Sponsored run 

Swansea Bay 10k on Sunday September 22^nd

 

Edwin of TKW is walking three boys home and that’s what the TKW does week in week out.  You can walk one more child home with them.  Returning one child back to their family means bringing hope to one family, one community and one nation.  It takes one to engage in the process to help one child walk home.

Walking another child home from the streets is a race we must win together.

Over the past year Heddwyn (66), went to the gym at least 2-3 times a week to prepare to take part in Swansea Bay 10k 2013.  Why would hewake up early to be in the gym before 7 am? He has a reason and a purpose. This is a race with a difference.  It is a race for life – walking one more child home to his family is matter of life or death.  You say, ‘I can’t run’, but you can sponsor them as they run to walk a child home.  Since January 2013, TKW team in Nairobi has reunited more than one hundred children with their families, but they were devastated to hear that one boy called George recently died on the streets without finding his way back home. That’s one child too many.  Their cry: “Come run with us for this is a race for life we must win”.

 

One race for life for one more child, one family and one community.  Isaiah Murimi has had many challenges since returning back to his family, but he is adjusting and helping his grandmother with shores on their small farm.  He is back in his community where he belongs.  We continue to monitor his restoration process which doesn’t happen overnight.

Go, go Heddwyn, Shiru, Wale, Go!  There is a huge crowd of people cheering you on. Come one!  Come all.  Walking another child home from the streets is a race we must win together. Let’s make this race for life count as we raise hundreds of pounds to walk 100 more children home before Christmas.  Heddwyn is still collecting his sponsorship money. He run for 4km and his knee started hurting so he walked the rest of the way and sprinted at the end.  He has raised nearly £600 while his target was £1,500! One race for life for one more child, one family and one community.

 

“Educate a child, empower him for life.  Knowledge is power”

Ideas are just ideas until we act on them.

Late last year friends of Children of Hope sent us an email offering us the use of Sketty Hall for an event to generate resources for children or just an evening with our partners.  They had booked Sketty Hall and paid £500 for an event that didn’t take place and they wanted to donate it.  We started thinking of ideas how to make use of this opportunity.

The idea for an auction was suggested when we talked with Sketty Hall manager.  We shared the idea with Robin Birch who visited Kenya with a team from Parklands Church in 2007.  Robin had organized another charity Auction for Children of Hope and had the experience.  We suggested a few other people like Mike Sheehan and Helen Day.

That set the ball rolling to organize a Charity Auction that will generate funds to ‘Educate a child, empower him for life.  Knowledge is power.’

Read part of George’s story….. George’s aspirations!

Unlocking  potential through Education

“By going to school one gains knowledge and that knowledge is what one requires for him or her to distinguish himself or herself from others.  By going to school one gets to know what he wants to be in life.  Hs goals, vision and dreams becomes the fuel that drives this person to continue with school.  In all this one needs to give God His place so that He can lead you….For my case, since I am much interested in electronics I am getting assistance by going to places where I am exposed to this field and that is helping me in achieving my goal. I have known how to service computers, open it,  put it back to its original state.

To build more capacity I want to undertake ICT course this will give me an edge as I step into the market.I aspire to be an electronic engineering person, I desire to work in such companies like Sony apple, L.G, Samsung and finally I want to come up with my own electronic valley/company.” says George.

Unlocking potential through education for a better future! There are many Georges out there that need your support to help them realize their dreams!

• 50 children rescued from the streets since the beginning of 2013 and many follow-up visits to children and families to support them.
• Equipping Parents seminars – for the last two years, we have held these seminars at Bethany Halfway house and we’ve had a big challenge of accommodating the parents, community workers and the TKW team for the three days.  We trust that your gift will enable us to begin to build extra accommodation for these seminars and our high school students mentoring camps.
• This year, we are taking these seminars to the communities where we have a big concentration of children coming to the streets. We are mobilizing churches in Kisii County in Western Kenya to address the big issue of dysfunctional families and lack of effective parenting leading more children to the streets.
• One of our partner churches in Cornwall raised over £2,000 last year for building houses for two families.  One of these houses was built last month for Nicholas’ family.

More children are now in safe and secure families

What shall we say about the many children and families who have been visited and encouraged, children who are now pursuing college and university education and many more stories…!   Clinton has just joined University to study finance and commerce.  He needs a sponsor for the next three years. Thank you for making lasting impact to the lives of some of these children who are pursuing their dreams.

The event takes place on Friday May 10^th. 2013 at  Sketty Hall. Doors will be open at 6.45 p.m.  Heddwyn will give a short update of the work of Tumaini kwa watoto at around 7.15 before the auction begins at 7.30.  There will be a break for snacks and we plan to wind up by around 9.30 p.m.

