Clive and Mary Beckenham, founders of New Life Home Trust have both been honoured with an MBE in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee honours list. This honour is in recognition of their services to abandoned and vulnerable children with HIV in Kenya.
This is an amazing and well-deserved honour to be bestowed on the couple who have dedicated over 30 years to rescuing and giving new life to precious babies and children who might otherwise have been left to die.
In response to this achievement, Clive and Mary said: “We are greatly honoured by this as we served the children of Kenya for 31 years as a fulfilment of our calling by God. We receive this honour on behalf the over 2,300 children that have become our family, as well as the staff and volunteers that have served faithfully beside us.”
It was in back in June 1994, 28 years ago, that the first home in Nairobi Kenya was opened, and it was one of the first children’s homes in Kenya to take in infants infected or affected by HIV and AIDS. It is very fitting that as we celebrate our 28th Birthday the charity’s founders are being recognised for the contribution they have made to rescuing, and giving abandoned babies the chance of a new life.
Over the last 28 years we have witnessed the fruit of their labour with over 2,300 infants being rescued and the lives of staff, volunteers, adoptive parents, and these children impacted in remarkable ways! Nearly all of the children rescued have been reunited with biological family members or adopted or fostered by loving parents. We have also seen a 90% seroconversion rate amongst infected infants.
View the entry on the Queen’s birthday honours list.
