A Rendlesham couple has brought hope and smiles to the faces of children in Nakuru county that became mothers under unfortunate circumstances.
Allan and Jane Hutt have been fostering African child mothers since 2014 and are now working towards providing them with a permanent home. They are the faces behind Beehive Foundation, a project that helps and houses children that became mothers.
Ten years ago, the two traveled from England to the African continent to do Christian Missionary work. This landed them in Nakuru county in Kenya, where they witnessed firsthand the struggles of underage children dealing with the sexual violation that results in teenage pregnancies.
The couple realized that most cases of child pregnancies result from sexual violence in the community. The perpetrator is usually either the father, uncle or immediate neighbor. Since these are either immediate caregivers to the victim, it is difficult for the child to speak up and seek help. Such forces them to hide their pregnancy or lie, resulting in the perpetrator going scot-free.
However, it is the child that is left with permanent physical, emotional, and psychological bruises. It is when the couple came in to play the role of foster parents to these child moms and give them a sense of community.
Sadly, the couple’s effort to find adequate resources for the children here in Kenya has been difficult. They currently house all the child mothers and their children in two large rented houses. However, the space has become too small to accommodate and even continue accepting in more child mothers.
The couple is now planning to construct a modern complex that will accommodate thirty-six child moms plus their children. They look into having them in family units, each containing six members.
According to Allan and Jane, since their emphasis is on family, the goal is to accommodate the girls plus their children in a family-like setting and not an institution. With that, they plan to have the structure of the complex in such a way that the main structure will be central. Here, the child mothers and their children can have communal meals, talks, and share experiences and ideas. The main structure will then be surrounded by 6 cottages where the girls, their children, and a house mum will live.
Jane revealed that the construction will happen in 4 phases, with phase one almost complete. According to her, the place is homely and comfortable enough for the girls and their children to feel safe.
Check out their website for more details.
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