120 children are off the streets and back with their families in five months thanks to TKW team’s influence on the streets of Nairobi, week in week out!  That’s the power of influence.  Many more children have been challenged to look at their future from a different perspective.  Together we leave a lasting impact as we influence these children for good.

Influence on the streets, in schools, at home and work place, we often hear that we become like the people we hang out with.  TKW team meets with 9 year old Kevin who says, “I was influenced by my friends to go to the streets who later abandoned me.”  Kevin was alone and lonely in a strange and harsh environment on the streets, far away from home.  At the same time, his grandmother was influencing family and friends to help her find her grandson. Together influencing and impacting lives of children for good and making our streets a safer place

Thank God for the answered prayer and the power of one

’Look at the visitors, mummy come out and see Alex’s visitors.  They are carrying a big luggage’’ Alex’s younger siblings were running fast shouting aloud to their mum who was inside the house.

Kasifa, Alex Mutua’s mother came out limping, forgetting about the crutches to see what her young daughter was shouting about .She came to the door and saw TKW team carrying two mattresses coming towards her. Tears of joy streamed down her face as she uttered words of joy in the Kamba dialect: ‘’Thank you God for remembering your servant. Today I will sleep in comfort as a king. I will forget all my problems as I and my children sleep on new mattresses and not the rags we are used to’’, as she hugged the mattresses.

The power of one: We thank God for one of our partners, for responding to the cry of this family and meeting this basic need.  May our God bless you abundantly!

As the TKW team goes to the streets, they seek to influence the children to return back home where they belong.  They listen to the children share their stories, with the goal of influencing them to see that there is no place like home.  As Heddwyn works on the accounts every week, he is influencing what happens on the streets by making sure that we are good stewards of your investment into the work of Children of Hope.  As I edit and send out weekly news, I’m seeking to influence you to think about your own children and the less fortunate children on the streets.  Every penny counts when it comes to the life of one child, his family and community.  Your influence counts to bring transformation to Kenya, one community at a time.

April is a special month because it’s the month I was born, to influence and impact the lives of children, young people and families for good.  April 2014 was extraordinary for Tumaini Kwa Watoto (Children of Hope).  The TKW team influenced 31 children to leave the streets and return to their families.  Imagine the tears of joy and sadness as families received their children!  The negative influence of friends plays a huge part in the lives of the children on the streets. But positive influence of TKW team with limited resources counteracts the negative influence: 7 committed and passionate social workers (TKW team) are making a lasting impact on the streets of Nairobi and in communities of Kenya!

We thank our friends and partners who are very important and valuable players.  Your partnership is of great influence.  Your gifts, your prayers and your investment goes a long way to influence the decisions of children on the streets and when they return back home.  TKW team cannot go to the streets to influence children to return home without resources.

 

Together influencing and impacting lives for good. You and your influence matters to us.

 

Isaac & Sammy had been on the streets for about one and a half years when the Tumaini Kwa Watoto (TKW) team met them. They kept moving to different bases in the city which meant it took a few months before rescuing them. Over the last few years, we have built reliable support systems in Kitale so we put Isaac & Sammy on a bus going to Kitale town and connected them to a social worker to receive them and guide them to their village. We’ve been working with this social worker when rescuing children in Kitale. Isaac, the older brother said, ‘Teacher, when we reach home we will surely call you to inform you that we have reached home safely’ ‘Yeah, I know that our father and grandmother will be happy to see us again.’ added Sammy excitedly.

After their mother died, the environment at home became difficult for Isaac & Sammy to thrive.  Their father could not adequately provide for them.  The influence of friends led them to the streets of Kitale town in Trans-Nzoia County.  They later found their way to the streets of Nairobi where TKW team found them and rescued them.

Isaac & Sammy reached Kitale safely and were well received by a children’s officer who had been waiting for them. He reintegrated them with their family the following day. TKW team made a follow up visit to monitor Isaac and Sammy’s progress in March and were received well by their grandmother who reported that the two brothers were settling well.  The boys live with their single father; a widower who has been unwell with a chest infection. The situation at home is indeed dire, with the burden of provision falling to their grandmother. Despite these challenges, their resilience is shown and portrayed by how they are a close knit family as they share their activities.

We recommended that Isaac and Sammy rejoin school, but their grandmother felt strongly that the children should receive proper counselling and monitoring before they could be enrolled back to school after one and half years on the streets. She said that caution was needed to prevent the boys negatively influencing their peers in the community. TKW team was pleased to connect the family with a local social worker who would counsel the boys and monitor their progress.  We are grateful for support systems in the community.

