In May 2007, Anne Sweeney and Talyn Good co-founded Heshima Kenya, a U.S. non-profit and registered non-governmental organization based in Nairobi. Heshima is the Swahili word for respect, honor and dignity and we provide comprehensive social services and special assistance to unaccompanied refugee minors. Together, with more than twenty years of experience, Anne and Talyn created Heshima Kenya to assist and advocate for responsible change. They believe that children deserve to live as children, to grow and develop with integrity and flourish in communities where their rights and best interests are respected.
Heshima Kenya strives to achieve our mission through the following objectives:
- To ensure the healthy development of unaccompanied refugee minors by providing a continuum of holistic care to address issues of medical care, shelter, education, legal documentation and family tracing.
- To promote long-term self-sufficiency among unaccompanied adolescent girls by providing them with the skills, resources and economic support to make a healthy transition to adulthood.
- To work in tandem with partner organizations and local churches, mosques, schools and clinics to identify and protect additional unaccompanied refugee minors and create awareness about their special needs.
- To strengthen the capacity of the refugee community to provide effective care to minors and engage their long-term participation as caregivers, volunteers and mentors.
As the cycle of violence and war continues, ongoing humanitarian relief efforts focus more on general aid often overlooking the most vulnerable minors. Heshima Kenya recognizes that the plight of unaccompanied refugee minors goes beyond that of other refugees. It is our mission to develop programs that establish long-lasting protection and care for these minors by engaging the community’s active and long-term involvement and support. Heshima Kenya operates on a small-scale so that we may maintain a personal level of interaction between our staff, the minors we serve, and the communities where we work.
Anne and Talyn are former colleagues who believe in building innovative and effective resources that establish patterns of sustainable change. With the support of those who join our mission, Heshima Kenya’s programs nurture confident and responsible minors who will be able to actively participate, shape, and strengthen both their own and the world community.