Made In the Streets

When we went to Nairobi to pick up Benjamin, we stayed with the Conways, missionaries that work with the street kids in Nairobi. They are teamed with an organization called Made In the Streets. They also have a farm about 45 minutes outside Nairobi which is the next step in the rehabilitation program. They get the kids far enough away from the city to remove them from the bad circumstances that keep them in the streets. They educate them and teach them a trade. When they are 18, the kids are responsible for starting their lives back in society using the skills taught to them at the farm.

Hollye took us to the drop in center in Eastleigh one day where we met Tony, Willy, Ken and Ann, the 4 young adults that work at the center. We'd read Tony and Ken's stories before meeting them, so I knew what they'd lived through. Talk about the grace of God... They came from really bad family situations which forced them out on the streets to living a life of ministry to those they'd coexisted with. They lead lives of drugs, stealing, etc. I was amazed at the change in their lives, and even more so at their love for the kids around them. Tony and Ken had gone on to form a rap group with 3 others. A ministry in town helped them make their first cd and music video. They are suprisingly very talented!

The first day at Made In the Streets was spent with some street girls. We played games and sang songs and then listened as Ann gave a devotional in Kiswahili. All of the girls there were 17 or under. One of them was expecting her first child at 17 years. After that time was over, we went next door to eat with Ken, Tony, Ann and Willy, and we talked about the boys here in Kapsabet and Eldoret and how to handle them. It was so wonderful to receive encouragement from people that had once lived as these boys. It was really affirming in that any kind of love and attention that we give these kids is more than they are getting, and that even though we leave soon, to love them now is better than not loving them at all.

The next day, Hollye took us back to Eastleigh were we went to a soccer game. All of the different groups of street boys compete against eachother. There were so many street kids there... We sat down on the grass and were just surrounded by them. A few in particular caught my attention. Francis, a 14 or 15 year old boy with a slur, sat down and talked to us the entire time we were there. Any time we'd ask him something, he'd reply "Yer!" (yes) in his little high pitched voice. Another man whose name I don't remember sat with us and sang songs with us. Francis joined in as well. We stayed like this for at least an hour or two, just soaking up the sun and enjoying each other's company.

As we left, we crossed over the soccer field and entered an area with really thick bushes/foliage.. I'm not exactly sure what it was. We walked down a small dirt path, which was lined with sewage and a brick wall. Every now and then we'd see trampled down grass with scattered clothes and human feces. We realized people actually slept there. We finally came to a small clearing where people had made make-shift huts out of plastic tarps and wood and string - a small slum hidden behind a dump. We were told that one of the women here had recently lost two family members. We went over with Hollye to talk to her. While we were there, we saw two baby girls lying in the dirt covered in flies. One of them started sobbing as she saw us. The flies were all over her face, her nose, her mouth. The other one also started crying as we talked to her. They'd never seen whites before. I think all of us wanted to take them home with us... We continued on and crossed through the dump. There were people sifting through the trash trying to find anything of value that they could sell. On the other side of the heap was a space where people had set out goods to sell.

On our way back to the center, a bunch of children came running towards us shouting "Wazungu!!" They ran up to me and threw their little arms around my legs and wouldn't let go. I held their hands, sometimes two or three at a time, and we walked on. Some finally saw Morgan and ran to her. Then a little later a few more attached themselves to Ben and Leah. We walked on holding their hands, swinging them in the air and tickling them. You'd think they'd never been held before... they just soaked it up! Upon returning to the center, the boys that had been playing soccer were all fed (109 in all) and then had a short devo. Then they let the kids in and we started playing again.

I left there so dirty, covered in grime, but so content and more in love than ever with those kids. I hated to leave them, but it really reaffirmed that I want to work with children like that. They were so happy while playing. Its probably one of the only times they ever get to laugh...

- Gloria