 

 

 

Items being auctioned include:

1. Tickets for family (4) at Scarlets match next season (£65)
2. Meal vouchers for Vanilla Pod, Tycoch (for 2)
3. Meal vouchers for Buck Carvery (for 2)
4. Tour of Millenium stadium for 6 (for 4 and 2)
5. Dan-yr-Ogof caves tickets (2 adults and 2 children)
6. LC2 family pass (2 adults, 2 children)
7. 2 rail tickets for any First Great Western return journey
8. Boiler service from Gas Wales
9. Signed Stereophonics album cover
10. Paintings by local Swansea artists
11. 2 tickets for Royal British Legion charity concert in Carmarthen in October
12. Surf lesson for 1 person
13. 8 piece dinner set
14. Leather easy chair
15. Kenya framed wildlife batiks

 

Further promises are:

1. Meal for 4 at Cheryl & Chris Ditton
2. Breakfast for 6 at Lynne & John English’s
3. Half day sewing lesson by Lynne English
4. Guitar set-up including string change
5. 10 dog walks from Becky Morris
6. Owen Rennie for 3 hours of house cleaning
7. Owen Rennie – 1 black bag of ironing
8. Leadership seminar by a John Maxwell-certified speaker ‘Put your dreams to the test’
9. Spring clean with Lynne English and Cath Sheehan (6 hours)
10. Photo session with iNNOVATION PHOTOGRAPHY (www.inovation-photography.co.uk)
11. Guided tour round Swansea with John English
12. Carrot cake (9 inch diameter) baked when required by Helen Day
13. Decorated birthday cake from Hannah Cox

 

We appreciate everyone who have kindly donated their time, service and resources.

 

[one_third]  THE INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR STREET CHILDREN IS CELEBRATED EVERY YEAR ON 12 APRIL.

THE DAY PROVIDES A PLATFORM FOR THE MILLIONS OF STREET CHILDREN AROUND THE WORLD – AND THEIR CHAMPIONS – TO SPEAK OUT SO THAT THEIR RIGHTS CANNOT BE IGNORED.

This year we are preparing for the International Day of the Street Children. As a charity involved in work with street children we are part of a global work taking place on each continent, in every country. Recently the 12th of April has been chosen as the Day of the Street Children to bring awareness to the fact that such atrocity does exist. this a day when we speak for those without a voice.

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The International Day for Street Children was launched in 2011 by the Consortium for Street Children (CSC), the leading international network dedicated to realising the rights of street children worldwide, and is supported by Aviva, the world’s 6th largest insurance group. The day is celebrated by street children, NGOs, policy makers, celebrities, corporates and individuals across the globe.

Take a look at the infographic showing the numbers behind the day, click here!

2012

The Day was celebrated once again on 12th April 2012, when the theme was ‘challenging perceptions’ – encouraging people to question what they think they know about street children. Find out more about what happened in 2012 and challenge your perceptions by watching the video above or reading about some common myths.

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2012

In 2012 the day was a huge success. Street children, the general public, celebrities, policy makers, charities/NGOs and businesses across the world showed their support for the day in numerous ways.

Events

84 events and celebrations were held in 38 countries around the world. Celebrations included: street children art competitions, street parades, conferences, workshops, talent competitions, film screenings, balloon releases, fundraisers, football tournaments and even a successful World Record Breaking shoe shine! Details of many of the events that took place in 2012 can be found on the Showcase page, with pictures in our Gallery.

Media

The International Day for Street Children was mentioned in the global media over 580 times.

National UK coverage included The Guardian, BBC News, The Daily Express and Sky News television, radio and online.

Articles appeared in 246 regional and local UK newspapers and interviews aired on 186 UK radio stations. 

Outside of the UK we know of 77 articles appearing in international media spanning 15 different countries: Canada, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Spain, Swaziland and Tanzania.

See our media coverage page for more in-depth information.

High Profile Support

We received lots of high profile support in 2012. Steven Gerrard, Bianca Jagger, UN representatives and a number of UK MP’s and Peers signed our ‘Letter to the Editor’ of the Guardian newspaper.

Stephen Fry, John Prescott, Danny Cipriani and Alexandra Burke were among the celebrities who tweeted about the day.

We received statements of support from the Rt.Hon Sir John Major and the Rt Hon. Andrew Mitchell, Secretary of State for International Development.

Public support

Over 2,500 people from 89 countries signed our pledge to stand up for the rights of street children worldwide. We delivered the list of signatures at a meeting with the UN High Commission for Human Rights in June.

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Key messages

Across the globe there are large numbers of children surviving on the streets – it’s time we all took action to address this issue.

Whether they are a runaway from Derby or a street child in Nairobi, the factors that drive children to the streets are similar (and include family breakdown, poverty, and violence).

One of the  greatest challenges faced by a street child is being recognised and treated as someone with rights.

We must recognise that a street child has the same potential as any other child, given the opportunity.

Although street children are vulnerable to the dangers of life on the street, they are also resilient and resourceful.

Street children see themselves as able to make a positive contribution to society despite often negative attitudes towards them.

We are calling for governments and society to join together and stand up for the rights of street children all over the world. Being a street child is not a crime.

