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    Thank you for 2022
    Blog
    20 December 2022

    Thank you for Your Support in 2022

    Thank you to our partners, community volunteers, and TKW team.

    We would like to extend our greatest gratitude for your partnership. The meaningful work TKW does would not be possible without the support, participation and financial gifts of each one of you. Thank you for all that you did for us in 2022 and all you do every day in contributing positively to the welfare of our children rescued from the streets and their families! As we came to the end of the year, we look back to what we achieved…and these are our main highlight among others:

    802 children were reunited with their families
    4 young people joined universities/Colleges.
    31 Families house hold salvation
    8 new Community volunteers in the Counties
    1 family owning a home
    0ver 300 students completed their Primary and secondary education
    2 schools Outreach were done

    In the meantime, we wish you all a happy and healthy year 2023. We look forward to working and reporting to you this Year on how our revitalized work with children on/off the streets, families and new projects are progressing. We cannot do this valuable work without your help and we appreciate your support.  

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

    By TKW Team
    TKW rescues children in Kenya
    Blog
    24 November 2022

    Hope Renewed – a longing fulfilled is a tree of life

    Betsy was born with a health condition that needs the doctor’s attention once in a month. It was a burden to her parents and was always calling for help from well-wishers. She continued with school normally like any other child, but one day a relative approached her parents and everything changed for this girl.  

    The relative shared with her parents that there was an opportunity for their daughter to receive help in a certain institution that was helping children with Betsy condition. She also promised the girl’s parent’s that Betsy would continue with schooling. This seemed like a prayed answered for the anxious parents. But little did they know that the relative wanted to use Betsy’s condition to gain money…

    Betsy was kept by the relative, no schooling and no treatment but money would be raised toward her and would be used for other work. Whenever the parents called to find out how the girl was doing the relative would shower them with lies of good progress. They never realized that Betsy was actually not receiving help as promised. The worse happened and the girl got sick and needed an admission in hospital. The relative took her to hospital and when the bill was calculated; the relative disappeared leaving the girl in hospital with no family and with no money to pay the bill. After a month of holding the girl, the hospital decides to release her out to trace her family. Betsy ended up on the streets. 

    She was rescued and place in a safe house where her family was traced and a reintegration was planned. It was an emotional return for the girl and for the family. Until her rescue and tracing, the parents always thought she was under the good hands of her relatives. But she was home again. 

    If we had not turned up for Betsy, What would have become of her? Who would have turned up? We commit to be there…Can we do this together?

    Next year, Betsy is going back to school that she missed and she needs our support with books, uniform, and fees required. 

    We are grateful for opportunity to support Betsy as she goes back to school; also seek to help the family get better medical care.  Please join us in this journey.  (Your gift of 20 pounds will go a long way Betsy and other children like her).

    By TKW Team
    image3-2
    Blog
    15 September 2022

    Please, partner with us to relocate this family

     Mutua is 8 years ago and has known the slum as his home – getting in and out of the streets has been his life. His family of sixteen (16) siblings has lived in a two roomed rental house.  It is partitioned with a bed sheet, has only a bit of furniture and household items together with an empty cooking pan.

    As a family they have lived from hand to mouth and at times they go without food. The parents are in a funny religion that has brainwashed them from using family planning method leading to 16 children. Some of the children in the family have mental disorders. Mutua’s father is into alcohol while his mother stays at home looking after the little ones as the older children go to the streets to beg. Whatever they bring home, it is shared among them.

    Mutua’s Mother

     We met this boy on the streets scavenging for food. He shared that some of his siblings were also on the streets but return home in the evening. He wanted food and without food he could not be in school. There was no hope of a better life at home and in school, but we spoke hope in his life.
    By faith we took the journey home and found a family living below poverty line. We bought food for them and took Mutua back to school as we worked to restore his family. They had arrears of rent for their rented house. We held a family meeting and Mutua’s father shared how life has been stressful because of wrong decisions he had made in life. He said that stress was the reason he got into alcohol. He has always wanted to relocate his large family to their up-country home where he inherited a piece of land, but he has no resources for building a house for his family.

    Mutua is back to school and with the current conditions at home something needs to be done to relocate this family to their own land. At Tumaini we would like to see this father’s desire to give his family a life out of the slum come true.

    May God raise them out of their hopeless situation and settle them in their own land. In their land, they can do farming and have food for every one of them without the need for begging on the streets.

    HOW CAN WE HELP…?

    Mutua’s family needs financial resources to be able to rebuild their lives and become a sustainable family free from handouts. The cost of building a semi-permanent new home and relocation from the slum is £400.

