"SOTENI" comes from the Swahili phrase sisi sote, meaning "All of us, together." Together, we can make a difference, starting in Kenya. We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the orphans and other vulnerable children who have been most affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. We support communities, called Villages of Hope, that prevent and reduce the effects of the disease while they support the children.

SOTENI's Six Main Principles

S ustainability via community leadership

O pportunity to maximize everyone's gifts

T raining "barefoot doctors" to fight AIDS

E pidemiology to evaluate and improve our efforts

N etworking to benefit from existing assets

I nterdependence that connects us all as we benefit from our work together

A group of American and African volunteers created SOTENI in 2002. Passionately committed to preventing HIV/AIDS and to reducing its effects, they decided to put public-health theory into practice in Kenya, which has been ravaged by the epidemic. Their mission: to prevent another generation from succumbing by empowering orphans of AIDS to lead the fight against AIDS. SOTENI International became a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit group in 2003, allowing for tax-deductible contributions.

Led by physician-epidemiologist Victoria Wells Wulsin, SOTENI Kenya was formed in 2003. The group developed the model of “Villages of Hope,” whose goal is to establish a sustainable, grass-roots community led by a locally elected management committee that supports orphans and other children affected by HIV/AIDS, especially those heading families. The community works to mitigate the disease’s effects by providing essential services to the children, and by ensuring that they remain HIV-negative or live positively with the virus.

In 2004, SOTENI Kenya opened three Villages of Hope – Mituntu, Mbakalo and Ugenya. A census was conducted in each village, counting more than 4,000 orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC). Contributions, both financial and in-kind, exceeded $250,000 as volunteers and interns from five continents joined the grassroots volunteers. In 2005, each SOTENI Village of Hope received a World Bank pilot grant, administered by Kenya’s Ministry of Health National AIDS Control Council. SVH Mbakalo opened a health center offering primary care and preventive services. To ensure sustainability, each village included income-generating assets and activities ranging from the health center to beekeeping. As the SOTENI Kenya staff grew from one part-time director to 13 multi-disciplinary workers in 2005, the fourth SOTENI Village of Hope opened in Kuria.

As of this year, the villages include over 8,000 orphans and other vulnerable children. They and their communities benefit from the “AIDS Barefoot Doctors,” who are not physicians but paramedical assistants trained and supervised by SOTENI Kenya. The Barefoot Doctors provide home-based nursing care, support, education and prevention to persons living with HIV/AIDS and their loved ones. In each of the two participating SVHs, over 400 home visits were made. SOTENI is seeking support to continue and expand the successful program.

SOTENI International continued sharing lessons of community mobilization and women’s empowerment with vulnerable populations closer to headquarters: Cincinnati-area persons of color, particularly women. SI’s first youth club began at Indian Hill High School near Cincinnati. The volunteer and intern programs continued to grow as at least a dozen Americans visited Kenya for periods of up to four months. In the meantime, SI further formalized its procedures, and three board members traveled to Kenya to see firsthand how SK’s efforts were progressing. Youth clubs continued to grow, to educate their peers, and raise money for the orphans. Donate Now

We are a 501(c)(3) organization, and donations are tax deductible as allowed by law. Donations are made through the Network for Good. To give, click on the Donate Now button above, then enter SOTENI in the “Charity Name“ section.

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