I'm safe...I'm at university

 

The disadvantaged young people we support in Kenya have stayed safe during the Covid crisis. As universities, colleges and schools re-open, they are now re-starting lives which have been on hold during the lockdown.

Mike Okwara has taken a big step on from the Tumaini Children's Home in Mombasa to study computer science at Chuka University (photo above left).

Former street boy Samuel Njoroge (right), started his purchasing management course at Taita Taveta University while Eric Chege (middle) was thankful he could at last resume his interrupted economics and statistics course at South Eastern University.

Read more in our Jan 2021 newsletter....

Christmas aid packs for families in Nairobi slums

 

When the Kenya government closed all schools in March to combat Covid, the 350 students at Church on the Rock School in Nairobi's kwa Reuben slum no longer had access to their free school meals.

For many poor families living in this informal settlement, school lunches were their main meal for the day. With no end to the schools closure in sight, we launched an emergency aid plan in August last year to help 100 of the poorest families, and to support the teachers who were going without pay.

With the school scheduled to reopen in January, the final round of monthly packs was issued on 23rd December, in time to bring smiles to the faces of the children (and their parents) for Christmas.

Over a period of 6 months, the staff at the school issued 529 packs, helping keep the children healthy and ready to return to school.

Grace's dream is back on track

Ever since leaving the care of our Tumaini Children's Home, Grace has wanted to be a teacher. But her dreams were put on hold when Covid 19 shut down schools and her Early Childhod Development and Education course was suspended.    

But she is happy now that she has been able to resume her studies (complete with obligatory face mask!). She has one more year to go before she realises her dream of teaching reception year children. 

Peter Mutegi, a former street boy from our Sunshine Centre, is keeping himself busy working on construction sites while he waits for his school to re-open. The soap from his family aid pack comes in handy for washing his dirty clothes.

Peter says: "Thank you for the help my family have received since March - this includes me, my three brothers and my mum.

Every month we have been receiving flour, maize, porridge, beans, cooking oil, soap, and recently, reusable face masks.

Asante sana (thank you very much) and may God bless all who have been assisting us"

Once I lived on the streets - now I am a telecoms executive

A 'good news' WhatsApp message from Kelvin Otieno - a former street boy who came to the Sunshine Centre in 2007:

"I am happy to tell you that I was taken on with Safaricom (Kenya's leading telecoms company) after my internship. And I recommended Edward Makori from the Sunshine Centre to have my previous job as an accountant. He was taken on and we both now have jobs. Thank to the Almighty God!"

Emergency aid programme extended to 108 families in the kwa Reuben slum, Nairobi

 

We extended our emergency aid programme to include 108 families in the kwa Reuben slum. School directors Bernard and Ruth Ndetei (photo below left) reported: "This was a timely rescue for families that were on the verge of starvation and / or exposure to Covid 19 owing to the challenge of having to move around seeking something to eat, with no regard for Covid 19 precautionary measures." In each emergency pack we provided essentials such as maize, beans, flour, cooking oil and soap. Bernard and Ruth said, "The joy on the faces of the families and staff is obvious from the photos. We would like to thank everyone who went out of their way to help us in these uniquely difficult times.  Subject to availability of resources, we would like to continue supporting other families because the need for this in our community is very pressing."

Safe, well-fed, and off the streets!

Mishek and Samson are smiling because they know they have enough food for their family for a month.

The two former street boys are having to stay at home as part of Kenya's lockdown measures to combat Covid 19, but their mother struggles to cope (which is why they went to the streets in the first place.

We have been providing the boys and their families (and 140 more from our Sunshine Centre), with emergency aid since the end of March. And we have been helping people in the community made vulnerable because they have lost their jobs or seen their income drop.

In total, we have we have been able to reach out with emergency aid to over 1,200 beneficiaries from 150 families, and have supplied nearly 100,000 litres of free, clean water to vulnerable families.

A wave of aid

Former street boy Peter Kariuki - still smiling despite the coronavirus crisis

Current situation in Kenya

The reported number of cases of Covid 19 in Kenya remains low, although continuing to rise. The lockdown continues. With schools closed and travel restrictions in place, many people continue to suffer the economic impact of the crisis.

In Naivasha, the situation is dire with flower farms and hotels still closed. These are the two main sources of employment in this lakeside town. Informal businesses such salons, barbershops and quarries have also seen reduced trade.
 

In response, our team in Naivasha has continued to provide emergency aid to the families of our street boys, and members of the local community who are struggling because of the crisis. 

Sunshine street boys’ rehabilitation Centre, Naivasha

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.

During May, the Sunshine Centre team distributed another round of emergency packs to all of our boys and their families. 

Each pack contained 10 kg of beans, 10 kg of maize, 2 kg of rice, 24 kg of maize meal, 3 litres of cooking oil and 4 large bars of soap, supplemented with spinach and kale from the Sunshine Centre farm. The team organised transport to ensure that the heavy emergency packs reached the families’ homes safely. 

In total we reached 131 families, a total of 795 beneficiaries (we are helping the whole family, not just ‘our’ Sunshine Boy).