Safaricom Staff Support Orphaned and Vulnerable Children at Zabibu Centre

30th January, 2014… A gala dinner hosted by the Safaricom Technology Division Thursday night raised over KES4 million to go towards the completion and furnishing of a state of the art dormitory for the Zabibu Centre. 

The home which is situated in Ruiru was founded in 2005 by James and Irene Wagema as an education centre for orphaned and vulnerable children. 

The Centre accommodates children living with disabilities, those affected by HIV/AIDS, victims of abuse, girls rescued from early marriages and Female Genital Mutilation. 

The dormitory whose total cost is KES 12 million will help meet the accommodation needs of the Centre which are currently stretched by the Zabibu’s current population of 180 students; 150 of whom are girls. 

“I was touched by the plight of neglected children in our community and so I decided to donate part of our family land to set up makeshift structures to house these children,” said Irene Wagema. “We have over the years grappled with an accommodation crisis due to limited resources and with the new dormitory, we will be able to provide these children with decent accommodation,” she added.

This is the second dormitory that Safaricom through its various arms is helping construct. The Safaricom Foundation funded the construction of a 64-bed capacity dormitory for the Centre under its World of Difference programme.

Safaricom’s Director of Technology, Thibaud Rerolle who has been spearheading the campaign said they have in the last one year carried out various fundraising initiatives including one in which some staff members donated 1% of their salaries for six months.

“This project is an illustration of our collective strengths in making a difference in our communities. We all stand tall knowing that we not only contributed financially, but laid the basis for children to not only dream big, but also inch closer towards realising their grand dreams,” said Rerolle.

30th January, 2014… A gala dinner hosted by the Safaricom Technology Division Thursday night raised over KES4 million to go towards the completion and furnishing of a state of the art dormitory for the Zabibu Centre. 

The home which is situated in Ruiru was founded in 2005 by James and Irene Wagema as an education centre for orphaned and vulnerable children. 

The Centre accommodates children living with disabilities, those affected by HIV/AIDS, victims of abuse, girls rescued from early marriages and Female Genital Mutilation. 

The dormitory whose total cost is KES 12 million will help meet the accommodation needs of the Centre which are currently stretched by the Zabibu’s current population of 180 students; 150 of whom are girls. 

“I was touched by the plight of neglected children in our community and so I decided to donate part of our family land to set up makeshift structures to house these children,” said Irene Wagema. “We have over the years grappled with an accommodation crisis due to limited resources and with the new dormitory, we will be able to provide these children with decent accommodation,” she added.

This is the second dormitory that Safaricom through its various arms is helping construct. The Safaricom Foundation funded the construction of a 64-bed capacity dormitory for the Centre under its World of Difference programme.

Safaricom’s Director of Technology, Thibaud Rerolle who has been spearheading the campaign said they have in the last one year carried out various fundraising initiatives including one in which some staff members donated 1% of their salaries for six months.

“This project is an illustration of our collective strengths in making a difference in our communities. We all stand tall knowing that we not only contributed financially, but laid the basis for children to not only dream big, but also inch closer towards realising their grand dreams,” said Rerolle.