Our association
history – purpose – development concept

Our project “Pamoja” has its origins as far back as 1995, when the development worker Petra Allmendinger became aware of the Machiuka Children’s Home in Isiolo in Kenya and supported it over several years.

To better support the home financially, she and some friends from Witzenhausen founded our association in 2010 under the name “Help for Kenya’s Children e.V.”. Most of the founding members have remained loyal to the association to this day!

This still small group quickly grew to over 80 members in the following years.

Since the home in Isiolo was closed in 2014 (among other reasons due to the retirement age of the director, Christopher), the association continued to look for a new location to support Kenyan children in need. In 2016, a plot of land was acquired and developed. In 2018, the first children moved in.

The purpose of the association is the financial support of the children’s home Pamoja Machiuka (which means “Together – Rising!”). The goal is to promote and support the home permanently, so that children who would otherwise have no safe and protected upbringing or access to education can live securely and well cared for, and be guided into a self-determined, opportunity-rich life.

For legal reasons, a registered association was also established in Kenya: It is called Pamoja-Machiuka C.B.O.. It has a first and second chairperson, a treasurer, is audited by the Kenyan tax authorities, and is supervised by the Nyeri social services.

In 2023, we launched an association development concept to make the association future-proof, secure its work, and establish it transparently for the next generations of volunteers. In 2024 and 2025, we revised and updated the statutes, redesigned the website and flyer, and changed the association’s name to “Pamoja – Help for Kenya’s Children e.V.” to more precisely identify our children’s home in the name and avoid confusion with other aid organizations.

Today, the association counts a number of members, sponsors, and individual donors who together ensure the financing and actively contribute to making the project successful and sustainable.

Since May 2025, according to the new statutes, we have expanded our scope of activity. The purpose of the association now also includes the promotion of child and youth welfare, education and development cooperation, as well as charitable actions.

This means that, in individual cases, we provide funds for financial support for former children of the home, for education and training at school and/or university, as well as for children, youth, or families in Kenya who are in need. This includes financial support for individuals who, due to their physical, mental, or emotional condition, or their economic situation, are dependent on the help of others.

We still need you!
Because we want to take in even more children, and costs are also rising in Kenya. The older children attend schools with higher tuition fees, and in the new statutes, we have also committed to providing individual support for difficult cases in Kenya. This is only possible if we receive enough regular and one-time donations!

Thank you very much if you would like to help us with this!