The number of homeless, destitute, and vulnerable people in urban areas has been on the rise in recent years. All major cities in Africa have homeless people living on the streets. However, there is no accurate data on the exact number of people living on the streets although children under the age of 18 years constitute the largest percentage of street families.

The international Consortium for Street Children estimates that Kenya has more than 250,000 street children unevenly distributed in all major towns in Kenya. All of them have different reasons why they are on the streets. The last two or three years have seen a surge in the number of street families thanks to Covid19 that tripped the poverty levels and disenfranchised families sending many children and adults to the streets.

An increase in the number of street children means an increase in the number of boys and girls who are abused sexually and physically as this is always the norm in the ‘‘street jungle’’

Amidst all these uncertainties there are selfless individuals who are determined to not only reintegrate street children into functional families but also rekindle hope and give them a sense of belonging.

In Kitale, a rich agricultural town situated between Kenya’s second tallest mountain, Elgon and Cherangany Hills, Sister Winnie Mutuku a catholic Sister is on an unstoppable mission to give hope to the hopeless kids. Through her initiative, Upendo Street Program which started as Upendo Street Children project in 2020 (the name changed because the program is now included/addressing the secondary beneficiaries, tens of street kids can afford a balanced diet, medication, counseling, ‘parental love’, and a place to call home.

We meet her taking care of some children most of who have been on the street for various reasons

For the past 3 years this has been her job, serving the less privileged. ‘I belong to Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, from the name, our focus is majorly on charity works, it is always fulfilling serving the less privileged.’ posits sister Winnie.

Upendo Street Program primarily focuses on Rescue, rehabilitation home tracing, reintegration, empowerment and advocacy that has been established to address this phenomena from the grassroots. After they are identified, they receive rehabilitation which involves intense counseling. Those who get sick are offered with medical support.

Andrew Wafula (not his real name) is a twelve-year-old boy among the 46 ex-street children under the care of Upendo Street Program. He left his home after realizing the street was safer and more peaceful than where he called home. His parents parted ways and he was forced to stay with his grandparent who recently passed on he had no option but to move to the streets first as a beggar, then as a full-time street kid, thanks to sister Winnie who saved him from the long cold and dangerous nights on the street pavements. ‘Street children are vulnerable to attacks and all forms of abuse while on the streets. A good percentage of the children we take care of are from broken families, for example, a polygamous father separates from his wife, one of them dies and the kid cannot stay with the stepmother, they opt to go to the streets’’ says Sister Winnie. ‘In other cases, some children just can’t stay at home because of extreme poverty and they are forced to go and beg on the streets' she adds

According to Mary Gatua an education expert in Trans Nzoia County, poor parenting and negligence are one of the major causes of the increase of street children in Kitale which currently has close to 400 street kids. Mary says: ‘Some of these kids have got parents back at home. The kids are here because the parents are not responsible enough, you may find a case where the dad is drunk and violent, or even both parents are drunk. They don’t have time for their children.’

Pandemic and Food

Covid19 made it very difficult for street families to access food. Well-wishers mostly business persons who used to give them something to eat closed their businesses, and markets like Kitale Market where they could get leftovers and fruits almost shut due to adherence to social distancing.

The skyrocketing cost of food prices coupled with global inflation and the weakening of the shilling has made it more difficult to cater to street families. ‘There was a time what we had budgeted to last for one year was almost consumed in a month. Our budget went to 1.2 million per year from around six hundred thousand. This meant that we had to adjust to cope. For instance, if we were giving the kids maandazi every morning we had to reduce that to save on cooking oil and flour but still ensured they ate a balanced diet’ says sister Winnie.

Maureen Sawenja, who runs Kitale Elite Foundation gives food to hopeless street kids shares the same sentiments. ‘Finding food during Covid19 times was the most difficult thing, even now, what we were buying at 100/= in 2019 is almost 200/=, things are thick. Much as we are hopeful that God will give them something to eat through us, we are doubtful if we will meet their needs.’

Reintegration

Apart from feeding the street kids, Sister Winnie has managed to re-unite and reintegrate and readmitted back to school some of the street children in the program and from time to time, they do follow-ups to find out how they are doing. ‘We do tracing, identify potential relatives, and after a series of talks and counseling, the kid under our care is reunited with his family.’ Says Sr Winnie.

Before reintegration, a serious series of counseling takes place just to ensure the kid doesn’t go back to the street.

Food for Crime

The advent of Covid19 saw an increase in the crime rate within Kitale town. Some street kids were alleged to be engaging in snatching and mugging just to get food. According to the Bondeni area chief Werunga Otunga, feeding programs run by well-wishers and churches have seen street children get a meal and at times shelter which in some way has helped reduce the snatching and mugging cases.

When almost all East African countries had put in place stringent Covid19 containment measures including night curfews, life was unbearable for most street families all over the region. It was not only difficult to get something to eat but also troublesome sleeping on the pavements where they used to.

‘During the curfew time, some street kids used to be roughed up by the police at night. In some instances, they had to run and sleep in nearby bushes, which endangered their lives more. All in all, I am glad that during that tough time and even now, we managed to hold their hands and we endeavor to support them as much as we can’’ says Sister Winnie as she signs off with a smile.

This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Kelvin Ogome and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.