What takes me to the country’s most hidden corners to explore cultures and capture the emotion of a multitude of individuals and their unique stories, is certainly the curiosity for different cultures and ways of living.
During my last trip to Kenya I had the opportunity to share a lot of time and got closer and closer to the street children of Nairobi. I realized soon that these souls were in extreme need of help and decided to give birth to what is today called “Malaika foundation”.
There are between 250,000-300,000 children living and working on the streets across Kenya, with more than 60,000 of them in the capital city of Nairobi. These children are without shelter and without assurance of having food every day.
Their environment is fraught with the sustained dangers of: fear, harassment, violence among themselves and towards others, drug use and drug trafficking, sexual exploitation with the high risk of contracting STD's and HIV/AIDS, starvation, and poor hygienic and sanitation conditions.
On top of all this, these children (particularly in Nairobi) are substance abusers. Sniffing glue is their escape from poverty, homelessness, violence, and abuse on the streets. Sniffing glue helps them to suppress their hunger, because glue is cheaper than food. Some children say that they use glue and other drugs to heighten their senses. To alert them of possible violence, help them sleep during the cold nights, or to numb their physical or emotional pain.
Many of the children claim that their parents are either deceased or have abandoned them. The street, then, is their only chance to earn money and search for food.
*statistics from Nairobi’s Street Children: Hope for Kenya’s future generation.
Right now Malaika Foundation is able to give a home cooked weekly meal to over 100 children. But, of course, this is just the beginning. What we have done so far is a big first step, and with your help we will do more!
PLEASE SUPPORT MALAIKA AND, IF YOU CAN, MAKE A SMALL DONATION :
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