Day by day we are enrolling new kids and the message of our project got around in the neighborhood. Struggling parents are coming to our organization trying to get help for their children. Times are tough and sadly the children are the first to feel it.

We are trying to give every person and every story our attention, we are even going to other slums and ask for parents who are struggling with the school fees for their children. People in the slum are very helpful and everybody know someone who really needs our help.

We record their story and try to find a solution for each child individually. For some children, school is not the solution, but rather a suitable environment and daily food. We are already looking after several children for whom we have also been looking for a sponsor for the monthly grocery shopping. The case of the little Angel from the Soweto slums is very close to my heart. Angel is four years old, malnourished, and in many cognitive ways not appropriate for other children her age. Her father left the family early and her mother has been addicted to drugs for years. Angel’s older sister died of malnutrition at the age of 5 because her mother could not look after her. Unfortunately there is no state organization in the slums, such as the youth welfare office, that can protect a child from such circumstances. Angel’s aunt had tried several times to take Angel in or to bring her to live with her grandparents. Each time the mother came and took Angel back with her in her rough way and brought her back “home”. The situation was really difficult.

We sat down, got a picture of the situation and thought about how we could help. In a clarifying discussion, we came to the decision to find a solution for mother and daughter together. We talked to her mother and decided that Angel should move in with her grandmother and that her mother, under our supervision, must be drug-free for at least one year in order to bring Angel back. To support Angel’s mother in her healing process, we offered her to take care of the garden in the organization every day. Angel’s mother used to be a gifted business woman. Back then she had her own business and we want to help her get back on her feet and have a future with Angel. On one of my last days in Kenya, Bonface, Angel her mother and I drove three hours to the country to bring her to her grandparents. The situation there is good for Angel. There is a school that Angel can attend and several children live in the neighborhood. The country is beautiful and we hope that Angel will have a nice childhood here.