A while back, I meet this street kid and he tells me, “Pastor Nelly, my friend back in the street said that if he ever found you on a lonely street, he was going to throw a stone at you and he will make sure that the stone hits your head🙈 LoL of course, I was shocked So, I look at him and ask, “Who is your friend and what did I do?” …. That is when I recognized him from a group, I had encountered in 2019.

I remembered as I was going home after a mid-week service last year, I had met a group of 5 boys and 1 girl from the streets who had also attended that service. I had said hi and we walked together as they showcased their prowess in rapping and poetry. As I observed them, I noticed the 12/13-year-old girl looked so sad. So, I decided to share the love of God with them. As I shared, this young girl began to cry. One of the boys told me that they all lived together as a group and that they had met that girl on the streets that evening and invited her to church. And now they were going to take care of her. As he told me that, I could see one of the boys had already become territorial with the girl and the other boys were giggling. As I hugged her, I knew there was no way I was going to let this kid go back with those boys, that evening.

Anyway, I had a long chat with all of them and after they all received Christ, I asked them if I could remain with the girl because I wanted to talk to her separately. So, I gave them money for fare and supper. They kept on asking me where I was taking that girl but I told them, she would be fine and that they would see each other the following day. I convinced them to go home in the end.

Now, the girl had a very sad story; the mum died, dad went back to Somalia, grandma took her in and sent her to secondary school, but she also died and now with nobody to pay school fees or take care of her, she had resorted to the streets. Her relatives had chased her away asking her to go and look for her dad in Somalia. Settling in the streets, the past 1 month, was a bit smooth for her, as she had met a group of older girls who engaged in prostitution overnight, so they would give her food and offer her sleeping space in one of the parks here in the city. Of course, this had an expiration date because there was the expectation that she would join them soon but she told me that she still wasn’t yet ready to join them even though they were kind enough to take care of her.

So, I am standing at Bunyala Road with my friend, Dennis and a scared girl who was barely a teenager at 10 p.m. and not sure of what I would do next. According to the law, to house a street kid, you have to obtain an OB from the Police, otherwise it is illegal. So, there was no children’s home that was even going to admit her without the OB, let alone my house. We stood there for a while. I could feel my tears welling up because I knew I would have to leave that girl sleep in the street that night, again. And that really stung. So, I promised her that I was going to get her a permanent home and wrote my number on a piece of paper and gave her some cash. She promised to sleep at Kencom that night.

We met again after a few days with my friend, Jacinta who works with kids and is very familiar with social work after having worked with many children’s homes and social workers. I had already informed Jacinta and she had been searching for a home for the girl those few days, to no avail. But after a few more days of searching, my friend ensured that the young girl got placed in a government home. They also got her admitted at a secondary school in Central and her school fees was paid for the entire year. She would also be allowed to come back to the home during the holidays. As I write this, I can still feel the tears but now, tears of joy. Unfortunately, after the social workers noticed we were heavily invested in her case, they refused to divulge any information concerning the girl after a while. But with the reputation of the home, we know she is being well taken care of and of course because she now knows who she is in Christ.

Back to the present😊

As this street kid told me his friend wouldn’t hesitate to stone me, I just looked at him and I could see his clothes were dirty and tattered. When we had met that night in 2019, I could tell those young boys were fresh into the streets but now looking at him, he had cuts in his face, and he looked 5 years older. My heart was heavy. If I had only put as much effort as I did with the young girl, would the outcome have been different for these young boys? This young boy looked like life had beaten him seriously. Even his speech was not well coordinated😭😭 And he told me the rest were still in the streets😭😭

