Patti Burris

The Issue

• Annually, 21,000 women are hospitalized from having an illegal, unsafe abortion in Kenya. (Center for Reproductive Rights)
• Abortion is a volatile topic in Kenya.
• 13,000 Kenyan girls are kicked out of school for being pregnant. (Center for Reproductive Rights)
• 25% of pregnant women in Kenya are HIV positive (ObGyn in Kenya)
• Every 30 minutes, a woman is raped in Kenya. (Nairobi Women’s Hospital)
• Mothers often force their daughters into trading sex for food in the slums (CNN)
• More than 20,000 children are sex trafficked in Kenya (Human Trafficking)
• 1500 women die in childbirth every day across Africa (WHO)

The Vision

• Provide a safe place-a guarded home with 12 maternity beds
• Partner with local churches
• Prenatal Care- checkups, medical assistance for healthy deliveries
• Proper Nutrition-protein and regular healthy meals
• Counseling-post abortion/prostitution, rape recovery
• Ministry-prayer, Biblical teaching, regular devotions
• Education-help catch girls up in school thru 8th grade, then continue on to high school, or vocational tract
• Livelihood Skills-cooking, jewelry-making, art, sewing, etc
• A nurturing environment in-which to give birth and breastfeed babies
• A safe place to stay and learn and heal until they graduate
• An account to start small business or go to school (from products they make and sell)

The Plan

Our residents are invited to stay in the program for a minimum of two to four years, but our desire is to support each mom and baby throughout their lives. Each girl earns money through our Sustainable Skills Program and it will be dispersed over a long-term period to continue their education and even start a business as a part of our Graduate Program. Since our residents are at-risk- abused and even orphaned, we will assist them for as long as needed. We want to be their forever family and will tailor our help to each girl’s situation. Our goal is quality, not quantity and total discipleship.

It is the desire of The Mercy House team to fulfill Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good: And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and love mercy, to walk humbly with your God.”

The Girls

Mercy House is home to 12 teen moms and their babies.

The Goal

The goal is to raise $74,000 by Christmas for a various projects that have been pinpointed to make life easier and more efficient for the girls and the staff.

In this first phase of fundraising, the goal is $8,750 for a new van. The van is needed to transport the 24 residents and 6 staff members and to doctors appointments, church and the market without making multiple trips. Consider giving a gift that will make the lives easier for these precious young women and their babies.

To contribute to phase 1 click here

The information for this blog post was taken from the Mercy House website.