Michael Jordan’s family has established a gender-based violence recovery center worth Ksh1.3 billion through the Kenya Women and Children’s Wellness Centre (KWCWC).The facility intends to address the country’s rapidly increasing rate of gender-based violence.
Deloris Jordan, the mother of famed basketball player Michael Jordan, opened the center in Narok on Friday, March 8, with funding from the James R. Jordan Foundation International.
Narok Governor Patrick Ole Ntutu and First Lady Agnes Ntutu attended the launch ceremony.The center has approximately 33 consultation rooms and laboratories that provide antenatal care, immunizations, family planning, counseling, lab testing, emergency treatments, and obstetrics-gynecology.
It also performs minor surgical treatments, making it Kenya’s largest center dedicated to treating survivors of gender-based violence.
The institution will also include legal assistance, vocational training, financial literacy, reproductive health education, mental health support, and leadership development.This will help survivors sustain themselves and get back on their feet after they leave abusive relationships.
The institution features one of the largest rescue shelters in the country, with the ability to house nearly 90 survivors of GBV or 20 families at once.
According to Deloris, the center will play a critical role in delivering comprehensive care for GBV survivors and their families across the country. “I have been here for a while, working through various governments from the Kibaki era. This centre is for you as the people of Kenya; this is your country,” she said.
“I’m just a foreigner, but ask yourself, what are you going to do as a person to support the fight against GBV? It’s not only women; we need men. Kenya Women and Children’s Wellness Centre is about family,” she added.Michael Jordan’s mother has made major philanthropic donations to Kenya during the last 15 years, with a particular focus on the well-being of women and children.
In 2009, she founded the KWCWC in Nairobi. The institution, which is located in Kasarani, Nairobi, has since given healthcare, gender-based violence support, and community outreach programs to families across the country.The country has seen an increase in GBV cases, with over 97 recorded since August.
According to research released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, gender-based violence, including femicide, has been gradually increasing over the last five years. Kenya, for example, aims to eliminate gender-based violence by 2026.
