The project is run by Youth Apart. Youth Apart, a ministry set up by Daniel and Marlies Hoogteijling. In the Esther Home they take care of young teenage mothers with their children. The mission of this house is to create a healthy living environment with God's love and to offer the necessary facilities, such as counseling. In this way the teenage mothers are made resilient and they are taught how to lovingly take care of their children. In addition, they are given the opportunity to go back to school after childbirth so that they have a good future perspective.
Unfortunately, it often happens in Kenya that teenage girls are raped by men from the village or family. When the girls get pregnant, it is a disgrace to the family and the girls are forced to have an abortion. If they refuse, they are in some cases kicked out of the house and even outside the village with all the consequences that entails. Esther Home takes care of these girls, guides them during pregnancy and childbirth and during the first months after childbirth.
Sometimes it happens that the family accepts their daughter with child back into their family, but if this is not the case, the mother can stay in the center. She can then pick up her school again and build a hopeful future!
In addition to this project, Daniel and Marlies have also established a number of other children's homes, including Upright Home and Bidii Home. They take care of these children together with a pastoral couple from Kenya.