A Brief History
 Living in the slums of Kangemi, surrounded by the estimated .8 million other slum dwellers, Raphael was overwhelmed by the disproportionate amount of street children due to the effects of AIDS, and how few of them were in school, so he began working with his limited resources with seven children. Four of them were without parents and he found them guardians and three of them were living with relatives, but were also not in school. Hamomi,
a localized word
for 'harmony',
quickly earned
an excellent
reputation for
its children's
good
performances and
by October of
2000 they had
three teachers
and 24 pupils.
By 2005, the
number had shot
up to 100
pupils, some of
them living with
their families,
some of them
placed with
guardians. The
program's
popularity is
not hard to
explain
considering it
not only offers
children an
alternative to
the streets,
away from their
anticipated
futures as
beggars and
prostitutes, but
it also boasts a
decent
education.
Our Staff
Today, our staff
works almost entirely for free, aside from sporadic donations. On their best year to date, 2007, they each earned $100 in the whole year. They function as teachers Monday through Friday and social workers on the weekends, walking long distances to visit the children with guardians to ensure an acceptable standard of living. Raphael has a vision of evolving into not only a well-funded and well-supplied school, but also a sustainable, loving home for the children. Raphael and the other teachers have devoted every element of their lives to Hamomi.
Why us
Nobody needs to be convinced that children are our future, and this is especially true in Kenya where formal education has been available for such a short period of time to so few generations. By producing this force of children who are suddenly able to control their own lives and to participate positively in society, Hamomi has brought opportunity and independence to Kangemi where there was so little.
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Our
Vision
Hamomi
runs
now
on
the
dedication
and
involvement
of
only
a
few
select
individuals,
and
therefore
has
been
hindered
from
developing
into
something
sustainable.
As
is,
Hamomi
is a
primary
school,
but
we
are
in a
state
of
transition
into
our
whole
dream.
What
is
that
dream?
While
it
is a
blessing
that
the
guardians
of
the
Hamomi
children
who
were
living
on
the
street
have
agreed
to
care
for
them,
Hamomi
would
prefer
to
become
more
of a
home
itself.
Instead
of
being
an
'orphanage'
which
has
a
central
focus
of
finding
other
homes
for
their
kids,
Hamomi
would
like
to
become
a
home
where
they
could
be
adopted,
live
with
all
these
brothers
and
sisters,
and
be
cared
for
by
the
housemothers.
Rather
than
acting
as a
place
to
stay
while
they
hope
for
some
place
better,
we
want
Hamomi
to
be
that
better
place."
We
will
send
as
many
of
the
children
as
possible
to
formal
public
schools
or
even
private
schools,
and
we
will
still
manage
the
school
during
the
day,
taking
in
kids
from
the
community
as
well
who
live
too
far
from
public
schools
or
who
can't
afford
to
attend
them
even
though
they're
'free',
(there
are
still
required
uniforms,
shoes,
exam
fees,
hair
requirements,
etc.)
Therefore,
we
will
be a
mix
of a
home,
a
school
and
a
community
centre.
What
does
this
entail?
This
dream
is a
long
way
off,
but
there
are
many,
many
things
you
can
do
to
help
Hamomi
get
there
from
helping
to
spread
the
word
to
donating
your
time
to
help
fundraise
to
donating
money
or
services
to
'adopting'
a
teacher
or a
student.
We
appreciate
any
manner
you
choose
to
get
involved
in!
To
learn
more
about
how
we
plan
on
achieving
this
dream
and/or
how
you
can
participate
in
it,
read
on!
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