Who We Are

Our Mission

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PROVIDE basic needs to orphans and vulnerable children living in the streets and rural areas.

PROTECT our children from abusers and advocate for their safety and rights.

EDUCATE them to become self-sustaining to transform our communities.

Our Vision

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Our vision is to empower orphans and vulnerable children to become self-sustaining to transform their lives and our community.

Our Commuinity

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Our Community is based in Bungoma, Kenya. Located in western Kenya, near to the border of Uganda.

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5 years of Touching lives and Transforming communities

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In June 2022, while the world was slowly emerging from the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rural villages of Bungoma County, Kenya, were facing a silent, devastating aftermath. The virus hadn't just taken lives; it had shattered the fragile safety nets holding families together.

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Parents passed away, breadwinners lost everything, and overnight, children were left to fend for themselves. Hunger became a daily reality. In the struggle to survive, the vulnerability of the youth skyrocketed. School dropouts spiked, and a wave of early pregnancies and exploitation threatened to steal the futures of an entire generation of young girls.

It was in this crucible of crisis that Friends of Watoto was born. We refused to watch a generation disappear.

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What started as a rescue mission has blossomed into a movement of sustainable empowerment. Run by a dedicated, collaborative team across the USA and Kenya, Friends of Watoto has already helped rewrite the narratives of more than 320 people.

Our approach was simple: address the menace of school dropouts, tackle hunger, protect our children (especially girls), and engage guardians to be part of this movement.

To date:

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• We are educating 40 children. Just last year, 9 of our students defied the odds, graduated high school, and are now standing on the doorstep of universities and colleges.

• We rescued and trained over 30 rejected teen mothers, equipping them with the tools to secure jobs and launch small businesses. Today, another 31 young mothers are sitting in our classrooms, reclaiming their worth.

• Over 100 widows and guardians have been equipped with proper seeds and fertilizer along with modern farming techniques, sustainably feeding more than 700 family members every single year.

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Because of visionary partners, we haven't just given handouts; we’ve built infrastructure. Today, in Chemwa Village, a piece of land purchased through generosity now features a vibrant Friends of Watoto Empowerment Center and a drilled borehole providing a fresh water well to the community. This property helps the most vulnerable teen mothers and youth learn garment making, hairdressing and computers. At the center we do not just teach; we also mentor youth through sports and leadership talks, train widows in financial literacy, and build community problem-solvers.

But the waiting list of children and mothers asking for help is long and we need more support to meet the need.