Kids of Africa is about providing a sense of belonging, a home to come back to and creating friendships to help kids grow.

Why it takes a village to raise a child

Chances are - a kid that is welcomed at our village at Kids of Africa - has looked death in the eye before the age of 3. The kids in our family come from the bleakest and most despairing situations imaginable.

All of them come malnourished and ill, and some of them have been marked for life by HIV. Our kids have either lost their parents and natural families or have been abandoned by desperate parents or relatives.Their start in life could not possibly have been grimmer or more challenging.

Kids of Africa has set out to better their lives and give them a fair second chance at what most of us would consider "normal"/ god-given: to grow up peacefully with enough to eat, the right to an education and health care in order to become a self reliant, functional part of society.

Visitors to our village at the beautiful and peaceful shore of Lake Victoria willfind that the place bursts with joyfulness, laughter and play. Our mothers and in fact all members of the Kids of Africa family at the village receive our kids with open arms and give them the kind of love and warmth they need to grow strong and to flourish. They apply themselves - as only mothers can - to transforming inevitable misery and despair into happiness and hope.

We aim to support our mothers and their little families as best as we can by adopting our core principle in everything we do: "We are family"!

Families are the oldest and most universal building blocks of any human society. Families share resources and provide a sense of belonging, a home to come back to and friendship and support to help everyone to grow and develop.This is the inspiration that started Kids of Africa in 2003.

Take a look at our family and become part of it!

Burkhard Varnholt