HOPE IS… CHILDREN FROM STREETS RECEIVING HOPE

Many children are living on the streets are driven by various reasons:  the loss of family, lack of financial support or difficult living conditions at home, peer pressure or dreaming of a new life. We reintegrated 121 children from the streets with their families in September 2020. We are highlighting 3 stories of hope.

BRENDA:

Brenda was 14 years old when her mother abandoned her and her two younger siblings, but their grandmother opened her home to them. She had completed primary school education and was already in secondary school. Living with their grandmother for a year was not easy. Brenda dropped out of school in form two. She found work helping traders in the market. She then left home and joined a friend. She was paid very little and often she would only receive left over food.

These challenges pushed Brenda into a relationship hoping to get married. But the man responsible for her pregnancy abandoned her.
She struggled throughout the pregnancy but a lady trader in the market took her to her home and supported her. When she gave birth, the lady told her to go back home to her grandmother. Brenda could not afford the ticket home. She stayed on the streets with a few weeks old baby until her reintegration with her family.

TKW team offered her the support she needed to get off the streets and back home in preparation for going back to school.  As we support Brenda, we have to work with her relatives to find out who could take care of her baby as she goes back to school.

ALVIN:

A week ago, Alvin was a child living on the streets.  He would often go for days without food. He spent his time collecting garbage and recyclables to make money to buy food.
Alvin joined the streets through the influence of his friend who had been on and off the streets. Life at home had become difficult and felt that his dream of becoming a teacher was being shattered. He had the desire of going back home but did not know what was waiting for him at home.  TKW team rescued him and reintegrated him with his family. 
Alvin is now safe at home receiving the support he needs. His mother is raising Alvin and his 2 siblings alone. She does casual jobs to provide for her family’s needs.  Her desire is to open a small cereal business to improve her income. Tumaini Kwa Watoto would like to support her to start this business to stabilize the family for Alvin and his siblings.

LEON:

11 year-old Leon had ran away from home and lived on the streets for a month and a half. His family was broken, his father was often drunk and there were regular domestic fights between his parents. This situation had driven him to the streets which he now describes as the worst time of his life. He was rescued from the streets and reintegrated with his family this month.
Before the journey home, we gave him a warm meal and a shower. The day was a new beginning for him. We traced his family and the reconciliation was facilitated.
Today he is at home in a safe dwelling place. We initiated counseling between the parents and the father has decided to change for the sake of his family. We introduced them to a community volunteer who will continue supporting the family.

Thank you for your continued partnership to support families like Alvin. Our friends and partners help us get the children back to school to start dreaming again.  With your help, Alvin’s dream to become a teacher will come alive. You have also supported the families to stand and hope for their future restored.