Children's Orphanage Anidan in Lamu, Kenya

I am a former volunteer for Anidan and spent several years working there for Rafael Seals, the founder and operator of the orphanage.

The funds will be transferred to my account after which I will send the funds to Rafael Selas (Spain). The funds will be utilized to cover any outstanding operational costs.

Help us raise funds to keep the ANIDAN Orphanage afloat! 

Anidan is an orphanage located in the North-Eastern segment of coastal Kenya. In 2010, I began spending my summers at this special place. After a brief introduction to the owner Rafael Selas and the manager Maria Parga a year earlier, I knew this orphanage would play a huge role in my life going forward. Since then, the children that have come through Anidan over the years have become a part of my extended family.

The love that is shared in this huge Anidan family reflects how it first began. More than 20 years ago, Rafael Selas had found himself in Lamu, Kenya. After settling down with his soon-to-be wife, they began taking in children that had been abandoned or were under insufficient care. Children who were brought in had parents that had died of AIDS, their families had fled conflicts near the border with Somalia, or in most cases women with children arrived homeless, malnourished and without access to education. Quickly they grew to numbers that their home could no longer sustain. And from this, Rafael brought Anidan into this world, an organization based in Spain that would go on to raise funding to help support, build lives and a create a home for the children of Lamu who had no hope for either.

If you ever enter the Anidan 'campus,' you will be amazed by how far this place has come. Anidan has evolved from its humble origin from the home of one loving man to now a place that around 200 kids get to call home. It includes the kitchen and dining hall when you first walk in, the medical center to your left, the outdoor play area to your right, a concrete slab that serves as a basketball court, a sandy soccer pitch in between, and three dormitories (boys, girls, and younger kids), whose upper floors double as tutoring centers. Despite the awe-inspiring grounds that have been built for these kids over recent years, what truly stands out is the loving energy that almost resembles entering a family's living room, as the first kids once did at Rafael's home.

This year, Maria reached out to me about what is happening at Anidan. Although she left her role at Anidan, she will never be able to give up her job as the "Auntie" of the group of children that lived under her roof for so many years. As a result of the economic shifts in Europe, where most of Anidan's funding is derived from, the Covid pandemic, and other global tragedies, most of the original donors are no longer able to give. Now, Anidan is in dire need of help.

Despite the many years I worked there, I realize that this is now my time to step up and help. So, I wanted to reach out to family, friends, their loved ones, and even strangers to help keep alive something so beautiful that has served as a lifeline for hundreds of children over the last decades.

Please consider donating and sharing with your families. This cause is near and dear to my heart, and its urgency cannot be overstated.

Sponsorships can also be organized through Hans with ANIDAN directly. That would be the best way to impact a life at ANIDAN. Please reach out to me if you would like to here more about this option.

You can “Godfather” a child for $35 per month.

Other individual options are:

Early childhood education - $25 per child per month ($300 per year) 

Primary education - $25 per student per month ($300 per year) 

Secondary education - $45 per student per month ($540 per year)

Professional education - $85 per student per month ($1,020 per year)

University education - $165 per student per month ($1,980 per year