Pastor Chris tells a story of how once a lady came to Christ Embassy, so many years ago. She spent the day in the auditorium until evening. So, Pastor had instructed the church staff to inform the lady that people were not allowed to sleep in the church auditorium but by the time he was leaving in the evening, she was still there despite having been told that she wouldn’t sleep there. When Pastor saw that she hadn’t left, he told the church staff to give her place to sleep and ensure she was comfortable. The following day, Pastor was informed that the lady had died. For so many years, Pastor says that he kept on asking himself, “What if he had taken some time to talk to that lady? What if he did more than just give her a place to sleep? Because he hadn’t even found out if she was born again or not or if she was hungry. Pastor then went on to explain on what Agape love – God kind of love is and how we are to dispense the love of Christ to all human beings, each and every opportunity we get. Create your love world. When people interact with you or your organization, they should be able to tell that there is a difference. They should be able to tell that they have entered a love world.

There have been so many opinions as to what COVID-19 is or if the statistics are real or not. We might not agree on that but the bottom line is that so many people have been affected by this pandemic, especially those who rely on daily wages. So many industries which were providing daily wages to thousands of people have closed down, for example, EPZ which was taking on thousands of casual workers daily closed down. People have been forced on unpaid leaves or laid off. The people who were now raising their families comfortably are barely surviving.

The other day, I asked my very good friend on suggestions of places I could organize a visit with my colleagues. Shockingly, she said, “Why don’t you bring the help here? The other day, my family and neighbours received some donations but still, there are so many people who need the help.” I felt so bad because I hadn’t even taken time to find out if she was okay during this period. Many jobs and businesses have been affected so the most unexpected people are the ones affected.

Anyway, we are now working on a project in Huruma and the situation there on the ground is so severe and seems unreal. The other day, we went for a kind of a field visit and we met people who have been laid off or have been placed on unpaid leaves. This particular woman told us that since her husband was sick, she was the sole bread winner and even after trying so much, there are times she would feed her family salt and ugali using maize flour that she received as a donation. Some of the people were doing very well before everything happened so all they need is just some little help or someone to hold their hand for just a few months. That is why we are working on feeding at least 100 families for the next 6 months. All that will be required of them is to pay other bills, other than food. The total count including the kids and spouses comes to around 500 people. Boosting food security for these people is very key during this period.

Beloved, sometimes all it takes is 100 shillings. You don’t have to feed 1,000 people, the first time. 1 Person is a good place to start.

Growing up, I always thought that each and every girl had access to sanitary towels. This changed after I started volunteering in children’s homes and schools around Madaraka estate and in the slum areas as a 1st year student at Strathmore University. I did mentorship and leadership programs there and I was exposed to the challenges the children especially the girls faced with regards to sanitary towels. Anyway, I did all I could as a university student by participating in home and school visits, mobilizing my colleagues in school to give donations and anything else that was required of me. This inspired me to carry out a research which was meant to find out exactly the situation at hand. I did this with a view of placing the extreme cases under a program where I would sponsor them with sanitary towels every month. In the questionnaires, some of the girls talked about how the rags they used, sometimes, got stained which would be embarrassing for them. Others even explained how they used leaves, sand or soil during their cycles. It was so hard for me going over the sentiments of these little ones who were as young as 10 years. The embarrassment they underwent in school was unbelievable. When I searched the internet, it became apparent that the issue was a countrywide concern.

I didn’t know where to begin. I thought to myself, helping one girl was not good enough. What about the rest? This was until I heard a certain professor say that I could not change the world alone but I could throw a stone that could create ripples. Change is change no matter how small. Providing sanitary towels for one girl each and every month can alter the life of that girl. One person really does matter.

Beloved, I urge you to reach out to the needy today. Take time to find out how your friend or neighbour or colleague or relative has been fairing on during this period. All it takes is a call or a visit or a text. Now, this is true religion. In fact, the giving that dominated the book of Acts was towards the needy. Start today. And when you have decided to give, give your best. Sow your best! The harvest is sure!! If you have 3 shirts and you’ve decided to give one of them, wash and iron the best one out of the 3 and give it out. That’s the most excellent way.

I love you and I am praying with you!

With love,

Nexcellent.