Jael is a high flyer!

"Today was the happiest day of my life." This was the message from Jael following her graduation from college in November.

Jael was one of the first group of orphaned children who came into our Sunshine Centre when it opened. When she left school, she learned hairdressing and beauty before deciding to take airline cabin crew training at Mombasa Aviation College.

She has completed her course and, as her graduation photo shows, she is very happy to be qualified to fly!

Francis runs a unique welding business

Francis Kamau dropped out of school and drifted onto the streets of Naivasha in 2007. The youngest of six children, his family was very poor and his decision was driven by the poverty he experienced at home.

On the streets he spent his time ferrying loads for a few shillings, and collecting scrap metal to sell.

In January 2008 he was rescued by Sunshine staff and admitted to the Centre for care and support. When he had settled, he joined class 8 of Karai Primary School, before moving on to train as a welder at Naivasha Polytechnic.

He qualified well, and was employed at several different welding workshops in Naivasha before taking the ambitious step of setting up his own business in the Mwiki area of Nairobi in 2012.

In 2014, Footsteps trustees visited Francis to see how his new business was going. We were pleased to find he had lots of customers, but he told us that his welding machine kept breaking down, causing a delay to the completion of their orders. We immediately decided to invest in a new machine to help him.

He has continued to work with great skill and passion, building up his Unique Welding Workshop business, and now has a wife and young son.

But Francis has an ambition to build more than a successful business. He wants to repay the support he received from Sunshine by employing former street boys.

In August 2018, Joseph Thiong’o and Peter Gathoga joined his business, even before they had graduated as welders in May 2019 (photo right).

When we visited Francis in October, we were delighted to hear him describe his dream of repaying the investment we made in him in this unique way!

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go...

Eric Chege has packed his bags and is ready to go...to university.

If he had even dreamed of this happening when he lived on the streets, he would have thought he was going mad! He was out of school and scavenging on the streets for food, with no hope for a better future.

Poverty at home led Eric to migrate to the streets when he was just 8 years old, but his life changed when a staff member from the Sunshine Centre met him and asked him if he wanted a home and to go back to school. He accepted the offer, and it was a turning point in his life.

This month he set off from the Sunshine Centre to join South-eastern University in Kitui (6 hours journey away) to start his degree course in Economics and Statistics.

Once he has graduated, Eric will have a bright future ahead of him - a far cry from when he lived on the streets.

Sunshine leavers celebration

As the end of the academic year approaches, the Sunshine Centre staff organised a leavers' celebration to equip our former street boys for their next step in life.

During an emotional day, the boys were given professional advice on how to manage job interviews, they were reminded of the importance of living their lives God's way, and they formed themselves into an alumni group  to encourage each other.

Many of the boys have been with us since they were rescued from the streets in 2004 when the Sunshine Centre first opened.

Now, as young adults they are fully equipped to move into the world of work, knowing that the Sunshine staff and their Sunshine brothers are still with them for help and advice.

One aim of the newly formed alumni group is to come back to talk to and encourage the younger boys who are still at the Centre. They are compelling role models that show what a street boy can achieve!

Former street boy Samuel graduates....and more

On 26^th of July, Samuel Kamau graduated from Kenyatta University with a degree in Sociology – he has a bright future ahead of him. 

When he first came to our Sunshine Centre in 2009, Samuel had been living on the streets of Naivasha, sleeping outside and scavenging among the garbage piles for food to eat. 

“Life on the streets was very difficult,” he told us.

At the Sunshine Centre, we funded Samuel’s education, and provided him with good food, loving care and helped him stay connected with his family during the school holidays.

Samuel's graduation day was a busy affair with over 7,000 students receiving their awards. Who was managing security on the campus for the event? James Maina - another former street boy we cared for at the Sunshine Centre! 

To provide the sustained care that street boys like Samuel and James need to excel we need the help of a huge number of donors and supporters. Thank you working with us to transform the lives of many more young people!

Sun shines for 2019 Kenya Marafun

Despite heavy rain during the preceding week, the day of the third Kenya Marafun dawned clear and sunny. 319 took part, running, jogging and walking over the steep hills and through the cliff-lined valleys of Hell’s Gate national park, past herds of giraffe, zebra and warthogs.

