Fighting back against coronavirus

Food and facemasks:

fighting the impact of coronavirus

Current situation in Kenya

The reported number of Covid 19 cases in Kenya is low but rising. The main impact to date has been economic hardship as a result of the collapse of tourism, and the closure of hotels and flower farms which employ tens of thousands of people.

The poorest are being hit the hardest. Mothers who earned a small amount packing vegetables and doing washing report that their earnings have dried up because of social distancing measures. Fathers who do casual work at quarries report that their earnings have dropped as construction slows down.

Here is a brief update on how we are using the resources we have to fight back against the impact of the pandemic.

Sunshine street boys’ rehabilitation Centre, Naivasha

Almost all our (former) street boys have left the Sunshine Centre to live with their families, and are therefore back in the conditions that drove them to the streets in the first place (our staff are looking after those that have no relatives).

The Sunshine Centre team launched a massive effort to get emergency aid packs to each family, providing them with food and soap, and reassuring them that they are not forgotten.

Over a period of 4 days, the Sunshine Centre team supplied emergency packs to 100 families, helping a total of 602 beneficiaries (we are helping the whole family, not just 'our' Sunshine Boy).

Photo top: Emergency packs ready for distribution
Middle left: A mother loads her emergency pack into the matatau (minibus) provided to take her home safely
Middle right: Mama Chege hands over an emergency pack to Sunshine Boy Victor Ochieng and his family.
Bottom left: The beneficiaries received advice on hygiene and social distancing, and prayers for safe-keeping led by pastor Joseph.
Bottom right: Sunshine Boy Joseph Thumbi at home and thankful for the family's emergency pack 

Covid 19 emergency plan kicks in

Emergency food delivery starts

In response to the Covid 19 pandemic, the Kenya government has closed schools and told children's homes to send children back to families where they have them.

Our (former) street boys have now gone home, but this has simply put them back into the conditions of poverty that drove them to the streets in the first place.

Our Sunshine team have developed an emergency plan which kicked off with deliveries of food and soap to the most vulnerable families.

To read more, read our latest newsletter. 

Look how far I have come!

Joseph Njuguna holds up a photo of himself taken in 2004. "Look how far I have come," he says with a huge smile on his face.

Joseph lived on the streets of Naivasha and was one of the first boys to come to our Sunshine Centre when it opened in 2004.

He has just finished his electrical engineering course, and is now doing some casual work while searching for a permanent job.

The photo on the laptop was taken on the day he arrived at the Sunshine Centre. While he  was on the streets he had been stoned by a hostile mob who had (falsely) accused him of stealing a phone. “I cannot imagine where I would be now if I had not come to the Sunshine Centre. Thank you for helping me.”

Record number of (former) street boys make it to high school

For a boy living on the street, going to school is an impossible dream. But for the former street boys join the Sunshine Centre, that distant dream becomes a reality.

This year 15 of the Sunshine Boys successfully completed their national primary exams (KCPE) and started at high schools in various locations in Kenya. The boys remain part of the Sunshine family and we continue to support and encourage them as they take this next big step in the process of transforming their lives.

Dreams come true at Sunshine

Edward Makori has achieved his childhood ambition of graduating from university.

In December he was awarded his BA in Economics from Masai Mara University, the end-result of years of hard work.

But when he was living on the streets of Naivasha, this was a distant dream.

"For lots of reasons, my mother couldn't look after me and I went to live on the streets. I slept under verandas, in tunnels and under bushes. Life was very dangerous and I started to steal. It was very risky because if I caught, I could be stoned to death. I wanted to go back to school, and shared my dream with my friends. Some laughed at me, but others encouraged me not to lose hope."

On 2nd June, 2004, Edward was admitted to the Sunshine Centre (lower photo) where we have cared for him ever since. on 20th December 2019, he graduated (topn photo). 

"I thank God for His grace and Sunshine for giving me a second chance to prove myself. I also thank everyone who has partnered with Sunshine in supporting me to where I am today. May God bless them abundantly."

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!