Joseph with his grandmother, uncle and cousins at his home in rural Kenya.
Recently, we asked the boys to list some things they were thankful for. Here are a few of their responses:
- My shoes
- My bed
- The opportunity to go to school and learn to read and write
One boy in particular summed it up pretty well:
“I am thankful for Shelter. When I was on the streets, no one cared for me or about me. Now I know I am a good boy.”
If we had to answer that same question, “What are you thankful for?” our answer would be YOU. We are so thankful for your decision to partner with us to find and rescue boys like Joseph.
Joseph came to Shelter in 2013. He was drawn to the streets after the death of his father because of extreme poverty at home, and had been out of formal schooling for quite some time when he arrived at Shelter.
Joseph could barely read or write when he came. Daniel, the Shelter administrator, spent countless hours working with him on his reading and writing skills. Now Joseph is one of the brightest students in his class at school. He reads and writes exceptionally well, and he credits Daniel and the staff at Shelter for the radical change.
In December, after 4 years at Shelter, Joseph was reunited with his family.
Thanks to the continued support of Shelter, Joseph enrolled in fifth grade in a school close to his home this month.
Now, he lives with his uncle and grandmother. His grandmother is partially blind, but the bond between her and Joseph is evident.
When social workers went to visit him in January, Joseph proudly described every detail and confirmed that he was doing great and studying hard. We know there are great things in Joseph’s future.
Joseph is one of our many success stories last year, but the sad reality is that there are still hundreds of thousands of boys who will go to sleep on the streets of Kenya tonight. At Naivasha Children’s Shelter, we will continue to work towards our goal of no child being forced to live on the streets. We’ve already identified and begun relationships with boys we hope to rescue and help start a new life in a few short months.
Your generous donations make this work possible. In fact, in 2017 alone we were able to provide more than 40 children with food, shelter, and education as they transitioned off the streets. We trained six young men in carpentry and they are now employed. Best of all, 19 boys have been reunited with their families because of you!
Thank you just doesn’t seem like enough, but please accept our sincere gratitude for partnering with us as we work to rescue, restore and reunite with family boys like Joseph.