how things are going at the rescue centre, we well as to plan an upcoming trip for me to volunteer with the Rescue Centre and see Alex again.

I have been given an estimate of expenses for each month:

Hospital Bill (Outstanding): Ksh 72 000
Rent: Ksh 43 000
Wages: Ksh 84 000
Gas: Ksh 5700
Water: Ksh 3000
Electricity: Ksh 7000

Total: Ksh 214 700 

This is approximately $3000 CAD or $2026 USD/month.

I am asking that we do what we can to enable this orphanage to survive the pandemic and allow these children to continue to have the best care and the best chance they will have at survival. I realize that times right now are tough and thank you in advance for donating, big or small <3.

Feel free to look up the rescue centre at this link:
https://www.babyliferescuemombasa.org 

Thank you so much,
Alex :)