A tale of hope for a street couple
Nairobi street kids. The image that comes to the mind at the mention of that statement is that of dirty, unkind, glue-sniffing, tired-looking, unkempt kids that can rob anyone to fend for themselves. What many have never posed to ask is how they ended up in the streets, how they can be helped, and whether there is anything good that can come out of street children.
During this season that has been clouded with uncertainty, job losses, and lock down, the street families have been hard-hit in Kenya due to lack of left-over food to pick from bins. The bins have in the past been their sole and constant supply of food. Bible Society of Kenya partnered with Love of Christ Foundation, a newly established Community Based Organization (CBO) in Nairobi to feed some street children and by introducing the Faith Comes By Hearing programme to them.
BSK has not only fed and taught them the Word of God, but it has also gone the extra mile to interact with the children to establish the reason for being in the streets. We desire that they would be reintegrated into society and become productive citizens.
This is the story of two street lovebirds: Rhoda and Robert(not real names). The two met in the streets and decided to get married on the streets. This couple expressed a deep desire to get out of the streets so that they can bring up their children in an environment that is completely different from what they had experienced in the streets. The hardships they both experienced in the streets were enough to make them desperately appeal for well-wishers to help them get out of street life which is defined by abject poverty and deplorable living conditions in addition to many other risks involved.
At the time that we began the feeding programme, Rhoda was 7 months pregnant and the thought of giving birth and bringing up a child in such conditions had been giving her sleepless nights. She always sat in isolation, deep in thought as we took the team through the Faith Comes by Hearing programme. It was easy to tell that she was different. She was calm and collected, save for the episodes where her mind would drift away from the meeting as she was deep in thought. One day after sharing the word, she gathered all her courage and decided to approach us for help.
Rhoda not only asked for material but also presented us with a business idea that she felt would give her sustenance in addition to getting her out of the vicious cycle of poverty. She requested for raw materials that would help her make liquid soap, which she could sell at Ksh 20 for 1 litre bottle, an equivalent of roughly $0.20. Her desire to make something out of her life drove a good Samaritan to donate an initial capital for her business idea. Rhoda was able to mobilize three more ladies from the streets to join her in the business. Along the way, the three ladies dropped off the wagon, but Rhoda’s determination has kept her going and she believes that she will soon be supplying the liquid soap on a large scale.
Rhoda was driven to the streets by abject poverty. Her unemployed single mother was struggling to feed her and her siblings through menial jobs. When Janet got her first child, life became so unbearable that she had to move into the streets to fend for herself, leaving the child with her mother. While on the streets, she conceived yet again and this time, she had to give her child away to a rescue center, something that deeply saddens her.
It was while in the streets that she met Robert who had also been pushed away from home by poverty. The two decided to get married on the streets and are now expecting a child soon. Robert is very determined to bring up his family away from the streets.
It is a new dawn for this couple as a good Samaritan has now paid two months upfront rent for them and bought them a starter pack of basic necessities for their new life. We thank God that Robert has decided to venture into a shoe selling business through the support of the Society and the couple will soon be on their feet.
Without a doubt, this couple’s life has been transformed and reinstated back into society. The two have forfeited habits such as glue sniffing and are now focused on building their family until they are financially stable. Rhoda cannot hide her joy, knowing that she is now safe, and soon her child will be brought home. The roof over her head is enough reason for her to be forever indebted to the Society’s kind gesture and to desire to work even harder to excel in life. She is looking forward to getting her other children to live with her so that the family can be complete and for them to experience parental love, something that neither she nor Robert experienced in their lives.
We thank God for the opportunity to change lives through the feeding programme. We are especially excited that this couple took the initiative in seeking to make their lives and those of their children better. Their generation will be saved from poverty and hardships experienced on the streets. We pray that God will help us to continue helping the vulnerable in society one at a time.
We also thank our friends and partners for supporting this initiative. May the Lord richly bless you abundantly.