Enhance (mental) health of 1,358 Kenyan youths

Encouraging Observations by KAP's Boards Members
KAP has an executive Board of Directors consisting of 9- and an Advisory Board of 4 Members. Together they have a variety of strong professional backgrounds that match the character and needs of the KAP programme. 
This strong Board is important for KAP! Being the legal owners of the programme their support and activities towards KAP's future sustainability are vital for the programme's existence.
More than half of the Members reside outside of Kitale. Therefore most meetings are held through online or other proxy meetings, as stipulated in KAP's constitution. 
Whereas this is also true for the Annual General Meetings (AGM), once per two years all Members do attend this important meeting in-person, when a most informative, lively, even festive day is held with all stakeholders present.
This year, on the 21st February 2025, the event took place at the freely donated venue of the Deliverance Church in Bondeni, Kitale.

The day following the AGM the Boards Members were divided into four groups in order to visit all sub-programmes' ongoing activities and first-hand observe the impact achieved. 
This year visits were organised as follows:
(1) HIV/AIDS sub-programme: Kapkoi, (2) Steps Addiction Treatment: Lukhuna/Premium Group, (3) Unreached Youths: Birunda, and (4) Maili Saba.

After the visits a general sharing was held at KAP's office. Everyone, both Boards Members, Staffs and the Beneficiaries' groups members were truly happy with this opportunity to hear and learn about as well as report KAP's progress and enjoy the attention received. Regarding the latter it is worth noting that many of KAP's participants belong to those members of society that are often ignored and forgotten.

Life Experiences
The following life experiences were expressed during these Boards Members' visits. Participants were asked to explain what they had learned in the context of their lives' journeys. Some Members' reactions are described too:

THE STORIES OF CATHERINE AND PERIS (NOT THEIR REAL NAMES), PARTICIPANTS IN THE TRAINING FOR 'UNREACHED YOUTHS’ IN BIRUNDA 
1. CATHERINE: “I am 17 years old with one sibling only. We are total orphans and come from the Kenya/Uganda border. After our parents died, we felt so alone. Our family members took us in, but severely abused us physically and also neglected us. I sincerely thought of committing suicide twice, but then, when I turned 13 years old, fled to Kitale, where I found work as a house girl. Unfortunately my employer rarely paid my wages. As I badly needed funds, I befriended a boda-boda motorbike rider. When I fell pregnant my employer chased me away”.
      Catherine explained that the boda-boda rider did take her for marriage but that they fought a lot. Struggling with the trauma of this abusive relationship and the pressure to fit in, she started using alcohol and drugs as a way to escape the pain.
For a third time Catherine seriously contemplated suicide - this time she wanted to make sure to also eliminate her child, through poisoning. She felt very depressed whilst others confirmed that at the time she looked miserable and unkempt.
“KAP met me when I was on the verge of losing hope. Then the KAP training started in our area and I was invited. This course and all its follow-up sessions for one year became a turning point for me. Self-awareness, life skills and other topics rebirthed my life”, she noted happily. Determined to change, Catherine never missed a session. “It has been a long and difficult journey, where I felt guilty about attempting to commit suicide, pain due to confronting my past troubles, despair when I felt like withdrawing”.
      However she thankfully shared that these difficult efforts were rewarded: “With every session, a small hope, a small victory, a heartfelt conversation, a letter of apology in my heart to those who messed my youth - I am rebuilding myself, and have even reconciled with my husband”.
      “May the good God bless KAP in a unique way. I used to think my story would end in darkness. But now I know that the darkest moments can lead to the brightest beginnings with the help of Angles, like KAP”, were her final remarks as she freely shared her experiences during the visit of the KAP Board members.
      KAP’s facilitators have observed that Catherine has a powerful voice that inspires other young girls. She now looks well after herself, looks clean and organised, and together with her husband has started a small business. The child that was to be killed now attends the lower primary school class and is loved and cared for. The young family has started to thrive.

      PERIS is a 20-years old lady with three children, all from different fathers. She is living at her parents’ home but her mother died. When KAP met her in 2023 she was pregnant with her third child, had just separated from its father and was struggling to take care of her other two children, two younger siblings and her own father, an alcoholic.
      Her life was very difficult. Her addicted father did not care about them and could not provide anything for the children. Instead he would come home with lots of noise and abusive language and demand for food which he had never provided. She was forced to go for casual jobs but especially indulged in risky sexual behaviours, by offering sex for payment in order to cater for her children’s basic needs.
      She was happy to attend the workshop, but at first used to come when very dirty, with all her children crying throughout the sessions due to hunger. She would beat the children uncontrollably, and found it hard to concentrate.
      Through one-on-one therapy sessions with KAP’s counsellors, she became able to understand her situation better. This included her anger about her babies’ fathers, which she transferred to the children. These therapeutic sessions eventually also addressed forgiveness and reconciliation. This impressed her and through working through a process she managed to forgive these fathers and became able to love her children.
      When the Boards members visited she had just given birth to her third baby and was stable, looked clean and showed to take care of her family. She said that her heart was now at peace, whilst her change had also surprised her own father. She had started talking with him, he seemed to pay attention and his behaviour had become less disruptive.
      She had managed to find some casual jobs, which helped her in taking care of her family and siblings, without further exposing herself to risky behaviours. Her first two children were now going to school.
      She said that the training planted a seed and that she was watering it daily with patience, awareness and a growing sense of control. She had changed, which she summarised by saying that “change happens by making one choice at a time.” 

A word from the visiting Board Members: 
“From our observations, KAP is not just ‘doing a project’, but opening the door, for God to enter and do His work. We were very moved by the deep transformation reflected in the girls’ stories of change. It was clear that this was real, and not pre-arranged for our visit by KAP! Keep the good work going – may God bless KAP”.

Your Donations Have Made A Difference!
We are most grateful for your kind donations which have helped making the visit of our Boards Members and our important Annual General Meeting a success! 
Your gifts also paid food and teaching materials during refresher workshops in preparation for the AGM, as well as TOTs' (i.e. KAP Community Trainers') activities. They also covered some much needed supportive office- and educational expenses.   

• Financial Report 1.January 2025 - 30.April 2025 (PDF)