Eighty former street boys from the Sunshine Centre led the way, accompanied by students from the Naivasha Polytechnic, Bishop Wambari Girl’s school and a team of visitors who travelled all the way from UK to take part.

Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) provided a team of rangers to patrol the park and keep inquisitive buffaloes away from the route. KWS head warden Peter Lekeren was so impressed with the event that he invited us to do it again next year!

Joseph and Peter graduate in style!

Joseph Th'iongo and Peter Gathoga used to be street boys (difficult to imagine looking at the photos!).

We rescued them from a life of poverty on the streets, gave them a place at our Sunshine Centre, and arranged for them to go back to school.

Both boys were good with their hands, so after leaving school we enrolled them at polytechnic to learn to be welders. 

They worked hard, learned their trade and passed the national exams. The photo shows them receiving their awards on graduation day.

But their story gets better. Both boys have been employed as welders by Francis Kamau, one of our Sunshine 'old boys' who now runs a successful welding business in Nairobi. 

Dan is digging for success

Dan’s mother died while he was still at primary school. 

With no-one to look after him, his aunt Gladys looked after him while he was in high school and our partners Education for Life provided him with accommodation when he finished school in 2015.

His grades were not high, and he survived by doing odd jobs. His talent for music meant that he became the regular keyboard player at church, but of course that couldn’t earn him a living!

Dan met us during our trustees visit in February, explaining how he needed a skill to enable him to get a decent job. 

After some discussion, we agreed to fund a course for him to train as a construction machinery operator which should enable him to get a job in Kenya’s booming construction industry when he qualifies.

Brian earns his place at polytechnic

Brian is an orphaned boy who Footsteps has supported for several years. 

During our trustees visit in February, Brian's foster mother Lucy told us how Brian had been doing casual work since he left school. Although he hadn't earned a huge amount, Lucy was delighted that Brian had given her some of his earnings to help the family budget!

However, Brian was keen to learn a proper trade, and, impressed by the fact that Brian was already trying to help himself, Footsteps offered to fund his plumbing course at Naivasha Technical Training Institute.

The photo shows him with Anne Mwaura who will be supervising him as he acquires the skills that will help him find permanent wage-earning employment.

Sunshine turned my life around

Samuel Kamau is on a safari from the streets to the national parks of Kenya. “I came to the Sunshine Centre from the streets in 2012,” Samuel told us. “Sunshine turned my life around!”

We had travelled through the traffic jams of Nairobi to catch up with Samuel who is in his first year of his Tourism Management course at the Technical University of Kenya.

When he lived on the streets, the idea of going to college was a distant dream. But, with the help of our Sunshine Centre, he is now on a safari to a new life.

As project director Rev Simon hands over a laptop to help his studies, Samuel tells us about his course: “We have been studying the geography of east Africa, and what motivates tourists to come to Kenya. I have even been to Amboseli National Park and seen elephants and Mt Kilimanjaro."

Read Samuel's full story in the latest Footsteps News.

New home, fresh start for Ernest and Beth

With great rejoicing, Ernest and Beth moved into their new home in time to celebrate Christmas

Ernest is the father of Denis, a young boy who we found scavenging on the streets in 2015 and offered a place at the Sunshine street boys rehabilitation Centre. 

Ernest had gone to work in a quarry and broke his back when the sand he was mining collapsed on him.

While Beth was trying to care for Ernest in hospital, Denis had nobody to look after him, so went to the streets to find food.

Footsteps supporters rallied round to help Ernest and Beth, and when we heard that they faced eviction from their rented home, helped buy a plot of land and build them a new, wheelchair-friendly home.

As they settle in, they will be able to continue to re-build their lives free from the worry of eviction. We are continuing to care for Denis at the Sunshine Centre and pay for his education. 

Sunshine Boys excel in secondary school exams

Eric, Joseph and George have every reason to be pleased with themselves. For a former street boy it's a massive achievement to go to college.

The three young men all spent time living on the streets before coming to the Sunshine Centre. Under the watchful eye of caring staff, and with a warm bed and plenty of food, the boys all settled well back in school.

In November, they passed their final high school exams (KCSE) and are now ready to enrol in college for their next big step on the way to success.