EAGER TO BE AT HOME

My Grandmother would be very happy to see me…

When our team first met Geoffrey Munyao and interacted with him, all he would say was that he looked forward to seeing his grandmother again.  

 Munyao, small in stature had been exposed to scenes beyond his age through the experiences on the streets. He is ten years of age, very talkative and has been on the streets for a considerable period of time but not to the extent of forgetting his rural home. He is a total orphan who is taken care of by his grandmother and they hail from the Eastern part of our country.  

The distance between his home and Nairobi could be about 300km but Munyao made it to the city. His level of curiosity is high and probably his love for adventure. He does not name hunger as one of the reasons which landed him on the streets which make one to wonder, what is it then? He says friends prevailed upon him to take French leave but he feared to disown the offer since he didn’t want to betray them.  

 In the city, realities came face to face with him. He started sleeping on the pavements with nothing to cover his face. It was even worse when it rained. The morning frost could just bite him so hard that sleep could not come anywhere near his eyes. This experience almost turned him into a nocturnal being. Carrying out most of the activities at night but sleeping during the day. His enlightened friends introduced him to sniffing glue so that he could forget his troubles but it made minimal improvement. He stayed with the clothes he came with until they become dirty and tattered because there was no place to wash clothes on the streets. He started eating crumbs from the dust bins to satisfy the biting hunger.

At this point in life, just like the prodigal son, he couldn’t help recalling the good life he used to live at home. The warm food and water to wash he used to get. Sleeping under a roof covered by a warm blanket in a bed. A wanting to go back home was born in him and he yearned for a good Samaritan with whom he could share his woes with but nobody was willing to lend him an ear.

Desperate as he was and seeing there was no hope, TKW team showed up at the ninth hour when help was good music to his ear. The team shared their concern with him, and  like dry ground swallowing every drop of rain, he quietly listened to every word and when given the opportunity to respond, it was on the affirmative. Imagine the joy he had when it dawned on him that an opportunity to go home had come his way.   Home at last……There was so much joy and jubilation when he arrived home. Everybody including the neighbors wanted to know where he had been all that time because they had looked for him without success.

 The first follow up by the team was very encouraging. Munyao is now safe at home and in an environment conducive to positive growth. He is back to school, in class four to continue building his dream of becoming an Environmental Specialist.   

 Munyao has developed into a very responsible and obedient young boy. He no longer goes out of their home without his grandmother’s consent. He is also very active in church and never misses Sunday school classes. The grandmother informed the team of how Munyao narrates the ordeals he underwent on the streets and promises never to go back.  

Every child deserves to be in a family. Join us in reaching out to more of such children like Munyao and give them a purposeful life.