Protect, feed, and educate 114 rescued children

Saidi's father could not contain his joy when he saw his son.  “As a parent, you cannot be at peace when your child has been away from home and you do not know where he is for two good years!"

These were the words of Saidi's father when the two were recently reunited. Amid tears and hugs, father and son were lost for words and the social workers who had accompanied Saidi had to give the two enough time to come to terms with the reality.

Saidi has been at the Abraham's Education Centre for the last one year. When he arrived he had been on the streets for another whole year where he was rescued by police officers and temporarily committed to the Centre. Soon he was going to school with other boys at the Centre. He was a very active boy and bonded quickly with his colleagues.

The social inquiry on Saidi revealed that he hailed from Western Kenya. Soon home tracing was made and with the help of the Children's office and a children's home close to Saidi's birthplace, his father was reached and efforts to re unite Saidi with his family began. It was all joy and tears when this eventually happened.

For two years, his father was not aware of his sons whereabouts. "I placed adverts with the police, in the village and even at hospitals. I even went to mortuaries to see if I could get his body. All to no avail". Said a tearful father who revealed that the family was in the last stages of planning for a ritual to perform a symbolic burial for their son.

He confides to the team that it was through sheer fortune that Saidi had come home before the ritual burial. "Had he arrived after the burial, no family member would actually accept him in the homestead. This would be considered bad omen and it would devastate me so much", says the father who gives a sigh of relief and continues to stare at his son unbelievably. He was nine years old when he left.  Now he is eleven.

The boy had run away following beatings and maltreatment from his step mother after his own mother died. Saidi's father promised to be extra vigilant and ensure the boy is well cared for and treated with love so he may not run away from home again. And Saidi, who had initially not been willing to go back home, felt so much at ease with his father. The social workers promised to keep in touch and that occasionally they would visit the home to see how he was doing.

Thanks to supporters like you who have made donations to Grandsons Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre and Abrahams Education Centre through Global Giving,  the centres are able to rescue, feed, educate and even reunite children with their families.