The Kenyan Orphan Project was started in 2001 by 3 medical students at Nottingham University in response to the worsening global problems of poverty and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Since then KOP has been working on health, education and social welfare projects with the aim to fight against poverty, disease, social exclusion and injustice amongst orphans and vulnerable children in Kenya.

The roots of improving the health and lives of children lie not just in medicine but in basic freedoms - from disease and poor sanitation, from improved education and illiteracy, from economic and financial hardship, from gender and social inequality and from oppression and war.

KOP has links in Kisumu in western Kenya where poverty, disease and deprivation levels are about as bad here as anywhere in Kenya and our work is focussed at a grass roots, community level in areas beyond the reach of large scale aid.

For 8 years KOP has been sending groups of university students to Kenya to assist with project programmes and currently university groups from Nottingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Southampton, Kings College, Barts, Warwick, Leicester and Leeds are planning to go to Kenya in 2010.

In addition to student involvement KOP has also led trips for doctors and nurses during which free large scale rural outreach medical camps for people with little or no access to healthcare were organised.

In July 2007, 12,000 people were seen and treated in these camps.

Much of the support provided by KOP comes from volunteers in the UK such as student groups and others who go to Kenya to participate and work alongside KOP volunteer programmes. By generating financial and material support for these projects through individual volunteer participation in educational and volunteer programmes in Kenya, we can directly support projects as well as spread an understanding and awareness of the issues relating to development and international health. These issues form the foundations for new generations of people committed to improving the lives of others. Good partnerships and collaboration between international groups and local non-governmental organisations working ‘from the bottom-up’ seem to offer the best possible working solutions to the issues surrounding sustainability. In this respect the position of KOP is clear. KOP works independently as a charity in the UK, but also in partnership with local project groups in Kenya. The essence of KOP is about support to communities and people who are suffering or are disadvantaged through poverty, the burden of disease or lack of access to adequate health care and education. It is also about empowering individuals and communities to be self-sufficient and to build a future free from disadvantage. By directing effort towards local groups and organisations KOP aims to create sustainable projects that will continue to assist local people in the long term, not just to provide temporary relief.

With involvement in a range of different activities, across all aspects of life, KOP aims to improve communities as a whole and not just in one area of development.

During 2010 KOP is committing support towards:

The coming year is set to be exciting and full of energy.

KOP has a vibrant student programme comprising formal global child health education with around 200 students planning to participate in projects during the summer. The road to success is always a challenge - but KOP, with the help of all our supporters, is determined rise to that challenge and together we can make a significant contribution to reducing the suffering of children who are currently living amidst poverty, neglect and disease.