Kasisi Children’s Home

Snack time at Kasisi

Mummy’s giving out cucumbers and tomatoes to the children of Kasisi.

The Kasisi Orphanage was founded in 1926, and is currently one of the biggest and most well known orphanages in Zambia.

The House hosts between 200 and 250 children, ageing from a few days to twenty year olds. All  the children had a rough start to their lives and plenty of traumatic experiences such as: parents passing away, aggression, illnesses, abuse situations or being homeless. At Kasisi they have a second chance and can start to build a structured life in a protected environment, allowing them to play and be children again. Moreover, all the children are enrolled in school and some have had the possibility to attend universities overseas.

Kasisi Children’s Home, played an essential role in establishing the organisation that today is Blu Spring. And is the first active campaign we worked on. 

Our founder Marco Kerkhof (now Blu Spring Associazione), has developed and provided through donations a fully furnished therapy room in 2014. The latter has been used since to treat and do therapy with the children from the institution and neighbouring areas, a specific program was set up for each child.

 Local staff, the mummy’s taking care of the disabled children, have been taught how to perform simple therapy with the children in the absence of a physiotherapist to keep progressing.  One of the women, who was taught how to perform simple therapy, is now aspiring to become a physiotherapist, studies which we are currently sponsoring for her.  Nowadays, a Norwegian Physiotherapist visits the home every week to continue the therapy throughout the year.

Moreover, Kasisi, is the first location we supplied 6 children with a wheelchair from Wheelchairs for Kids. This event made us realise how much impact a wheelchair has on a child and its families lives: being thus the inspiration and foundation to start Blu Spring and to set up our first campaign: Wheelchairs. 

We are currently less active at Kasisi Children’s Home and prioritising other projects. However, we still support the House with clothing donations, help of our physical therapists volunteers and our professional support when needed. Further, we always stop for a visit when we are in Zambia to say hi to everyone as they played a big role in who we are today as an organisation.