As a young girl, Winnie Nekesa, 22, dreamt of how perfect her life would be when she grew up, having gone through university, falling in love, marrying and having children.
But matters started to unravel when her parents divorced in 2005, and then her mother died soon after. Four years later in 2009, her father also died, leaving Nekesa and her only brother orphans.
They went to live with their aunt in the same neighbourhood in the outskirts of Eldoret, surviving on menial jobs for food and other basic things.
“We went to the forest to pick firewood to sell to people for some little money, but life continued to be very difficult,” she recalls.
She then dropped out of school while in Form Three, got pregnant and went to live with the father of her baby. Soon after giving birth, the father of her now three-year-old baby girl started to be abusive and later kicked them out of the house.
All her dreams were shattered. Her parents had died and the father of her baby wanted nothing to do with her.
Nekesa had nowhere to go. Luckily, a concerned neighbour accommodated her as they looked for a way out.
Another neighbour then referred her to Mully Children's Family (MCF), a Christian charitable organisation working with disadvantaged children and young adults to enable them to lead dignified lives.
RAY OF HOPE
MCF interviewed Nekesa and she was successful. She was admitted at the organisation’s vocational training centre in Yatta subcounty together with her daughter.
Nekesa has been at the facility for two years and has received training in dressmaking, hairdressing and hospitality. She will be graduating in a week's time, upon which she will be assisted with a little capital to start her own businesses for self-reliance.
“If my ambition is not fulfilled, I will fulfil my dream through my child,” she tells herself.
Nekesa is among 95 young women and 20 boys who have had their dreams restored. They will be graduating on October 28 at Mully Vocational Training College in Yatta.
MCF will be holding its 10th graduation as it celebrates 30 years since it was founded. It is estimated to have saved thousands of children from the sickness, starvation and desperation of living alone in the streets.
Currently, MCF has just under 3,000 children in its centres in Ndalani, Yatta, Kitale, Kilifi, Lodwar and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Since 1989, it has taken in more than 23,000 abandoned children.
GLOBAL RECOGNITION
MCF's work has inspired many and earned it multiple plaudits. Hollywood star Morgan Freeman flew into the country in December last year to interview the founder, Charles Mulli. The Academy Award winner travelled all the way from the US and spent time at the MCF.
The organisation also inspired a highly successfully documentary titled ‘Mully’.
The documentary was directed by Scott Haze, produced by Haze, Lukas Behnken and Elissa Shay and was released in October 2017. The cast included Rio Evans Juma, Esther Mully, Lucky Hassan and Philip Ekiru.
The work of MCF has also not gone unnoticed in Makueni county.
This is God’s work that at all times requires waxing your ears from voices of detractors and setting standards that promote justice for all
The government of Makueni county, led by Governor Kivutha Kibwana, last week visited MCF projects in Yatta subcounty for benchmarking. Kibwana also sought to formalise a partnership in the rescue, rehabilitation and transformation of street children and orphaned and vulnerable children.
During the visit, the governor signed an agreement detailing the areas of partnership and collaboration, in line with the county’s 2019-20 to 2023-24 County Children Protection Strategic Plan.
Besides responding to the emergency rescue of street children identified by officers from the county, the deal focuses on long-term and sustainable responses to the needs of street children in Makueni.
MCF's mandate will include and not be limited to offering technical support and guidance on the establishment and management of the Children Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre.
Kibwana was elated with the kind of strides MCF has taken since inception. “This is God’s work that at all times requires waxing your ears from voices of detractors and setting standards that promote justice for all,” the governor said.
Mully acknowledged with appreciation the recognition of MCF’s work by the Makueni government and reiterated his desire to see the Mully model of work being replicated there.
“MCF is committed to work with relevant departments of the government of Makueni county in implementing programmes that shall restore dignity in the lives of vulnerable children and families,” he said.
Agnes Wanjiku, 22, is another beneficiary of the programmes initiated by MCF. Hailing from Gilgil in Nakuru county, Wanjiku has lived at the facility for two and a half years and has also received training on dressmaking and hairdressing.
“I had given up on life when my parents went separate ways. This was until someone referred me to MCF after seeing the hardships I went through doing odd jobs just to buy food,” she recalls.
Paul Mutiso, school principal at MCF Ndalani, noted that they have 33 students who will be sitting the KCSE exam this year, with 47 sitting their KCPE exam.
“Last year we performed well largely because of coordination and planning. We took 17 students to public universities,” he said.
He explained that once rescued, the children are inducted and told why they are being hosted at the facility. The students are usually from the streets, orphaned, from juvenile homes and former child labourers.
BENEFICIARIES COUNTRYWIDE
Head of vocational training Agnes Muinde said girls are recruited from all over the country by government social workers, churches and NGOs.
“We take them through induction for one month because of the different backgrounds they come from. Some are from abusive homes, while others were sex workers,” she said.
Muinde said the girls then attend classes for two years before they graduate. “Some come here when they are expectant, while others come just after giving birth. This means we have to take care of them and their children,” she said.
Yatta subcounty children's officer Constance Muasa said rescuing children is usually not a one-day event. “We receive reports, make visits and determine the level of vulnerability. Some are orphans, others are abandoned, while there are those who have been left under the care of their very old grandparents,” he said.
Muasa said some of the children are allowed to go back home during holidays. “The children are admitted through court committal orders that can run for up to three years. Those who were abandoned stay until they are 18 years and above since they do not have another home,” she said.
There are 10 areas of intervention: child protection, education and life skills, future leaders programme, health care, food security and agriculture, socio-economic empowerment, water and sanitation, promotion of social justice, climate change mitigation and partnerships.
MCF further promotes environmental conservation and the use of renewable energy as a means to mitigate the effects of climate change.
It undertakes activities such as tree planting and environmental conservation campaigns. It promotes green energy initiatives, water harvesting and conservation for dryland farming, and Adopt-a-Tree campaigns among school children.
MCF further empowers community members by creating job opportunities for women and youth. It creates sustained awareness on development issues, poverty alleviation programmes and childcare support programmes.
Edited by T Jalio