Students support children through Tabarak, a Kenyan orphanage

I was lucky enough to catch Asha Ramadhan for a Zoom call — she was in Kenya, and it was 10 p.m. The background was full of colorful curtains and people passing through the room. Ramadhan smiled as she told me the children were done with their activities and homework for the day. 

Tabarak Children’s Home, located in Mombosa, Kenya, opened in 2005, and functions as an orphanage to support children and widows.  

Ramadhan started the organization to make sure no child had to experience the same poverty she faced as a child. 

“My wish was to see every child in the community have education, food and shelter,” Ramadhan said. “That was my dream since I was a child because I passed through so many difficult times when I was young.” 

In 2021, Utah State University student Arissa Barton was visiting Kenya with a friend with plans to start a daycare called Kumbatia. While there, she was introduced to Ramadhan. Ramadhan began inviting Barton over for dinner, to go to the beach and to help at Tabarak.  

“I can say to that— God’s plan. I did not even dream that one day I could have a friend from Utah or America,” Ramadhan said. “I just took them in as my own daughters.” 

The two became close, and Barton began helping with the orphanage. 

Barton has recruited a group of about ten USU students to help her mission of supporting Tabarak.  

Dan Delacruz, a student in the Huntsman Business School, is part of Barton’s group. 

“I met Arissa like two years ago, and literally the first day I met her, she had just gotten back from Africa and was showing us all of her pictures and videos of the orphanage,” Delacruz said. 

Delacruz said he wished he had time to join Barton and work with Tabarak. So, when he was given an assignment for a leadership project, he went straight to Barton. 

Delacruz began recruiting other members to aid in his project — a fundraiser— including his classmate Eason Lyons. The fundraiser was a success and surpassed its initial goal by raising $1,265.  

Since the first project, the group has expanded and plans to host one large event every month to support Tabarak. This includes a ski day at Beaver Mountain planned for this season. 

“It’s really cool to see how the scope has been growing and growing, and how everyone on the team is really focused on making an impact,” Lyons said. “That’s something that I was really hoping to find in an organization.”  

The next few fundraisers have a goal of raising $5,000, which will be used to complete the third floor of the Tabarak home.  

Elle Robinson, a USU student and member of the group, said the third floor will serve as an office for administrative work. 

“We’re going to be pre-paying a year of their Wi-Fi, which will be super impactful — make sure it’s a lasting impact and not just a small little donation,” Robinson said.  

The group plans to go to Kenya in May to help complete the third floor, as well as meet the people they’ve been working to support.  

Ramadhan said she is very grateful for the group and the way they’ve helped her kids. Over 20 children have passed through Tabarak, and many of them are starting families of their own. They come back to visit often. 

“You can see as Tabarak, we have done something good in the community,” Ramadhan said. 

Each member of the group said they were inspired by one another and joined in hopes of making lasting change. 

“I think that’s what really inspires people,” said Robinson. “Don’t wait to invest your time in something that’s greater than you, to really dive in and take what time you have to make an impact.” 

You can learn more about Tabarak at tabarakorphanage.org. Donations and volunteers can also be accepted on the website. Campus events are announced on the group’s Instagram account, @tabarakorphanagekenya.