As part of its work with the Busia Compassionate Centre in Kenya, the Madison, Wis.-based World Council of Credit Unions launched a campaign earlier this year to build a new orphanage in the AIDS-struck community in rural western Kenya.

To provide a safe and stable environment for the children, the orphanage also provides them with clean water, sanitary living conditions and a small farm for food security.

The orphanage community also created a credit union to provide the Busia community with financial services and a pathway out of poverty, the World Council said.

To complete the new orphanage facilities and its credit union operations, the World Council is seeking donations to purchase the following items:

• Water pumps, rainwater collection tanks and plumbing to provide clean water through the orphanage: $300.
• Beds, school desks, office furniture, shelves and lighting to furnish the orphanage: $150.
• Infirmary medicine and equipment: $75
• Fencing, stall and pens for farm animals that offer food security: $25
• PDAs to conduct credit union business: $400
• Financial empowerment and outreach training modules for employees: $300
• Hand-held printer for transaction receipts: $200
• Bicycle for loan officers to reach remote members: $100
• Internet access and mobile phone airtime to carry out member service transactions: $50

The World Council began working with Busia Compassionate Centre in 2006 through a U.S. Department of Agriculture program attempting to mitigate the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in western Kenya.

One of the program's goals was to provide educational grants to children of HIV/AIDS-affected households through the area's savings and credit cooperatives or credit unions.

At Busia Compassionate Centre more than one-third of the children are HIV-positive and many have lost their parents due to the disease, the World Council said.

Donations to the holiday campaign can be made online.