Multiplying Hope
As the year comes to a close, we are celebrating so many successes as an organization. Those of you who have been following us for some time may remember that we have been working hard to reach more children and families, focusing on more rescues, quicker (safe) reintegrations, and dedicated follow-up. As we've looked at the numbers and figures over the past 6 years, we are blown away at how our efforts are paying off, and we wanted to share those statistics with you.
2016
31 boys rescued
17 boys reintegrated with family
2017
32 boys rescued
19 boys reintegrated with family
2018
23 boys rescued
16 boys reintegrated with family
2019
41 boys rescued
38 boys reintegrated with family
2020
70 boys rescued
43 boys reintegrated with family
2021 (to date)
120+ boys rescued
50+ boys reintegrated with family
We are blown away at how we've been able to improve our processes and serve more children and families. This exponential growth would not be possible without our generous supporters.
Rescuing…From What?
One of our Co-Executive Directors, Kristen Lowry, recently wrote about her time in Nairobi doing street work alongside our street officer.
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This afternoon I joined the Shelter Yetu street officer, Elphas, as he did street work in Nairobi. We visited three bases. We saw more than 300 children.
With the Shelter, we often talk about “rescuing” children living on the streets. But what does that mean? Rescued from what?
Wherever you step, your foot sinks down into layers of sewage and trash.
Everything is black from burning tires. The air is thick with smoke. With jet fuel, and marijuana.
Children are sleeping in the sewage. Young girls, pregnant, are sniffing glue while holding their infant babies.
There is a level of desperation, of hopelessness, that most of us will never encounter. This is hell on earth.
“Please can you rent a room for me and my baby to be safe?” Rape, the threat of rape. These children have no safe place. No way to close the door and rest for a moment.
A young mama picks up a cookie off the filth and breaks it in half, giving half to her toddler and eating half herself.
The violence. A teenage boys picks up a stick from a pile of firewood and begins hitting other children with it. No one bothers to stop him.
A baby, wearing a diaper she’s probably been wearing for days. Her mama: “Please, can you buy me a pack of pampers?”
It is hell. There is no safe place. There is no escaping. There is no one you can trust, no place you can rest. No door to close to make it all go away, even for a moment.
An 11-year-old boy, asleep in a pile of sewage next to the river. Sewage leaks from a pipe above his head. Flies everywhere—he doesn’t even bother to swat them away anymore. He’s tired. Too tired to get up and see what is happening. Too tired to receive the food we are offering.
This is what we are rescuing from. This is real.
One of the boys was talking to me as we walked to the tin-shack restaurant. “We are trash eaters. Do you know chokoraa? It means trash eater. This is us!”
No, I wanted to tell him. You are wapendwa wa Mungu. Beloved of God. You are worth so much more than this. But the words caught in my throat.
Did you know that the Tuesday after Thanksgiving is known as "Giving Tuesday?" It's an opportunity to remember and support the important work of nonprofits in the midst of the holiday shopping season.
This year Giving Tuesday falls on November 30th, and we are inviting you to partner with us to grow and expand our operations even further. To do so, we need to hire an additional social worker, counselor, and teacher next year.
We need 15 new partners to commit to $50 a month in order to reach more children living on the streets. If you're willing to stand with us, please sign up for a monthly donation and comment "Giving Tuesday" in the comment box. Also, keep your eyes on our social media on November 30th for one-time donation opportunities that will be matched!
Together, we can change the lives of vulnerable children.