9
RESETTLEMENTS
9
FOSTER PLACEMENTS
4
ADOPTIONS
TRANSITIONAL
HOME
The children that enter our transitional home have been separated from family. Abandonment, death of their parents, or neglect and abuse happening in the home are just a few of the reasons for this.
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Our transitional home opened in February of 2011 to address this issue. Since then, we have cared for over 40 vulnerable children living with special needs.
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Children in this program receive 24/7 care, therapy, medical treatment, and schooling. Our staff work to help them accomplish developmental goals and learn about their inherent value while giving them the unconditional love and acceptance that they deserve.
Above all, it is our greatest desire for each child to have a family. Our social work team works diligently on exit plans for each child with the ultimate goal of placing them in a loving family through resettlement, foster care, or adoption. Placing children living with special needs in adoptive families is hard work, but our team has proven it is possible.
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Our heart at Ekisa is to see children living with special needs celebrated in their own families and communities. Scripture and science affirm this, and tell us that children grow best in families. Children need love, a sense of belonging, the experience of a family, and connection to the community.
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We launched our Community Care Program in 2011 in an effort to prevent the breakdown of families. We dreamt of seeing fewer kids needlessly referred to institutions. We have found that children living with special needs are most often placed in institutions because of poverty and stigma. Our Community Care Program removes these barriers and helps families gain access to the resources and encouragement they need in order to lovingly raise their child.
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The support services families have access to include medical assistance, speech, occupational, and physical therapy, parent education and counseling, and financial empowerment. Today this program supports 90 families.
We serve many parents who are living examples that families are able to overcome stigma and the unique challenges of raising a child living with special needs when given the right support.
COMMUNITY CARE
34
STAFF MEMBERS
5
CLASSES
46
STUDENTS
EKISA ACADEMY
An estimated 90% of the 100 million children living with disabilities in developing countries do not go to school. Since 2015, we have been overcoming this barrier by offering a high-quality, specialized Christian education at Ekisa Academy. Since first opening our doors, over 50 children in our Residential Care Program and Community Care Program have attended. For the vast majority, this is the first time they have ever gotten to go to school.
At Ekisa Academy, we strive to empower children living with special needs to reach their highest potential. Our desire is to provide families with access to a specialized school program that can meet the individual needs of their child. Ekisa Academy follows a holistic approach to special education, offering physical therapy, multi-sensory room therapy, training in daily life skills, and lesson plans tailored to each child’s skill level.
This program allows parents to work and rest while their children are at school, and sends a message to the wider community that children living with special needs are worthy of being educated, celebrated, and invested in.