"Tumaini" is a Kiswahili word for hope.  We currently work in the village of Masii, located in the Machakos region of Kenya, approximately 92 kilometers or 58 miles southeast of Nairobi.  As the Lord directs and provides, we will expand support to other regions in Kenya and throughout Africa.  Tumaini International Ministries, Inc. is a non-profit Christian organization founded and incorporated in the State of California as a Religious Corporation under Section 501(c)3. (Tax ID # 91-215-7825). The ministry was registered to operate in Kenya as Tumaini International Organization in 2003.  Tumaini International Ministries is completely funded by individuals, churches, businesses and community groups who want to reduce the suffering caused by the AIDS pandemic in Kenya, East Africa. 

The Tumaini Story

"I was born and raised in Kenya by Christian parents. The last born in a family of 10, I had the responsibility of taking care of the few family animals—couple goats, sheep and cows—a chore that delayed the start of my schooling. Actually, I didn’t get a chance to start school until I was 12 years old. Although it has been many years now, I still remember the excitement I felt when I was told that I could join school.

In October 2000, I lost a brother to AIDS. My brother left behind a wife and eight children. A year later, I lost a brother-in-law to the same disease, and in 2005 I lost yet another brother who left four children behind.

This family tragedy opened my eyes into the plight of myriads of AIDS orphans who were not as fortunate to have an extended family help meet their basic needs. Orphans as young as eight years old were helping care for their dying parents, and these children were quickly becoming “parents” to their younger siblings.

I felt the Lord calling me to respond in some tangible way, and that is when I founded Tumaini International Ministries as a conduit to garner support from friends and churches in the U.S and Kenya to assist these children. My vision was very clear. I wanted to start an outreach where participants would feel empowered, and create a sustainable ministry where both the sponsor and the recipient would learn from each other and develop a mutual relationship through Vision Trips and regular correspondence.

A unique facet of the Tumaini model is that of child sponsorship. We do not build orphanages; we create partnerships between caring financial sponsors and caring guardians of the Tumaini children. Through a Tumaini sponsorship, children are able to receive school fees and basic necessities such as clothing, food, medical services, and counseling. Christian camps are also included in the sponsorship which allows Tumaini kids to participate in a weeklong camp with their peers under the guidance of trained Christian leaders. We started with 15 orphans in early 2002 with hopes of serving up to 250 children by 2012. Well, by January of 2009, we were already serving nearly 1000 AIDS orphans!

There are still millions of orphaned and vulnerable children in Africa, and indeed, around the world that do not know the love and care of a loving community. In Kenya, we still have people dying by the hundreds every day from AIDS complications. It is estimated that there is close to 2 million AIDS orphans in Kenya; 14 million in Africa and the number is growing."

- Stanley M. Mutunga, Ph.D., President Tumaini International Ministries

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