Shelter Yetu was founded in 2004 in Naivasha, Kenya to respond to the growing crisis of children living on the streets. In its early years, the organization operated as a residential home, providing food, shelter, and basic care to street-connected children who had no safe place to turn.
As the years went on, it became clear that while orphanage care met immediate needs, it was not the long-term solution children needed to flourish. In 2014, Shelter Yetu transitioned from a traditional orphanage model to a family reunification and strengthening centre. This shift placed the focus on rehabilitation, counseling, and preparing both children and families for successful reintegration.
Today, Shelter Yetu prevents family separation, rescues and rehabilitates children from the streets, and reunites them with safe and loving families. They also partner with Send Relief to run the Family Care Training Centre that equips churches, government agencies, and child care institutions to champion family-based care.
Where they operate
Contact this organization about:
Organization Size
Headquarters Location
Naivasha
Kenya
Organization Type
Main Areas of Work
Family Strengthening
Shelter Yetu empower vulnerable families to prevent separation through economic strengthening, parenting support, and access to community-based resources. We also trace families of street-connected children and prepare them for successful reintegration.
Street Outreach
Our social workers and street outreach teams engage directly with children living on the streets, providing immediate care, crisis intervention, and pathways to rehabilitation and family reunification.
Rehabilitation and Counseling
Children rescued from the streets enter a short-term residential rehabilitation program that provides counseling, informal education, pastoral care, and life skills development. This process prepares them emotionally, mentally, and socially for reintegration with families.
Family Reunification and Reintegration
Shelter Yetu works to safely reunite children with their families or extended kin whenever possible. This includes family assessments, counseling, mediation, and follow-up support to ensure stability and long-term success.
Family Care Training Centre
Through the Send Relief Family Care Centre, Shelter Yetu equips churches, government agencies, child care institutions, and other stakeholders with training and consultancy in family-based care. This includes workshops, mentoring, and capacity-building designed to strengthen the wider child protection system and reduce reliance on institutional care.
We asked this organization to tell us a little more about their learning and knowledge sharing practices. Here is what they said
Our transition from just serving children to serving families has resulted in significant learning around family empowerment--especially economic empowerment.
We haven't done formal monitoring, evaluation and learning, but we meet regularly as a leadership team to assess our work and see where we might improve.
We are a part of the Association of Alternative Care Kenya, and also invite other organizations to learn from our transition.