East Coast Kenya · Indian Ocean · Est. 2005
2005
In 2004, child protection services reported 15,000 children in need along the Malindi coast — largely orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. BG surveyed affected families and made a discovery that would shape its entire approach: many children could stay at home if their family received targeted practical support. And so the outreach programme was born before the shelter even opened.
Land is purchased and both a shelter and a school are built within twelve months. The outreach programme is already running. That ordering — community first, residential second — is the Malindi model.
Malindi is also where the Lighthouse Village was developed: 14 family homes where working couples take in BG children as full family members. That model is now being studied by other Kenyan NGOs as a national template for child welfare.
The Lighthouse Village — 14 foster homes, now studied across Kenya
Working couples on the Malindi campus take in BG children as full family members. Not residents. Not wards. Children who belong to a family. The model has grown from 12 homes in 2017 to 14 by 2025. Other Kenyan child welfare organisations now visit to study it — and begin replicating it.
Community outreach — keeping families together before they reach crisis
Fortnightly home visits to vulnerable families in the Malindi area — food packages, medical care, school fee support. The outreach programme was born before the Malindi shelter opened, because BG discovered that many children could stay at home with the right support. That insight has shaped the model ever since.
Four programmes — each one addressing a dimension that the others cannot cover alone.
In 2004, child protection services reported 15,000 children in need along the Malindi coast — largely orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. BG surveyed affected families and made a discovery that would shape its entire approach: many children could stay at home if their family received targeted practical support. And so the outreach programme was born before the shelter even opened.
300+ students at a fully funded BG charity school
All school fees, textbooks, and uniforms covered. The majority of students are from the surrounding community — not BG’s residential programme — because BG’s commitment to Malindi extends beyond its own children to the community’s children.
14 foster homes — maximum 10 children per home
Working couples take in BG children as full family members. Dedicated house parents, consistent adult care, social workers on campus daily. The model that other Kenyan NGOs are now visiting to study and replicate.
~30 children in direct residential care
For children where no safer option exists — always in coordination with Kenya’s official child protection services. Residential care at BG Malindi is the last resort, not the first response. The preference is always family or foster care.
Fortnightly home visits to keep families together
Food packages, medical care, and school fee support for vulnerable families in the Malindi area. Every child kept at home through outreach is one who never needs a shelter place — and one whose community stays intact.
What your support pays for at BG Malindi.
Monthly sponsorship — one primary school child
School fees, three daily meals, healthcare, accommodation, and daily social worker support. Everything. Dutch donors: approximately €27 net after ANBI income tax deduction. Annual receipt provided every January.
All primary school costs — fees, books, uniform
No child at BG Malindi has ever been withdrawn from school because of an unpaid fee. That is not a promise — it is an operational fact, maintained since 2005.
€500/month covers one full foster home
Food, school fees, utilities, and social worker visits for one Lighthouse Village family home and up to 10 children. The couple who live there contribute their time, consistency, and care — BG covers the costs.
Fortnightly family visits — food, medical, school support
Each outreach visit to a vulnerable family costs a fraction of what a residential place costs. That ratio — the cost-effectiveness of keeping families together — is why outreach was the first programme BG built in Malindi.
How this location came to be.
BG surveys affected families and begins planning a shelter and school simultaneously.
Land purchased, school and shelter constructed within twelve months. Outreach program born at the same time.
Improved classrooms, sanitation, and learning facilities.
Working couples take in BG children as family members. First 12 homes built with Pharus Foundation. Now 14. Being studied by NGOs across Kenya.
Sponsor a child at BG Malindi
Every child at BG Malindi arrived because their family could not provide what a child needs. €40/month restores what was missing.
€40/month covers everything for one primary school child at BG Malindi — fees, meals, healthcare, accommodation, and social worker support. ANBI tax-deductible for Dutch donors. Approximately €27 net per month.