Street children adopt many tactics necessary to survive on the streets, such as begging, loitering and rough sleeping.

Heavy handed treatment by authorities – such as violence and round-ups –  is all too common and must be stamped out.

Rather than treat them as criminals authorities should understand the reasons for street children’s behaviour and provide support.

 

 

 

‘Home before Christmas ’ – 11 boys rescued in November 2012

Patrick Mutuma is a 16 years old young adult and hails from Chuka, in Meru which is in Eastern part of Kenya. He has lived in the streets for about 3 years, and as he puts it himself, it wasn’t easy. When we met him he was ready to go home and nothing could deter him from his decision.

Patrick’s desire is to help his mother with farming as he a waits to do vocational training to help him acquire some basic life skills.

When we go home, we met Patrick’s mother who narrated to us how Patrick had stressed the family with his truant behavior. However, she kept praying for him to reform wherever he was or at least come back home a changed person. His parents divorced when he was still young so he grew up with his mother. We had a reconciliation meeting with the family in the presence of community members and Patrick was received back with gladness.

 

 

‘If only I get another chance’, said 12 year old Dennis

Life has been tough for Dennis since he was born because his mother abandoned him at the tender age of one. His maternal grandparents brought him up, but when life became too hard, he ran away to the streets.  On 20^th November 2012, we rescued Dennis JK rehab centre and travelled with him to Kinangop an hour’s journey from Nairobi with his grandparents.

On the same day, Dennis’ mother had abandoned his other 3 siblings in another village and his grandmother had planned to go and rescue them. We also learned that Dennis had been to several children’s homes without settling.  His grandparents were not too pleased to see Dennis.

As always we pleaded with his grandmother to give Dennis another chance which she eventually did.  We pray that this boy will find rest, be established and give these elderly grandparents strength to give Dennis and his siblings a secure home.

Simeon 13 years old, the lost brother has been found

As we approached the house we could see that the door was locked. Disappointment was written all over Simeon’s face as he realized that the warm welcome he had hoped from his sister was not going to be. After inquiring from a neighbor, we found out that Simeon’s sister had started a small business in a nearby town. So we sent a neighbour’s son to call her.

She came running and started to weep the moment she saw her brother. We spent some time talking with her over some issues.  She readily agree to give her lost brother Simeon a home and promised to talk to her husband to take him back to school next year.

Peter Swahili 16 years old took time to remember the direction to his home. 5 years ago he left home and couldn’t recognise the buildings and infrastructure that has come up since he left home.  Five years is a long on the streets.

Peter used to live with his grandmother, Hannah who is a pastoralist.  He left home when he was a very small boy thus, his grandmother could not recognize him. Who is this man? Asked Peter’s grandmother. It took a little introduction for her to recognize her own grandson.  Peter and his grandmother looked at each other.

The family, like any other typical pastoralist family, has very little or no value for education.  So we talked with Hannah about the importance of education for her grandson and she agreed to take Peter for vocational training. All in all Peter was happy to be back home again before Christmas.

Ian Kemboi, 14 years – desiregranted. We often pray that God would prepare a safe dwelling place for every child we plan to reintegrate with his family. Over the years, Ian’s father lived an irresponsible life of drinking and gave his children harsh punishment causing Ian to regularly run to the streets which made it very difficult for him to settle.

When we took him back to his home in Kitale, we found a transformed father who had committed his life to Christ and now attends church with his family. With hope in his heart, he received his son and is willing to gradually work out their father-son relationship. Ian on the other hand asked for forgiveness for leaving home without warning and causing his family much pain.  We thank God for Ian’s parents who love him in spite of what has done.  They are ready to support him and help him settle at home.

“Taking me home would be the best Christmas gift”, said 14 years old Anthony Mabonga

Ululation filled the air at Moi’s Bridge when Anthony entered their homestead and began calling his grandmother in his native luhya language.”Kukhu Kukhu!” His grandmother’s voice was heard in one of the huts. We followed as Anthony led us, in seconds they were locked in tight hugs and there was more ululation. Anthony was under the care of his parents who lived near Kenya-Tanzania border. He had been asked to do some house chores but went to play and forgot.  He was afraid of being punished and ran to the streets where we met him a few months ago.

Anthony’s family was very happy to receive him.  He will enjoy Christmas with his family as he had desired while preparing to join class 5 in 2013.

Looking for a place to belong is 13 years old Dennis Kiarie driven to the streets by his parents’ separation, ‘Finally I am home’ said 14 year old Joseph, whose only hope is his uncle’s family as well as Wycliffe Nyange, Titus Mosota, Henry Nyambuto, boys who come from Kisi in western Kenya to just get a glimpse of the city’s tall buildings.   All reconnected with their families.

Having rescued these boys, the real task of restoring them and their families has just begun.  We however, rejoice that their desire to be ‘home for Christmas’ has been granted.  Rejoice with that eleven (11) children have been rescued and reintegrated with their families – the place where they belong!

Tumaini Mass rescue