YES CENTRE

Are you looking for an orphan project to support? Please help us to finish work on building the above YES Centre.The above work is now stalled and requires massive support to to complete a fully integrated Support Centre.

(Above - YES Centre Ground Floor as at Nov 2006)

Background Information

Every 14 seconds, a child in sub-Saharan Africa loses a parent to AIDS.

11 million AIDS orphans already without a mother or father are in sub-Saharan Africa where some 14 million children under the age of 15 have been orphaned by AIDS.It is estimated that AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa would leave about 20 million children without parents to feed them in less than a decade.  1.7 Million of those orphans live in Kenya.

As the AIDS pandemic spreads throughout Africa, the number of Aids orphans under the age of 15 worldwide will exceed 50 million by 2010!  There will be six African countries where more than 30% of all children will be orphans and most of these children will be free of the virus!

The high number of AIDS orphans in Africa is potentially the biggest long-term crisis.  Not only do the large number of AIDS orphans have huge social implications for Africa, but there are also fears that most of them are not being educated, with all the problems that entails.

Poor communities in Africa are left to care for the orphans who would otherwise die or be left on the streets to feed for themselves.

Over-burdened and poor guardians, usually grandmothers and other relatives, need additional support to help raise educated, healthy and happy  orphans.

Without access to such things as basic healthcare, education and essentials like food, clothing and water, many orphans youth lack the means to change their lives for the better and are condemned to live a life of poverty.

YES Foundation

YES was founded in 2001 in Kenya to respond to the increased needs of the more than 1 million orphans whose lives had been impacted by HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Scouter Paul Kabao had for a long time observed that Scouts Friends who had made an irrevocable one -world-one promise was a large population and had tremendous potential tosupport the orphans.   He believed that Scouts Friends had under-utilised potentials that could be unlocked by mobilising them to undertake challenging discovery adventures in Africa so as to acquire more knowledge and skills and to respond either individually or within a team through voluntary action.

"...the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people" (Lord Baden Powell).

Guided by the Scouting Principles, Scouter Kabao was determined to start a viableorphans support project in Kenya. The idea started to realise when at one time he was trying to link up with his one time Scouts Friends Colin Bennett, but instead of connecting to Scouter Colin, he virtually met Scouter Chris Wilkinson who referred him to Scouter Alan Beavis who llater became very supportive towards the foundation of YES.

YES was symbolically officially launched on the 12th Aug 2003 during the 1st. study trip in Africa by the Africa Network Scout Fellowship (ANSF) from UK to create awareness about the basic rights of the orphans among other interests to link them to support friends

The launch was held at the YES Centre in Dagoretti Division Nairobi Kenya by Mr. Jonathan Cooksley ANSF accompanied by Mr. David Bull International Commissioner The Scout Association (UK), Mr. Stephen Clark Assistant County Commissioner (International) Greater London South West (GLSW) Scout County and Mr. Doug Corbin District Commissioner for East Middles... Cleveland UK.

The launch was presided over by Mr. Charles A. Nyambisa Senior Chief Kawangware Location in Nairobi Province, Mr. Andrew Eule Kamau Scouts Area Commissioner Dagoretti, Local Scout Friends, Orphan Scouts, guardians, community leaders and Scouter Paul Kabao as the Founding Director Youth Education Support (YES) Project.

YES formula is very simple.  We bring together the orphans youth who need support and friends with patience, time to give and a love of reading and learning.  We train the friends their task, resource them with information and support them throughout their voluntary friendship with us. Everyone gains - the youth and the volunteer friend.  And many of the youth we help develop a difference in their life's too.Today,YES has its international contact office in Berkshire Scout Enterprises Limited in UK and the 1st. project implementation in Nairobi, Kenya.