    Together we can give this family a hand up to bring hope, transformation, and a better future

    By TKW Team
    3
    Blog
    15 August 2022

    After their Mom’s Demise

    It is exactly 6 months since they lost their mother through death. She was the only known parent to them and hence leaving the home headed by a child. They continued with schooling but only for a while before they were all sent home due to lack of provisions. Life turned a jungle to live for survival. They have gone through all manner of struggles from finding food, what to wear, what would happen if they got sick, where to get school fees…! After the burial of their Mom, all the relatives lefts hurriedly and none suggested to take them in. The only hope they had was to their grandmother but she was sickly and they did not want to be a burden to her. So they thought. 

     “My 14-year-old brother and I had to step up and become parents to our three younger and that is how life on the streets begun. It has never been the same since our mom died. Life on the streets has been risky. One time we were sheltering in a market during floods and my sister almost got swept away. We tried to get into a building for shelter, but the watchman chased us away. Everything seemed to be against us. I miss my Mom and this has broken my tears many time trying to call her name but no answer.”

     During our outreach work on the streets, we found them. It’s not obvious to find siblings on the streets unless it is due to critical issues and this is the case of Patrick and his siblings. They presented a case of children who needed care and protection. After their rescue, they were first committed to a children’s court for their families to be traced. And there we found their grandmother. She gladly offered to take them in no matter her challenges. 

    We later met with their grandmother who though seemingly elderly, her firm voice communicated care for her grandchildren. She was joyous to receive them back after several months on the street in search of a better life. 

    She narrated her struggles since her daughter died and she showed the team some medical documents explaining how she had been unwell and was on medication.  

     “Handling my daughter’s demise was truly heart wrenching…but finding my grandchildren has filled me with great hope. One thing I would plead of you, is to help me settle them here. I have nothing much to offer and my house is small but we shall all fit in.” said the grandmother. 

    Church Support

     TKW team met with  their a church elder who said:  

    “I have known this family for a while and their troubles have been great. We have encouraged the grandmother to keep up her resilience in ensuring that the children are taken care of as well as in the ways of God and do participate in church activities”. 

    Patrick and his siblings are home today and we would be doing the first home visit in two weeks. We organized with the grandmother to find a school nearby and inform us of the requirements. She did that and the children were facilitated back to school. We also had a call with their teacher and agreed to support them. However, this grandmother needs support to care for her grandchildren, and to make sure they all settle at home and in school. 

    They need food, they need school fees paid termly, they need clothing and they need adequate shelter.

    Please join us in restoring this family. Your gifts and donations of will go a long way in meeting the needs of food for these children, their school requirements settled and their lives will never be the same again

    By TKW Team
    Educational Support- TKW
    Blog
    13 July 2022

    HOPE: Giving a child Education support

    Every child has potential waiting to be tapped!

    Tumaini simply means hope.  The vision is to give hope to orphans and vulnerable children especially those on the streets, hope that leads to transformed lives.  When we remove children from the streets back to their families, it leads to other issues in these families. Getting the child back to school comes on top of priorities. Giving children education support is one of the most powerful and sustainable way of breaking poverty cycle for good. But it is more than powerful; it is personal when you engage with a specific child through education support.

    Tumaini team in partnership with community volunteers, 84 children were reunited with their families in June 2022. This means more children going back to school. Many families are needy and pleading with us to support them with education especially now as their children quit school to find work to support their families. The needs in families are sometimes overwhelming as to rescue and give children stability through education which needs resources.

    This story highlights some cases of children in need of education support. Every photo represents a child who needs that support NOW.

    Mutua

    His family was already needy before the pandemic struck but the situation got worse when his parents lost their casual jobs. Mutua started collecting plastic bottles in the street to sell for food. “I had no other way other than finding ways to to help my parents look for money to buy food. School was the last thing on my mind. My heart was always sad that I could not be in school like our neighbors’ children.”

    Through education support, Mutua can go back to school. Mutua’s parents could be assisted to get back on their feet by a business that can begin to meet their basic needs.

    Geoffrey 

    Geoffrey was on the streets for weeks before we met him and rescued him.  He took us back ‘home’ where his family lives in a deplorable situation in a single room by the roadside. His mother shared how they were displaced during election crashes and lost everything they had. It has been more than 8 years since the government put them on a waiting list for a piece of land, they could call their own. 

    Geoffrey has four siblings, and their mother is raising them alone since the parents separated. She does casual jobs in farms for food and other basic needs. Geoffrey is sitting for his final primary exams but without education support, he might not join secondary school or vocational training. He needs education support now.