During a recent visit, it was humbling and a great blessing to find the boys still at home and thriving well with their family! Isaac lives with his father, who is nursing and monitoring him closely. He requested to be enrolled for vocational training as he felt he was too old to go back school.  Sammy lives with his grandmother, where his aunt and uncle are instrumental in mentoring him. He reported to Tiwani Primary school for the second term. The boys faithfully attend Oasis of Love Church with their grandmother. TKW Team encouraged Isaac and Sammy to continue being active in their community. There is great hope for Isaac and Sammy as they are established in their community.

What a testimony of transformation! This is a great opportunity for partnering with us to see Isaac, Sammy and their family get back on their feet.  Can you imagine TKW rescued 31 children in April!  These children are no longer on the streets, but they are back with their families where they are slowly settling to normal life again.

 

Francis Sande said, “My mum and dad are separated, my father has remarried three times, my father’s latest wife doesn’t like me.   My mum is also remarried but she could not take me with her into her new home.”  Sande was left in no man’s land. Sande thought that the streets would offer him an alternative life out of his misery. On the streets, he appeared dizzy and sleepy…But his desire to learn was evident… ‘’I would like to go back home and resume learning but the hindrance is my stepmother!’’ As TKW team continued chatting with him, they realized that he was really serious and focused; going back to school was his priority. His aspirations matched TKW’S vision and mission – educate a child and empower him for life.

Sande looked dirty and had a stench which could scare anybody who dared come close to him. He also appeared dizzy and sleepy as a result of consistently using glue to numb his pain and sleeping in uncomfortable places on a cold floor at night. Even in this state, Sande clearly meant every word that came out of his mouth. We decided to give him the chance of going back home. We held his hand as he led us to his father’s home.

Sande’s father has married three different wives at different intervals and each one of them has left him. His current wife comes from a different tribe and came with two beautiful girls. When Sande’s mother parted ways with his father, she remarried but she could not take Sande with her. Her new husband’s tribe dictates that a child belongs to the father therefore in case of irreconcilable differences; the child has to be left with the father. The mother can keep in touch with her children, but she cannot live with them in her new marriage.

It is unsettling for the children and some of them like Sande end up on the streets. That’s where people like you and the TKW Team come to bring hope that their dreams can come to true. Children have to contend with these challenges which the family institution faces especially in a polygamous marriage.

 Light at the end of a dark tunnel – There was a happy reunion with Sande and his father. His father agreed to take full parental responsibility for his son, but they need our ongoing support to see Sande fully restored.

 This is your opportunity to join hands with us to bring hope to more children and restore families. Wouldn’t you want to be identified with a Team that is making significant changes in the lives of destitute children like Sande.  Every child in a secure, peaceful and restful place is our dream.

”I truly love Sammy because I nursed him ever since he was a small child” Said Samuel’s stepmother striking a conciliatory tone.

As we related with the boy, we learnt that his relationship with the stepmother back at home was not entirely good. Samuel Milembo, now fourteen years old, has never known his biological mother and felt that his step mother never appreciated him as the first-born even as much as he is obedient and bonds with his siblings well. This made him to find solace in the streets feeling that he could not confide in his dad whom he felt was preoccupied.

“I am so glad for your efforts of bringing my son back home…I have always offered guidance and encouraged him to share with me anything that troubles him” Said his father. What a joy it was as the parents promised to work out the relationship with their son and mold him to be a modest young man. There is now greater hope as Samuel has chosen the right path to stay at home with his family. We had a great time to reconcile and fellowship together with the family as we counseled Samuel to be obedient and heed his parents’ guidance.

Is there a better place for a child to be at than a family? Join us as we take more children back to their families…

 

“My son, the mortuary was the last place I thought of looking for you…but something kept convincing me not to consider that idea as it could hind bad luck” said a teary Teresa. Initially when we found David Kimutai on the streets at their famous base, he looked distressed; like one who had been entrapped as a hostage and needed immediate rescue. As we related with him, he quickly pegged blame on a friend who incited him that they could test the allure of the city under the sun and simply go back home. This was never to be; his friend disappeared into the bustle and hustle of the city life. He really missed home, having tasted the harsh life on the streets and rescuing him was the only solace from this mess he found himself in.

