The Bliss Women and Children Centre is located in Kaptembwo, one of the poorest areas of Nakuru, Kenya. BWCP hopes to build the capacity of abandoned, displaced, orphaned and destitute children, so that they may achieve their goals and reach their full potential.

Our mission is to tackle poverty by addressing the social inequities that lie at its core.

Our mission involves helping women and children in Kaptembwo to take a step out of poverty. We work with those who are most marginalized - women who are widowed, are single mothers or sole supporters of their families, and children who are extremely poor, orphaned or abandoned.

This is a very difficult mission to achieve. Throughout Kaptembwo, there are thousands of women and children who are excluded. We aim to work with them to help them to improve their lives and reach their fullest potential.

Our work is slow and painstaking. It involves working with people who, in many cases, have been poor and excluded all their lives. They face many obstacles. Through our projects, we aim to give them the tools to overcome these difficulties and build a brighter future.

Our Projects: BWCP addresses the needs of women and children through a wide variety of projects - ranging from education and training to handicrafts and micro credit. We help raise children who are full of hope and promise for a better future

Objectives

At the Bliss Women and Children Center, our overall objective is to ensure respect for the rights of women and children in Kaptembwo, Nakuru, Kenya. Our specific objectives include the following:

• To help meet the children's basic needs, including education, food, shelter and health care.
• To provide counseling for women and children
• To help tackle local problems, including drug abuse, HIV/AIDS etc.
• To provide mothers with relevant information on health, hygiene etc.
• To provide women with training in small business management

Since 2004, we have been accomplishing our goal of empowering some of Nakuru's most vulnerable people through a variety of programs. These include the following:

• Handicraft and baking program – this project provides training and a location where women can put their skills into practice;
• Micro credit programme – Our micro credit project aims to alleviate poverty and empower women, by allowing them to further their small-scale initiatives.
• Orphan Programme – This programme involves meeting the basic needs of more than 80 children who are orphaned or living in extreme poverty. It involves providing basic necessities such as clothing, shoes, medical care, housing and food.
• Education Programme – More than 80 children and 40 women are currently receiving an informal education through this initiative.
• Counselling Programme – Women and children who previously abused drugs or have been displaced receive counseling, rehabilitation and advice through this initiative.
• HIV/AIDS Programme - This programme works with the infected and the affected to mitigate the effects it has on individuals, families and the local communities. The programme aims to equip women, offer counseling, testing and home-based care.
• Feeding Programme - The children involved in this programme receive a hot breakfast and hot lunch each day.

Everyone who has a set of hands and a willing heart is welcome to volunteer at Bliss.

Profiles

We are particularly looking for people with the following profiles:

• Preschool teaching experience;
• Experience working with fair trade issues;
• Nurses & doctors:
• Fundraising;
• Experience in building and maintaining
• Partnerships;
• Marketing - in order to market women's handicrafts abroad;
• General counseling;
• Sponsorship programs;
• Community development in general.
• Toilouring Project

Design Your Own Program: Volunteers are also welcome to design their own programs as a blend of our needs, and the type of experience you would like to gain, or how you feel your skills could best be used.

We have home stay that we charge 12 dollars per day.

Visa

Most visitors to Kenya need to obtain a visa (US$25) including Europeans, Americans and nationals from Commonwealth countries such as New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and the UK. Volunteers need to obtain a tourist visa to enter Kenya. Visas are valid for three months from the date of entry and can be purchased upon arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

We do not charge interns/volunteers for the experience of coming to work with us. We believe that the skills and effort you bring to us, through coming to work for our projects, is sufficient, and we are very grateful for this!! However, unfortunately we are unable to provide a stipend, and are unable to cover your expenses such as airfare, cost of living, etc. 

Life in Nakuru is as expensive as you would like to make it. However, a basic budget may consist of the following:

• monthly rent for a small house: 4,500 – 6,000 kshs;
• food – 150 kshs per day
• meal in a decent restaurant – 300 kshs per meal
• transport – 40 – 100 kshs per day