Written by Kutana Wema 2026 Participants
“It is really hard to describe in words the feelings and emotions that came over me from the moment I first stepped off the bus at the Wema Centre. I am immediately reminded of the Grinch movie where his heart grew 3 sizes one day. I felt an explosion when I was greeted by two small hands reaching up and taking mine. The genuine warmth and happiness I felt from the children and the WEMA family was unlike anything I have ever experienced. In the days following I had wondered what I could offer, and how I could help, but I quickly learned that I would not be the helper or the teacher, but rather the student. I learned what resilience truly is and how happiness can be grown from love. Like the lotus flower rising from the mud to become the most beautiful flower. WEMA’s motto “love never fails”, says it all.
At the end of our time at the WEMA centre, and being treated in our off time by the friendly staff at the Neptune, my cup was full. I was already feeling like I had experienced the trip of a lifetime. But then we were treated to mind blowing safari experience. Where the accommodations were outstanding, and the safari guides phenomenal. Without parallel our hosts Fareen and Barbara were beyond first class!
I will be forever grateful to Barbara and Fareen for the trip of a lifetime!”
– Sandy Sutton, Vancouver, British Columbia
“I was privileged to participate in the Kutana Wema program in March 2026. I was honored to learn we were the 4th cohort to attend this incredible program of immersion and learning at the Wema Centre. We were welcomed with warm smiles and loving embraces into the Wema Family. Dedicated staff and thriving program beneficiaries shared openly with us about their passions, challenges, and hopes and dreams.
Serving as a Registered Nurse in Canada for 44 years, I felt empowered in my ability to contribute to the outreach work at Mwakirunge. Witnessing destitute living conditions and the burden of illness, emphasized the important work Wema offers in setting the conditions for the Kenyan youth to flourish and realize their ability to contribute to their beloved country.
The leadership and counsel offered by Barbara and Fareen during our time away was exceptional and their knowledge and caring ways of being with us individually and as a group, was much appreciated. I am forever grateful to have been part of this important work”.
– Trish Bergal, Winnipeg, Manitoba
“Ruth Wacuka is one of the incredible humans I met at the Wema Centre. She teaches the remedial class there, and I met her through the Kutana Wema: Hope-Building Project. Ruth, however, is way more than simply a teacher.
Ruth conducts academic and social assessments with EVERY new beneficiary that comes to the centre and then either takes them into the remedial class on-site, or searches for an appropriate school at the right grade level for the child.
She is like a parent to them as well, as she is the one who goes to all their parent-teacher conferences.
Ruth taught me something so profound the first time I heard her speak. She called the students “learners”. She always does. Wow! Children become what we expect of them. If we call them learners, they believe they are. As a primary school teacher in Canada, I decided right then and there to change my verbiage to “learners” as well.
If anything I’ve written has you intrigued about the Kutana Wema program, I invite you to attend an upcoming info session. If you end up going, you’ll meet Ruth and all the other incredible staff at the Wema Centre. I KNOW they will leave you changed forever, just as they did me.
In Kenya, I was reminded that we are becoming someone new through consistency, not force. Seeing a new part of the world invited me to lay down attachment to old patterns that no longer guide me. I’m returning feeling expanded and, more than anything, remembering exactly who I am.”
– Emmy Rousseau, Kindergarten Teacher, Fitness Instructor, Mindset Coach, Toronto, Ontario
From the Kutana Wema Team – Barbara, Far, Lucy & Eunice, Wema Program Manager
Kutana Wema would like to thank our Kenyan Community Sponsors – Neptune Hotels and Believe Safari.
If you or your company would like to become a sponsor for the Kutana Wema program, with financial or service donations, we welcome additional Community Sponsors.
If you would like to support the Wema Centre directly in their ongoing work to rescue, rehabilitate and reunify street-connected children, the Kutana Wema Program through Redbird Therapy Centre can ensure 100% of your donations, excluding bank fees, will reach the Wema Centre.
On the Kutana Wema page, part way down, you’ll see direct links for Wema donations and Kutana Wema sponsorship. Thank you so much for supporting this incredible work!