    Yvon

     A year ago, we met Yvon wandering on the streets trying to find a casual job to supplement what the parents were earning to feed the family. We returned her home and found her family very needy. By then, her father had a casual job as a mason and her mother was taking care of the family while doing casual jobs at nearby farms for a small pay. 

    Yvon is the first born and has two younger brothers 7 years and 10 years old. We made sure she returned back to school and completed the primary education. She joined a secondary school and her father was helping. But he lost his casual job due to pandemic and Yvon challenges of staying in school started. 

    When she was about to join Form 2, her mother passed away through childbirth complications. It was a sudden death and very tough for her father to raise funds to bury the wife, but a church group helped them with the burial. During these traumatic moments, Yvon’s dad shared how his daughter was on the verge of dropping out of school.  He pleaded for his daughter’s support through education. He pleaded that Yvonne as his first born; was his only hope to pull the family out of poverty; that would mean her young brothers would succeed in life too. Yvonne is doing well in school and given this opportunity we believe she will not disappoint.

    Njeri

     Njeri is a kindhearted girl. We rescued her from a police station after she was found loitering on the streets. At home, she lives in a very challenging environment with her mum and three younger siblings.  The family is struggling with basic needs which include education needs. Before we returned Njeri home, the family would regularly go days without food. 

    Tumaini has been supporting them and returned Njeri back to school with full school uniform, all books and stationery. We also made sure they have food. Thanks to her own determination; Njeri is sitting for her final primary school exam this year but may not be able to progress to secondary school without stable support.  This is a humble request for Njeri’s education support.

     Lucy and Jay

    Lucy and Jay are young and innocent children. We met them on the streets in cold weather, looking sickly with runny noses and without clothes to keep them warm. We rescued, fed and clothed them only to discover it was a case of parental negligence. The parent would send them to beg for food every day until they could return home no more. Their family was living in some of the worst conditions we have seen. Their mother who is a single parent neglected her children. We reunited them with their grandmother who lives in the same compound as their mother. and She was happy to receive them.  

    Lucy, who is 5 years, had not joined school yet but we supported the grandmother to enroll her in school. She is enjoying pre-school.  Despite the many challenges they have faced, Lucy and Jay never stops smiling. Their mum was counseled and encouraged to find some work. Before this could work out, the two children need to eat as Lucy continues with school. Will you please support them?

    Nancy

     Nancy lives with her mum and 2 siblings. She was on the streets looking for a job to pay for her secondary school fees. She had just completed her primary exam and was required to join a secondary school. Sadly, her mother had issues and they separated. The mother began working as a small trader selling porridge in the market place and the income was just enough to feed her 3 children. 

    After returning Nancy home, we made sure she joined Form one at a nearby secondary school. Her elder sister, who dropped out of class 8 a year ago, often tries to help the mother to support their family by washing the neighbors’ clothes for a small pay. 

    Nancy needs education support. This means her stability and hope for the family. 

     Loise

    Loise was on and off the streets before we met her. She was already in secondary school but did casual to raise her school fees every time she was sent home due to arrears.

    We rescued her and met her mother who is a cook in a nearby primary school. She does not earn much and has 4 children to provide for alone. Loise is her first born and learnt zeal from her mother. Loise is in Form four working hard that next year she may join university. She would love to do a degree in education. She is already struggling with fees in secondary school, how will she pay for university education?  

    Think of Loise and the children she will teach after she gets her teaching degree. Think of her children, and her students’ children. Educational support is what she needs to achieve her dreams.

    Education support makes a generational impact. Its ripple effect will impact the child receiving education support a family and the community. The generational impact of education support is immeasurable, but we know it is immense. 

    You can make a world of difference to a child.

    By TKW Team
    Street Children
    Blog
    27 June 2022

    HOPE: Janie and her family are out of the Streets 

    We are giving thanks for May 2022 as we think of how change is everything for a child out of the STREETS and receiving education support. 

     The best thing that can happen to a child who was once on the streets, rescued and reunited with his family is going back to school but there are many challenges they must face.

    As we relate and rescue children from the streets, it is not always obvious that a family needs to be removed from the streets as well. Here is the story of how we recently did, and the children are back to school…

    “My home is here…”

     Janie 36 year’s old mother of 4 was chased away by her husband. She moved out of their home bagging everything that belonged to her 4 children.  She began searching for any shelter, food while selling some basic things on the streets to take care of her children. The painful reality of Janie’s family was the slim likelihood that she would find a job and a home to provide stability to her children. They ended up as a street family. 

    Every day she would walk to the Children Support Desk at a police station to ask for help. Her greatest desire was to relocate to her own parents’ home. The youngest child is 4 years old while the oldest child, a daughter is 15 years who had just sat for her final primary school exam. 

