Blog
A week in Naivasha Sub County with Maggie
It’s been 4 years of working in Naivasha Sub-County and partnering with the Safe House. In April 2023, we ministered to 32 children in the Safe House most on short term placement after being abandoned, abused, or found on the streets. This temporary care allows the team to counsel, take care of the child as well trace their families with the hope of reuniting them with their families. In the Safe House, the ages of children are between 7 months and 15 years old.
One sad case stood out for us this week of a 7months old baby who was abandoned at the gate of this Centre which made it hard to trace the parents.
A family for the three boys who were brought to the Safe House by good Samaritans. Their single mother was abusing drugs and had been physically abusing the boys. One of the boys (Allan) had scars from burns all over his body. The mother regularly left them in their rented room with no food. The neighbors rescued them and took them to the Safe House. Efforts to trace the mother were made but without success. According to the neighbors, she had moved to a different town. They gave us a contact for an aunt who lived in a different location. We are currently working to trace the aunt. Please walk with us as plan to reunite Allan, Peter, and Michael with their family. Let us continue praying that they will find a safe dwelling place.
A week in Embu County with John
This has been a packed week in Embu with several activities.
We continued with the usual activities of relating with children and carrying out follow ups. It was also a week when children were preparing to go home for a break from school. The teachers were sending them home to collect exam fees. We visited schools to plead with the teachers on their behalf to ensure that the children didn’t miss sitting for their exams.
The women were also busy catching up with skills training and some had managed to make things. We had bought materials for them to enable them to continue with weaving and other practical activities.
This group is enjoying doing activities together which is also therapeutic. They also help those who are lagging. It is hoped that this will generate income to go towards paying school fees for their children. The teachers are welcoming the idea of income generating projects.
A week in Meru County with Harrison
We have been doing a lot of work in Meru County: relating, rescuing, following children, school support and training. Most recently, we have been networking with children centres toward reintegrating children with their families. During this week I had an opportunity to visit Huruma children centre. The management had heard about Tumaini’s work in Meru from our community volunteer and they wanted us to share with them about reintegration. We had a meeting and agreed that Tumaini shall empower them to return children to their families. We agreed that while the children are in the centre that we will work with the families to ensure that there is a secure place at home before they received their children back.
We counselled some of the children and two of the girls in this photo have already been reintegrated with their family.
We also had an opportunity to group the children according to their ages and take Bible stories reading sessions. We listened to the stories of the two girls we later returned home.
Viola shared how their mother left her and her siblings alone. After relocating from Bungoma to Meru, their mother wanted to enroll them to a nearby school. She had secured a job in a tea plantation and wanted to settle with her family. The children needed their birth certificates for the new school. Their mother needed to go back to Bungoma to collect them. She left Viola and her young sibling behind in a rental house and alerted her neighbor to check on them, promising to return soon. Unfortunately, she never returned.
aundry, and literally becoming work slaves to others living in the town. They were rescued from this situation by a children’s officer and placed in Huruma children’s centre. Our partnership with the centre helped trace the family in Bungoma. We found their aunt who was ready to receive them, and the journey of their reintegration started. Their aunt was very happy to receive her two nieces and nephew back home as she had been worried about them. Plans are now under way, and they will go back to their former school in a few days. Viola will go back to high school.
Their aunt said that the children’s mother has not been seen since they relocated to Meru. This could possibly mean that she did not go back home in Bungoma to collect the birth certificates. While we rejoice that these children are back with their family, they will need school fees, uniforms, and school requirements before they can settle with their aunt.
With your partnership, Tumaini Kwa Watoto continues to ensure that orphans and vulnerable children like Viola are given opportunities in life to fulfill their potential.
