Protect 150 children in Kilifi, Kenya

Seven years old Akango cannot believe his transformation from the streets to school.  At Grade two, he is even dreaming of becoming a doctor.  The boy hails from the slum of Runyu in the outskirts of Mombasa City. The slum is known for illicit brewing of alcohol and abuse of drugs

Akango is the last born of a family of three boys and one girl.  Their single mother was arrested in 2018 and jailed for a crime she never committed. He was left in the hands of their aged and sickly grandmother who has got no source of income.
“Life was so hard for us and we used to go without food for two days as we waited for a well wisher or a neighbour to offer us food. When we did not get any, we started loitering in the slum looking for leftovers and plastic bottles to sell to get some coins to buy food”, says Akango.

Their grandmother had no control over the situation given her frailty due to old age and ill health.
The young Akango goes on to say that things were hard for him as his age could not allow him to scramble and earn space to survive in the slum streets with other older children, so he played in the streets with other young colleagues while his two brothers moved across the street stealing metal scraps and any other item that could give them a few coins.

“I would move around shops, kiosks and even dumpsites looking for something to eat”, says Akango. After getting tired, he would just sleep anywhere, even on dangerous roadsides. His health started deteriorating and he developed some skin diseases and his toes were full of jiggers. No one in the slum society could do anything about the children’s condition due to poverty among the residents.
Akango calls the day “fortunate”, when social workers from Grandsons of Abraham Rescue Center were doing street rescue, came across him at one of the dumpsites in the slum and rescued him.  He was in a pathetic state, tired, sickly and could not walk well due to jiggers that had infested his feet.

Once at the Center he was taken for medication and put on a nutritional diet.  He also narrated the story of his two brothers who were also in the streets too, and the center went to look for them and rescued them too.

After a short stay in the drop in Centre in Mikindani, Akango and his brothers were transferred to Abrahams Education Center to continue with education.

Akango is an ever smiling boy, active and very hardworking. Presently, he has build up resilience and at Grade 2 he says he is working hard to become a doctor. He is so happy to see himself and his brothers schooling together to achieve their dreams in life.

Thanks to our supporters like you, who donate through GlobalGiving, Grandsons Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre was able to rescue Akango and his brothers, an intervention that ensured these little ones are able to find hope again and can enjoy their young age and good health to grow up normally and dream like all children.
Akango can boldly say....'I was a stranger and you took me in ' and in him a responsible citizen is in the making.