Child Protection Kenya Project #22375

Protect, feed, and educate 114 rescued children

by Grandsons of Abraham Rescue/Rehabilitation/ Education Centre

Project Report | Oct 19, 2017
A new lease on my life

By Bridgita S. Mwawasi | Project leader

Grandsons and daughters of Abraham

Confident and academically focused Lewis is in his first year at a prestigious university in Kenya. He is pursuing a degree in Biotechnology. Every often he cracks a joke as he narrates how Grandsons of Abraham has impacted on his life, thanks to our supporters through GlobalGiving.

“I am Lewis, a second born in a family of four, two brothers and a sister. We were born to a single mum in Kitise, a remote village in Makueni County. My mother struggled to make ends meet in order to provide the basic necessities for us.

Pressure must have been too much on our Mum since at some point she left home and that was the last my siblings and I saw her. Owing to this, things turned to a tunnel of darkness when we learnt of it months after her journey to the unknown. We were left at the mercy of our ageing grandmother who had no source of income. She took care of us but could only afford to feed us once a day. School and luxuries like good clothes were only a dream for us. Despite longing to go to school with children my age, I could not. I had no school fees, no school uniform or stationery. I wondered what other children did at school the whole day while my siblings and I played at home or went grazing grandma’s goats many times going hungry the whole day.

One day I wandered away from home and found myself in the company of street boys. I did not want to go back home. I found myself surviving at the local towns begging for food and money from strangers and finally I miraculously landed in Mombasa streets in 2004. I was 8 years then.

My brother would also join me in the street and we had to coin survival tactics in order to survive in the streets. This became our life. I was happy that my brother was with me but with time life proved unbearable, the coldness, bullying from the bigger boys, police harassment and pessimistic society and their perception and comments of us "Street boys". I did not like the life at all.

In 2005, we met with the Grandsons of Abraham social workers who promised us school and making many friends if we would accept to go to the Centre. I did but my brother turned down the offer and disappeared back to the streets. Later we met but it was too late for him to join school. Though he later quit street life, he now hawks boiled eggs for a living.

At Grandsons, I have had my life rescued, actually given back to me, I must say. I have been able to attend school and also made a lot of friends. Grandsons has educated me, mothered and changed me from nobody to someone. My stay in university at the moment depends entirely on Grandsons. But the Sisters resources are always stretched since they support so many orphans, former street children and girls rescued from trafficking and other forms of abuse. Over the holidays I do some work to earn some money to support my university expenses and ease the burden for the Sisters.

Having come this far, I want to thank God for people of good will who have supported us by supporting Grandsons through GlobalGiving. Though they may not know me, they have become part of my family and I say Many thanks!"

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Jul 20, 2017
On a Rescue Mission!

By Bridgita S. Mwawasi | Project Leader

Outside Grandsons Education Centre

A social worker and team of boys at Grandsons of Abraham Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre recently went on a rescue mission that Faustin the social worker describes as very successful. Below he shares what happened on that particular day, a mission that once in a while involves the children at the Centre, the social workers, teachers and even local authorities.

“When it comes to street boys, Grandsons of Abraham Rescue Centre Mikindani is the place to be…, but again doubts may arise on an individual client as to whether he is in the right place at some point. Psycho-social support offered in Mikindani (drop in facility) surpasses or equals a family life back home, but craving for street life, freedom and “goodies” which come with it forces some of our clients to go back to street life.

“The longing for the familiar is what made 24^th of April 2017 an extra ordinary day for Opre (9) and Kabwe (8) ( not their real names) and the whole Centre of Grandsons. It was a day of deciding and acting i.e. going back to proverbial Egypt, or the streets of Mombasa town. The two boys joined Grandsons Mikindani in January 2016 and were taken to Abraham’s Education Centre in 2017. On this day, the two woke up early as usual, showered and wore two shirts each. They waited for security officers to move from the gate and then unnoticed they sneaked out of the compound and out into "freedom".

“Once outside, they took a different root but still destined to the main Malindi-Mombasa road at kwa Kadzengo stage. We realized they had escaped when they did not show up for breakfast and could not be located anywhere in the compound. On notifying the Sister in Charge, we agreed that we go after them and rescue them before they could get hold of drugs in the streets. In ten minutes Austin their care giver was at Shanzu, the nearest town centre. He had taken a motorbike to get there and started the return journey along the road hoping to meet them. But it was in vain.