    The children desk called us to help in rescuing this family. It was a sad situation as the lives of these children seemed desperate and hopeless. Their parents’ separation had scattered their dreams.  But we had to do what we do, give hope in hopeless situations by making sure they found a home again. 

     ….and it came to pass, Tumaini supported them with foods, clothing and organized how they would be relocated to their maternal family.

    They were welcomed back at the mother’s side of the family as Tumaini planned how the children would enroll back to school. The oldest daughter was to join a secondary school and Janie had no finances. TKW paid of her school fees, and it was like a dream come true for this mother and her daughter. “Surely God has come through for me and my children in the most unexpected way” God bless you Tumaini Team”.

      This reflects the lives of many needy children and families that Tumaini work for and with. At the time of writing this story, Tumaini is working with 2154 children in primary school, 651 in secondary school, 13 in university/college and 114 in vocational training. Tumaini rarely have enough to pay for all the children to attend school. Tumaini’s hope and prayer is that they do not drop out due to lack of school fees and return to the streets.   Thank you for your gifts that keep children at home and in school.  Education support really works to get the children back to a life with some order.

    Without the partnership of people like you, Tumaini would not have made a difference to 4000+ children and families. Tumaini makes this a reality every day, every term by seeing children through school and educational needs. 

    Invest a Child 

    You can make a difference in the life of a child by giving a one-time gift. (In UK, gift-aid will be added to your gift)

    • Monthly gifts to Tumaini education support program or 
    • By sponsoring a child throughout their education. 

    As your gifts are changing lives, you will get quarterly updates at the end of every term. You will receive a scanned thank you note from the child, him/herself, their school update and fees structure.

    Thank you for partnering with Tumaini Kwa Watoto to change lives of children from poverty to purposeful living!

    By TKW Team
    TKW
    Blog
    20 May 2022

    HOPE: INSPIRED TO STAND OUT

    Every child is unique.


    Once rescued and returned to school, we follow children through to assess their progress. Talking with teachers and parents helps in understanding our children’s aspirations and dreams. We do our part to encourage the children do well in school.

    Tumaini Kwo Watoto

    Once rescued and returned to school, we follow children through to assess their progress. Talking with teachers and parents helps in understanding our children’s aspirations and dreams. We do our part to encourage the children do well in school.

    This April, 93 Form 4 candidates we had in different secondary schools performed at per with their peers. Many of them were beneficiaries of our school fees support.

     One boy comes from a family of seven who have lived in one room in the slum for years. Nausi has a caring mother but a father who rarely takes responsibility. It has been obvious; life beat them as a family as the mother continues to do laundry work for pay in the nearby apartments. 
    But Nausi and his siblings ended up on the streets for several months when food was not available at home and their house was not enough to accommodate them. Most of his older sibling dropped out of school and moved on with their lives.

     We rescued Nausi from the streets in September 2017 and enrolled him back to primary school. He completed his primary and joined secondary school. It has not been easy for Nausi nut through TKW sponsorship, Nausi got a C grade.  He will be joining college. 

     Natalie, a young lady who came from very difficult background worked hard in school to secure her future. She had dropped out of school due to bad influence and was about to start working as a house-help  but TKW rescued her. We supported Natalie financially through school and monitored her progress. Natalie did not disappoint. She scored a C+ and will be joining University this September. 

    By TKW Team
    class room
    Blog
    8 April 2022

    HOPE: in Numbers, but each one is a unique child

    Tumaini’s focus is one child at a time rescued from the streets. Every child is unique, and their life matters to us. We have walked with them from the streets to their families, through different stages of life. In March, 315 children in primary schools sat for their final Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams (KCPE).

    The results are out with a big number of children joining high school in May 2022.  This will place a great burden on parents and Tumaini. Each child needs education support and we hope to support the neediest cases in partnership with their families. 

     93 high school students are finalizing the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams and several of them will need education support to join colleges and universities.

    Highlights of some boys and girls who sat for their KCPE exams

    Flo and Shan

    Flo scored 328/500 marks. She is eager to join secondary school and one day to become a physician. Her mother was very happy with her daughter’s performance. She had lost hope of ever taking a child to high school. Now it will be easy to get a good secondary school for her daughter although she’ll need education support.  

    Shan said she was not expecting the good results, adding that hard work, follow up from TKW team and commitment were behind the impressive score. She got 348/500 marks and she is looking forward to joining high school. Her desire is to become a teacher.