David’s mother shared the anguish she had to bear with all this time her son was absent from home. She is a single mother of five children; David being the second born. God makes things beautiful in His time…and with David having being reunited with his family was a great joy and relieve of a heave of burden she was carrying! We visited him early this month and his mother assured of taking him back to school once they reopen, thanking the team for bringing her lost son back home safely.

 

Finally my son returns home…..“The food in my mouth was like water, I could not sleep because of the many thoughts of my missing son,” Lillian-Douglas’ mother said. She failed to understand what was pushing her son to the streets and had gone to look for him on all possible places she could think of. Douglas Baraza left home for the streets due to peer influence after seating for his third term exams in class four. After the long journey of about six hours Douglas was worn out but soon, we were at their home amidst joy and jubilation as his mother dashed from the house to embrace her son. She narrated of her ordeal three years ago when her husband passed on and therefore did not wish to lose another loved one. She fervently prayed after her son left- the fourth born in a family of five other siblings, but could now rest after his safe return.

This time round the streets had hit him hard as he recounted of the times he had to go without food yet back home their mother worked hard to provide for them. He therefore prefers to proceed with his learning lest his younger brother overtakes him in school.

His mother works hard to make ends meet for the big family. The only profitable thing that Douglas can do is to study hard in school and hope for a brighter future. He dreams to become a manager, may this dream come to pass!

 

A mother’s heart never changes in the overflowing love for her son. Can we make more mothers happy….?

We have often had stories of young boys, full of life yet wasting away the potential to do great things. What could have caused them run to the streets where life is so hostile, endure the cold nights, the rainy days without food and all the dangers on the streets?

Could it be wrong choices, or peer influence? As for Paul, the decision to join a group of irresponsible boys cost him much. It meant that he could no longer continue with school. In the company of these boys, they loitered around the streets picking papers and metals which they would sell to earn some money.

When we met Paul Mwangi a 13 years old boy, it was clear from his explanations that lack didn’t lead to his waywardness but the choices he made. His parents have always provided the basic necessities and their devotion to religious matters was evident when we took Paul home. “We have always tried all we can to provide for our children”, his mother explained to our team. It was a great joy seeing Paul reconcile with his family as he committed to take life seriously and concentrate in his education.

“Welcome home son!” These were words from John Mucuri’s father when we rescued him from the streets a few weeks ago. “John fears being reprimanded especially when he does a mistake…He opts to take to the streets instead of asking for forgiveness or solving problems through dialogue…” his father clarified. This time round John decided to go home and like the prodigal son, ask for forgiveness from his parents. His mother could hardly believe her eyes as she welcomed him home. His parents assured him of their love as they told our team “Faith keeps us hoping that our son will remain at home...”

Our joy is to see parents reconcile with their children, and embrace them back to their families. These young boys have what it takes to live purposeful lives. Should they continue wasting their potential on the streets?

We may often feel that what we do is just a drop in the ocean but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop…….Whatever you contribute towards this mission is worthwhile, together we do more!

We were at first startled when we met Abednego Musyoka and wondered how a boy with such a unique character found himself in a place where most of his peers have developed a rebellious attitude.

Pastor! Pastor! Pastor! That’s what we heard other children calling Abednego when we met him at a government rehabilitation centre. Upon further probe, we came to understand that the boy was actually playing pastoral roles and others had come to accept it as such.

Once you sit down, and create friendship with him to an extent of building trust in you, he opens up and shares what he has gone through. Abednego comes from a family where parents separated and he was left under the care of the maternal grandmother since his early childhood days. Together with other siblings, they have been raised up by their grandmother who is a devoted Christian….No wonder the pastoral roles.

The parting of the parents was huge and messy. This left their mother emotionally traumatized, which made her to abscond the responsibility of raising her children and passing it on to her mother. She even threatened to poison the children when confronted about her negligence. These confessions made the grandmother to give up on her and from then on, took the responsibility of her grandchildren. At some point, the grandmother had taken the children to their father only to be rejected again, and because he had remarried, their stepmother could not cope with them.

Rejection from parents  had a bad effect on Abednego who developed the habit of running away from home and sleeping out. Fortunately, his grandmother is well known in their locality and so every time he attempted to sneak away, he could be brought back home. This one time, he prepared to go to school but he had other plans in mind. He boarded a vehicle far away from home lest someone who knew him cut short his mission, and managed to find his way to Nairobi where he made the streets his abode. One day the city council inspectorate caught up with him and together with others, was taken to the rehabilitation centre. We were glad that when we met him at the centre, he agreed to go back home and over the Easter eve, Abednego was reintegrated back home amid shouts of jubilation from his siblings.

