KISUMU, Kenya Dec 26 – A group of friends in Kisumu has come to the rescue of neglected street children by offering them food and drinks to celebrate Christmas and New Year.
Operating under the banner, Gifted Heart and Hope Foundation, a non-profit organization, the team mobilized food stuffs for 400 street children in Kisumu City to show them love and compassion during the festive season.
Speaking during the distribution of the food at Taifa Park, the foundation’s Director Kennedy Odongo said the initiative targets to cushion the street children from hunger.
“At this park alone we have 100 street children, but our target is to reach to about 400, whom we have budgeted for in this program,” he said.
The donations were out of love since the children were languishing in the streets as Kenyans across the country celebrated, added Odongo.
Besides food, the organization has also organized a series of engagements with the street children, where they talk to them to understand their plight and how they found themselves on the streets.
“The idea is to bring them close to us so that we can counsel them and engage them to see how best we can support them and possibly get them out of the streets,” he said.
The foundation which runs on resources contributed by the friends also plans to set up a training wing, where the street children shall be trained and equipped with the requisite skills to venture into income generating activities, according to the Director.
He appealed to well-wishers to support the programs and ensure that the street children menace in the area is addressed.
Solomon Achola, a representative of the street children lauded the initiative and thanked the organization for remembering them.
Life in the streets, Achola said, was tough, urging well-wishers to assist them with similar programs with a view to getting them out of the streets.
“I was born on the streets, but now I am growing old. I would really love to leave and get something to do. So many of these children are also willing to leave the streets, that is why they are disciplined, they don’t steal,” he said.
The number of street children in Kisumu has risen over the last five months raising concerns amongst different stakeholders in the area.
According to the last Street Census carried out by Kisumu Street Children Rehabilitation Consortium (KSCRC), a total of 404 people among them four females were counted sleeping on streets on the night of 21st February 2022.
The enumerators carried out the exercise within the Kisumu City Central Business District (CBD), Jua kali area, Kondele, Bus Park, Nairobi road, Kakamega Road and Kasagam flyover.
The team was however unable to capture Mowlem, Kachok Dumpsite and Kaburini-Bisengo bases, which are said to be dangerous at night.
