To open the doors for youth to dream and write beautiful stories with their lives. To encourage and equip the youth of Mombasa to be the change they want to see in their city.

In 2007, four friends were backpacking through East Africa and came upon the street community in Mombasa. Seeing the enormity of the problem: small kids doing drugs, young pregnant girls, and no adults to protect them, the group decided instead of turning a blind eye, to stay and learn more. After spending months in the dumpsite with the kids, playing games, learning bits of Swahili, the four friends made a much larger family of friends and started to seek out how to help these kids have a second chance.

A year later, with new team members, the urgency to help the street community along with a growing vision of how to actually do that came together in a home. Eight youth and one baby moved into the Rapha House with our Mozambican family and 3 college students. Rapha comes from the Hebrew word for healing, and there is no better description to use.

We became a family, learning how to live together, speak the same language, overcome addictions and conflict together, crossing international and tribal barriers with love.  The youth started to go back to school, and the house grew quickly to over 20 people. Twice a week we would pick up around 50 kids from the street and bring them to our house for a warm meal, a shower, some games, and Bible study.  We became apart of the street community, engaging the kids at the deepest level of their problem, sitting in the dumpsite with them, learning. Because we were consistently in people’s lives, trust was gained and the Rapha House became a place of refuge to a constant flow from the streets, a swinging door for any problem, for anyone to come, and be received as family.

Each year we take approximately 20 students to school, from 1st grade to university level. We started with one main family house and have grown to eight houses with a main house for the younger kids. Two of our students after finishing highschool were given scholarships to study at a Bible school in New Zealand. Because of their outstanding character and hard work, they have been able to stay in NZ for many years, and now have jobs, support themselves and family members remaining Kenya, and they are significant role models to the rest of the Rapha Family.

While there is a strong stigma in Kenya towards kids who have come from street life, our family has successfully beaten this stereotype. Many of our students become the top ranking in their class and chosen for class roles such as prefect, dorm leader, chaplain. Some of our students have won full scholarships to attend high performing schools paid for by local government leaders and Kenyan companies.

While it is the dream of most of our students attend university, some have different dreams and our vision to help them reach their personal potential in any journey they choose. We have athletes, mechanics, musicians, chefs, and entrepreneurs.

We desire our family to be well-rounded. Everyone in the Rapha House has learned a musical instrument, and many play for their schools or churches. Each year we take at least one family trip to learn more about different tribes and to see the beauty of Kenya. Safari trips are very expensive to impoverished Kenyan families, so taking our youth to see the pride of Kenya builds identity and dignity in their nation. Our favorite trips, however, are missional trips to different parts of Kenya to help different communities.  Our youth love to give back and volunteer their energy to help others.  We also focus on reconnecting each student with their families if possible, and sponsor each of them to visit home as often as possible and to bring healing into their families as well.

We take time each school break as a family encourage others still in the streets, visit the sick in hospitals, hold events for children’s homes and schools. We believe it is essential to our identity as a family to take time to give back to the community, teaching each student to care deeply for the needs of others. Now the students themselves, lead these events and do an amazing job.

We are very proud of our family and excited to watch them each reach their dreams.