There was no better way to celebrate Easter than taking Abednego home…..!!

 

 

A mug of tea, a quiet five minutes and time to play and reflect at the end of the day could make all the difference. As a team, we took time to reflect on our work for the first quarter in a different way, and had a team day out.  

The last three months have been full of activity for us; always on the mission to rescue that child on the street. We have successfully reintegrated forty three (43) children from the streets with their families. The experiences are always overwhelming as the families receive their lost children and embrace them back again.

There was a lot to be shared as we recounted on these successes and even planned the way forward for the next three months. Some in the team reminded us of how some boys were so desperate to go back home as they had gone to the streets in search of a better life, the hopeless situations they would encounter in the families they met but eventually, there was light at the end of the tunnel.

“Triple Blessing”, this is what we say whenever we see a child off the streets back at home and in school. “Seeing Fannuel (a boy rescued in November 2013 and we did follow up in January) back to school was reason enough to rescue another child from the streets.” One team member added as she also reminded us of how Fannuel’s head-teacher was thrilled to see our team come all the way from Nairobi to Eldoret (313 Km) to follow-up on his student.

 

As we discussed on the activities in the past quarter, we all expressed how encouraging it was seeing parents empowering themselves from the simple training skills they were educated on during reintegration. Organizing schools empowerment program was also  a major highlight for the team as well as launching a pad for upcoming Equipping Community program in the regions where the team has duly reintegrated children. We look forward to such opportunities as we have managed to reach out to five schools in different counties as well as equip more than seventy pastors and parents.

We are excited about this second quarter and looking forward to rescue seventy five more children. As our mission, we exist for that child on the streets- join us as we walk more children home in the next few months!!

 

 Their countenance shows how elevated with joy they are, their attentiveness and the inquisitive response of these young ones are always refreshing. It shows how yearning the students are for knowledge.

Does this take you years back, when you had big dreams and now you’re living them? TKW takes the students through Life skills lessons, how to achieve better performance and Drugs and Substance abuse where the participatory skills of the pupils is lively and enchanting. The program helps these children develop communication skills, feel valued and explore interests.    

 This year, we have reached out to five primary schools, with the aim to motivate the students and inspire them for better performance and self- esteem. “I am now motivated to score an ‘A’ grade in the national examination.” One boy said to the team after having a session in their school. 

Every school is unique and the needs vary but the best assistance we can provide is the transformation of minds. Some of these schools such as Nguto primary school in Murang’a County have challenges that stem from families and parenting and especially issues facing the girl child. Our team was allowed to have motivational and counselling sessions with the pupils in this school as well as address a few delicate concerns facing these young ones.   

Despite some of these challenges, the pupils are always eager to learn and gain new insights from other young people. Kagera Primary school in Kiambu County has had poor performance for the last few years but at the end of a session with our team, all the pupils agreed that they will achieve the best grades ever in that school. At one point they loudly declared “yes we can” as they tapped their chests!!!! What an experience.     

Giving back to the younger girls is always fulfilling, as it was the experience at Nyondia primary school in Nakuru County. The girls were expectant, eyes wide and faces full of expectations ready to get insight from our wonderful team. The girls had many questions which we addressed to save them from ignorance and misconception when at that age. We are there to provide the right information which is vital to such girls.      

 The teachers are usually not left behind as they also portray a high level of trust and confidence with us. We motivate them on how to bring out the best in their pupils. Our team had the opportunity to address matters concerning discipline and performance with the teachers at Langas Primary School in Eldoret as well as a motivational session with the pupils. 

We endeavor to encourage pupils on the importance of positive thinking and let them know that nothing can hinder them from achieving their dreams.  Malikini Primary school in Mwingi, Kitui County was brought to our attention through a child rescued this year and thus our team planned for an outreach. The school is in a very remote area, and the means of getting to the school were quite challenging yet at the end of the day, we left a happy and motivated pupil.  

 We always look forward to such opportunities to interact with the younger and energetic students. You can always see their joy as they pose for photos with the team who also become their friends and mentors. It is humbling to have that great opportunity to empower the young ones.   

Five schools-in five different counties. Together we can inspire more children for a stronger future! Would you like to be a part of us in this journey of transforming lives?