By Vicky Ferguson | Chief Executive Officer
Dearest friends,
As I write to you it has been another exciting three months at Glad's House. For this report I hope you don’t mind me sharing with you something a little different. Instead of sharing an individuals story, I want to share how the support you are giving to individuals feeds into our organisational ‘bigger picture’ and enables these amazing young men to advocate for lasting change for their friends still on the streets.
A key part of our work at Glad's House is to advocate for change, particularly change within the criminal justice system and how it currently criminalises the children and young people we support for being homeless. As part of this Advocacy Work we deliver two-day workshops to the Inspectorate Department of Mombasa County Government looking at issues of Child Rights, Child Protection and Street Children. The aim of the training is to challenge the current discrimination of street children and build links between the County Government, the Department of Children's Services, Glad's House and, most importantly, children and young people living on the streets. We want to work together to make lasting positive change in Mombasa. Last week we delivered two more of these courses
Part of this training involves some of our young men sharing their experiences of street life and what it feels like to be arrested and incarcerated for being homeless. These young men so eloquently and bravely shared their experiences of life on the streets and so boldly challenged those who persecute and discriminate against them most on the streets.
One young man that you support who spoke last week was imprisoned 22 times at the age of only 21 - his only crime in each of these incarcerations is being homeless... Just take a moment to process that - in prison 22 times for being homeless!! His words and the words of his peers are more powerful than ours can ever be and clearly made a huge impact on those who arrest and persecute them.
So on behalf of all the children and young people we are advocating for change for – thank you – without your support we would be unable to create opportunities to empower these inspirational young men to share their own experiences and to advocate for change for ALL children and young people on the streets!
Watch this space for more progress soon!! If you have ANY questions about our work, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me!
Thanks again!
Vicky
*names have been changed and faces hidden for safeguarding reasons
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