In The Telegraph Magazine today, our Ambassador, Rukhiya Budden tells the harrowing story of her childhood growing up in a Kenyan orphanage and explains why she’s now so committed to the cause of closing orphanages worldwide.
The four-page feature shows Rukhiya as she is today—a happy and successful mother of three—but explains how her own mother had no choice but to leave Rukhiya and her sister in an orphanage in Nairobi when they were very young. The abuse and neglect she suffered there led to a battle with anorexia that continues today.
Rukhiya describes how she was eventually saved from the orphanage by a visitor who agreed to foster Rukhiya and her sister. As a result, she gained an education and was able to travel to the UK to work and study.
Today’s national newspaper coverage follows the UK Government’s recent announcement, acknowledging that orphanages harm children, pledging to support family-based care for children globally.
The feature goes on to explain how Hope and Homes for Children have led the way in closing orphanages around the world by supporting families and communities to care for children.
Rukhiya first heard about Hope and Homes for Children as a result of our End the Silence campaign last year and has since returned to Kenya to visit the orphanage where she grew up to make a fundraising film to support our work.
