Catholicireland.net Features
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 Sr. Lydia Young people are a marginalized group in the slums of Kariobangi. Most have no accessed basic education. This makes them less successful in the job market. Caught in a poverty trap, they fall victims to poor housing, unemployment, low income, unaffordable health provision, insecurity and police harassment, malnutrition, unwanted pregnancies and prostitution.
Wato Wetu is a community based project in Kariobangi, on the outskirts of Nairobi. The project is supported by Hands of Care and Hope, which caters for orphans, teenage mothers and young people who are destitute in the slums of Kariobangi. The primary organizational focus is one of
 Remnants of School after severe flooding Sr. Lydia Pardeller FMSA, with the support of many friends and benefactors, works in the Watoto Wetu project for orphaned children, supplying food, school uniforms and books for over two hundred children who come from desperate and destitute families. As slum dwellers, many of the small children and youngsters adopt an almost rebellious ghetto attitude. Experience of years of living with open sewers, cries of hunger and extreme poverty all result in a specific behavioural response, enough to challenge staff and teachers in many ways to rethink their perspective on poverty. The concentration level of the children is low due to the effects of disease and malnutrition. Great patience and a high level of understanding is often required of teaching staff, and is fuelled on a daily basis by prayer and reflection, a practice which opens each morning at the centre.
"My experience with the staff of Hands of Care and Hope Child Centre has been excellent. Working with the children has been marvellous. I have been inspired by the working style of staff members, their compassions, eagerness and graciousness in working with young people has been palpable." "Working at the Centre provided a wake-up call for me as a Kenyan. What Sr. Lydia and her team have given to children from slum areas, has called me to question inequalities in my own society. Initiatives such as those I experience when working in HCH help transform our Nation and instill hope."
 New School raised to prevent further flood damage "The Centre is located in a very tough locality. It is next to a polluted river and an area that is heavily flooded during heavy rains. The new structure has been raised up which will help a great deal to minimise disease. The food provided helps increase class concentration, and attention. The children are more active in class participation. A lot has been done and a lot remains to be done. Little by little the lives of these children have been changed. What the Franciscan Sisters have established here has changed several slum areas."
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Hands of Care and Hope is a rehabilitation centre, with its offices inside the Cheshire Home for the Elderly at Kariobangi. This project is also a ministry conducted by the FMSA in Kenya. Seeing a great need for training and education for young people, Sr. Lydia Pardeller opened the Centre in 2006. The project's vision was to rehabilitate poor children from deprived areas before they joined formal schools, and produce peaceful, orderly young Kenyan citizens. Located in Eastland's, Nairobi, an area of slums and low-income earners, the children are usually from dumpsites or may have simply dropped 
empowerment. By highlighting glaring needs, HCH offers non-formal education and skills training, such as human development skills, Business Management and Technical Training. The project aims to assist destitute youngsters with basic education, the acquisition of basic literacy; technical, marketing and financial know-how to enable them to manage small businesses, thus facilitating self-reliance. Courses offered include: Catering, Carpentry, Computing/Secretarial skills, Tailoring/Sewing, Mechanics, Hairdressing, Social Work.
"As a placement area for Community workers, several trainee support workers and teachers, Hands of Care and Hope, has provided a wealth of experience and hands-on training for Kenyans, as evident through various reports.
