Group addresses medical needs of orphans

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) -- A diplomatic plea has been made to help save the lives of orphans caught in the middle of political conflict.

An ambassador from Kenya is in Connecticut, working with a non-profit group to address the growing medical needs of orphans living in dire conditions.

Aid for Orphans Relief Foundation was founded by a Hamden doctor. It provides medical supplies for the children in need here in the U.S. and abroad.

Now the cries for help from refugee children in Kenya are being heard.

Every day people living in refugee camps in Kenya are dying, and many are children. Most escaping from neighboring countries of Somalia and Sudan, in the middle of civil conflict and drought conditions.

These refugees are looking for a place to go to," said the Ambassador of Kenya. "The Kenyan government has no choice but to leave the boundaries open."

Her excellency, Ambassador of Kenya, Dr. Wenwa Odinga Oranga, says the sheer numbers are overwhelming and the people of Kenya are doing what they can.

"We have what is called Kenyans for Kenyans initiative so Kenyans come up and donate food, material,s anything for these refugees, but efforts are not enough," the Ambassador said.

Her pleas are being heard.

Dr. Margaret Chustecki is the founder of the non-profit group in New Haven, Aid for Orphans Relief Foundation, first organized to meet the medical and nutritional needs of abandoned children in her native country of Poland.

"There is really nobody to take care of them, there is no government," said Dr. Chustecki, "there is not enough financial means to support them."

Now the details are being outlined to address the hardship of children, living in tents, going without basic essentials to survive.

"Children, they need the basic support, they need like all children. They need food, they need to have vitamins," said Dr. Chustecki.

The lack of it, she says, has lead to unnecessary deaths.

"There is a lot of treatable conditions," Dr. Chustecki said, "but they are not treated because there are no means to treat those treatable conditions."

"It's all about the children, just give them a chance," the Ambassador said. "You don't know what they are going to become."

In two years, Aid for Orphans Relief has also expanded to reach children living in Appalachia, here in the U.S. and in Ghana.

For more information on how you can help, visit the Aid for Orphans Relief website .