“Next the whole Centre went helter skelter with children who all wanted to go out and look for their colleagues. The children have bonded so well that when one escapes all the others want to go on the rescue mission, even some who had escaped before and now laugh at themselves for even having craved to go back to the life in the streets. It is sort of a crisis that overtakes some of them from time to time, especially the new comers who may not be used to an organized way of life. With counseling they eventually settle down and concentrate on their studies.

“We started organizing how we would trace them in Mombasa town in the evening since they usually go to their “Base” or “Maboxini” – meaning boxes, which are make shift houses made of cardboard, torn boxes and sheets of used newspapers where street children are based.

“It was after two hours of frantic search that the boys were spotted on the streets in Shanzu by one of the boys from the Centre. It was the end of the road for the two, but a success story for all the other children and staff of Grandsons. The two two indicated that they had wanted to go and visit their “people” back in their rural homes. But it was not true. They later confessed to have actually missed street life. They are now under counseling sessions and we have promised to trace their homes and accompany them to visit over the holidays. They are very happy about this prospect.”

Faustin says that there are factors that force some new children at the Centre to escape. They include the following;-

Craving for certain drugs due to withdrawer effects.
Longing for free gifts and town freedom.
Muslim brothers’ escape during their calendar marked festivities.
Domestic misunderstanding with other boys in the Centre.
Actual longing to see and meet their long time friends in the streets.
Peer influence.
Committing a crime, a mistake or just wrong doing in the Centre and fear of being reprimanded.

Faustin concludes that “through counseling and guiding and more of activities together with the other boys, Opre and Kibwe have enhanced their resilience building. He is happy that his two little friends are now adapting well. They have made lots of friends and have become very popular among their peers. He thinks the Motto of the Centre, “l was a stranger and you took me in” now makes a lot of sense since all the children feel they are a family at the Centre. Faustin concludes that “You can not change the whole world but can make a difference in the life of one child”.

A healthy body for a healthy mind.

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Apr 24, 2017
"I am glad that bad man will not hurt me again!"

By Bridgita S. Mwawasi | Project leader

safe in School

The shy little girl that runs to meet you as you enter the Centre has not always been this brave. When she first arrived at the Centre she would keep to herself and speak little even when spoken to. Many times she would be lost in thoughts and one would wonder what on earth she was thinking about. She would cry and other children would come to console her. Little by little the other children befriended her and played with her a lot.

Jenny (not her real name to conceal her identity), ran from home at only six years old after she was repeatedly sexually defiled by a close relative. She was too afraid to speak out since the relative had threatened her that he would harm her and also harm any one whom she told about the odeal. She was rescued from the streets by the County Children’s Department and brought to the Centre for custody, security, counselling and education.

She was counselled and helped to report her case to the authorities. It was not an easy thing to do given her age. She was so afraid. She had to be assured that the relative would not be able to hurt her as she feared. It was initially difficult for Jenny to narrate her case, she says.

“However, Sister Emma assured me that nothing bad would happen to me and that the bad relative would be arrested by the police and would be punished and imprisoned, only if I told the whole story. Though I was afraid, I accepted and told sister not to leave me alone. She accepted to be by my side to ensure no one harmed me”.

The first day the court opened to hear her story, she was so afraid she could not utter a single word. She trembled and clung to Sister Emma who had accompanied her. The court had to be postponed to give her time to come to terms with the whole process and to understand what it meant. She had to undergo further counselling before she was ready to talk about her odeal in court.

With time Jenny eventually opened up and agreed to narrate her story in court. She was taken to the juvenille court in Kilifi where she was able to narrate her story in camera. The relative was later arrested and is now in police custody.

“I am glad that I can now play freely with the other children and I know that bad man will not hurt me again. I am also able to go to school. I feel very safe here since we are always together and there are no bad people, “ Jenny says softly.

Thanks to you, our supporters who through Global Giving are giving protection and hope to Jenny and other children at the Grandsons Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre.

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