    Denno

    Denno had dropped out of school for a few weeks due to challenges at home. To meet some basic needs and return to school, he started fetching water for the neighbors for a small pay. He was able fill in the gap as his mother could not adequately support him and siblings. When he was rescued from the streets, his desire was to return to school and his wish was granted and he never disappointed.

    He completed his KCPE exams and got 314/500 marks although not the marks he wished for, he is happy and hoping he will secure a place in high school. His worry is that his mum may not afford to educate him due to school fees…

    Elvis

    14 years old Elvis parents’ live separately parted ways and his mother left him under the care of his stepfather. He was born out of wedlock but his mother never wanted to relocate with him. He felt his mother’s rejection although his stepfather loved him.

    Elvis followed the mother but was chased away and ended up on the streets. We rescued him from the streets, reunited with his stepfather and who returned him to school.

    3 years later, Elvis sat for his final primary school exam and got 232/500marks. His dream is to become an electrical engineer and hopes to join Meru High School in Meru County for his secondary education.

    Mumo

    Mumo was extremely young and fragile when we took him off the streets. We ensured his well-being at home and he was taken back to school.
    Over time, he was able to grasp new skills and learn easily. He finally sat for his primary exam and scored 300/500 marks.

    Mumo would love to join secondary school, but his family has financial challenges. His inspirations are to become teacher and his family is optimistic of their son’s future success. We need to join hands to ensure Mumo and many of these children are on their track to a better future.

    Jose and Simmo

    Jose’s says his results came as a surprise to him. He did well in specific subjects like English and Kiswahili. He overcame all odds to score 324/500 marks. The results made the young man’s family celebrate with neighbors and friends. He said the teachers encouraged him to work hard in languages because he has always struggled with languages. He had been on the streets for weeks and going back to school gave him a new lease of hope.

    Simoo has God to thank for the progress he has made in education. He had dropped out of school just before his rescue and returned to school in time to sit for his KCPE exams. Simoo got 312/500 marks and was happy with the results. He promised to perform better in high school as he desires to join the army.

    By TKW Team
    Children on the streets of Nairobi
    Blog
    28 February 2022

    HOPE: New Year 2022, Same Mission

    Every child on the streets has a destiny and has a story.

    In Nyeri County, several children are sleeping on garbage heaps on the streets. We see young girls, some pregnant, others sniffing glue and others with babies. There is a level of hopelessness that most of us will never encounter. 

    In Meru County, we found children as young as 10-year-old, sleeping in pile of sewage trash and a pipe with dirty sewage leaking above their heads and they seemed not bothered. They may not have realized it due to hunger and under the influence of glue.

    Children on the streets of Nairobi

    In Kiambu County, we found a 15-year-old girl, a second born of 9 children on the streets looking for menial jobs to fend for herself since her single mother is not working.  There is no food at home!

    In Nakuru County, we have rescued a boy who has been running away from home and going to the street on and off for a few months. He had not lived consistently at home for a year. His family would go regularly and look for him on the streets. They always prayed he would decide to change his life and return home.

    In Embu County, we rescued a boy who is the fourth born in a family of 6.  His mother shared with us that her son was influenced negatively by his friends and went to the streets when he was only 9 in 2019.  She would frequently go to town to bring him home, but he continued to run away.

    Children belong in families

     

    In 2022, we hit the road running and103 children have already been reunited with their families.

    Below are a few photos of children and families being reunited:

    Follow up visits

    Follow-up visits to the families are an important part of our work especially during the first year after reintegration. We ensure most issues at home are being resolved to help the children settle and be established at home.  This prevents children returning to the streets as they settle at home and school. We are constantly exploring new ways with the families of creating sustainable sources of income.
    This year we continue to explore new ideas to expand our capacity for rescuing children to reach the thousands of children still living in the streets of different Counties in desperate for a chance in life. 

    By TKW Team
    Children of Hope New Year
    Blog
    28 December 2021

    THANK YOU- 2021

    Children of Hope New Year

    We end 2021 with celebrations and thanks offering to God for the work that has been done in children lives, in families and communities through Tumaini Kwa Watoto.
     
    We are also exceptionally thankful for all the friends and partners who made their contributions to Tumaini Kwa Watoto! 

    Highlights!

    • Over 4000 Rescues since 1999 to date.
    • children removed from the streets in 2021
    • Partnered with the Kenya Prisons in reintegrating 10 girls less than 17 years from the borstal institution after their release from a 3 years sentence.
    • Empowered over 400 children in 2021 with school uniform, school fees and other school requirement.
    • Continued with County Focus-Taking TKW service closer to the communities and training community Volunteers

     

    Thank you for walking the miles with us…
    We wish you and your families a…
    By TKW Team