How does it work?
The organization of the village, not unlike the organization of a large family or of a small town, is complex. Everyone has his/her own task, his/her area of responsibility: everyone is aware of the fact that the well being of the children lies right at the core of their work and their commitment.
The committee in charge of the project as a whole operates from Rome, but is in constant and close contact with the local responsible: Marek Krakus.
Marek Krakus is the general coordinator of the village, on the spot. Marek - who succeeded Carmine Marotta in December 2010 - is responsible for the overall management of the village, and his duties range from personnel management to the weekly purchase of food for the village, from dealing with the hospitalization of the children (when it is necessary) to the planning of specific interventions.

The children are in the caring hands of the "house mothers": there are two for each house. They take care of the children as if they were their own: they sleep in the house with them, share meals, daily activities, outings, times for play and times for work. As they spend most of their time with the children they are usually the best people to realize when the nurse or the doctor have to be consulted. It is the house mothers who deal with the regular administration of antiretroviral therapy. Their training has been provided by the volunteers who took turns since the center opened.

A nurse lives in the village for four days a week and is in charge of the general health of the children: she decides when it is necessary to take them to the local hospitals of Tigana or Chogoria that are about ten miles away from the village.
The education of the younger children (nursery and kindergarten) is in the hands of the nursery teachers, while the older children regularly attend the local school. In addition, all children are offered the regular teaching of the catechism by the Diocese of Meru.
Thanks to Riples International (link?), a local charity, the older children are offered regular counselling aimed at making them aware of their disease and of how to manage it.

A small team of two cooks and a helper work in the kitchen: they prepare all meals for the children and the staff (all in all about 90 people for breakfast, lunch and dinner, apart from the mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks for children ). They are also in charge of the shopping and of keeping the canteen and the kitchen tidy and in a good shape.
To complete the picture, there also about 30 shamba workers, quite a few cleaners, two guards (one for the day, Joseph, and one for the night, Samuel), a carpenter, a driver, Festus, who lives just outside the village and is always available to take the children to the hospital and the directors of the various departments to town or in the neighbourhood to deal with their tasks.
Last Updated (Tuesday, 24 May 2011 10:47)






