A power outage that has persisted for over three months is threatening the safety and well being of more than 100 children at the Baba Nyumbani Children’s Home.
The children’s home, which shelters orphans, rescued, and vulnerable children, has been operating without electricity since the breakdown of a transformer nearly 90 days ago. The facility’s management says repeated appeals to Kenya Power have fallen on deaf ears, and the consequences are growing more dire each day.
“This blackout is not just an inconvenience, it is a crisis. Our children are living in darkness, exposed to risks, and deprived of basic needs. We feel completely abandoned,” said Esther Ongaya, the facility’s administrator.
Ongaya said the outage has disabled all CCTV surveillance and security lighting around the premises, raising serious concerns over the safety of the children, especially at night.
“We are on edge every evening. We can’t monitor movements around the compound. If someone wanted to break in, we wouldn’t even see them,” said Ongaya.
Beyond security, the lack of electricity has disrupted the home’s water supply. Vincent Juma who works in the facility told The Standard that the borehole pumps, which rely on power to function, have stalled, leaving the facility without running water.
By Martin Ndiema
