Many of the families that THAP assists travel to Nairobi from remote areas hundreds of miles away. They arrive at the THAP office with few or no funds and do not have a place to stay. To help these families, THAP opened its Family Support Center in July, 2010 to provide the children and their caregivers a safe and secure place to stay while undergoing medical care in Nairobi. It is located in South C, Nairobi, only a ten minute trip to our hospital partner, The Mater Hospital, located in South B.
The Family Support Center provides sleeping rooms for the patients and caregivers, a kitchen for preparing meals, and a common area for children and families to gather together. It serves as a safe haven for families during a very stressful and disruptive time. THAP uses its "Hearts for Kids" van to provide transport to and from medical appointments. The Center also allows THAP staff to treat each family's case in a private and sensitive manner, and enables them to develop a plan for monitoring and following up with each family over a pre-determined period of time.
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| Executive Director Peter Mbogo Kamau at THAP's Family Support Center |
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| ne of the Center's bedrooms |
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| One of the families that recently stayed at the Center |
Quotes from families that stayed at the Support Center:
"Without THAP's Family Support Center, we would have had to sleep in the hallway at the hospital."
"We were so worried about our child and having to travel so far to Nairobi for her to get the medical care she needed. I don't know what my family would have done without THAP and the Center."
