Street Girls Update

Some of you have probably already read the update I wrote on the TI website regarding some changes in the street girl program. I wanted that update to be up on the site before I wrote one on my own blog or email.

In the evening on the Friday night before it happened, I started to get sick. Throughout the night and in to Saturday, I was very ill. I was in bed; I couldn’t move: I couldn’t tolerate any type of light or even the smallest sound. I hadn’t suffered a migraine of that magnitude in years. There were moments where the pain was so unbearable, but it hurt too much to even cry.

I missed going out to our children’s home that Saturday but by the time Sarah, Tim and Daniel got home, I was able to get out of bed, still not a fan of the light or loud sound. It was then that Daniel told me what had transpired that day.

Leah and Helena left first. Lilian and Anna battled back and forth; “do we or don’t we?” About an hour later than Leah and Helena, they did. Sarah didn’t. She knew the streets were not where she wanted to be. Rose, our 6th girl, had lost her mom. She had just been notified that her mother had passed away. She was given permission to go and be with her family during that time.

I couldn’t believe it. I was angry and frustrated. Why, why would they want to go back to the streets? As I said in an email after it happened, “Why are the streets so appealing? Why do these girls choose a life that will lead to death of either AIDS, a drunken jerk in the slums beating them or the glue destroying their brains? Or they could get pregnant; give birth to second generation babies and not be able to care for their own children?”

And then I was heartbroken, completely and utterly heartbroken. We’ve built relationships with these girls; I LOVE these girls. We fight for them; we pray for them; we love these girls. And they left. We see the potential in them; we see the women that they could become but they don’t. They choose not to.

The streets are easy, no rules, no boundaries, no routines. Is that it? Is that the attraction?

We had to let those four girls go. They made the decision and we have to stand on the things that we agreed upon with the girls. The house went from six to two…in one day.

Then just a few days later, we brought in three new girls: Metrine; 13, Jennifer; 12 and Theresa; 10. Metrine and Theresa are doing well; they are not addicted as much to the streets as Leah, Lilian, Helena and Anna were. Metrine and Theresa are not addicted glue sniffers. Jennifer is a little more used to the streets and the glue. She is struggling a bit but thankfully to the other girls in the home, they are helping her along.

The house has a different atmosphere to it now. I miss the silliness of Lilian’s hands flailing around when she talks; Anna’s off the wall comments that have nothing to do with the topic of conversation, Leah’s hold handing and Helena’s big, strong hugs.

I saw Anna the day we were bringing the new girls to the home; she was sorry for leaving, and said she would try better next time. It was another’s girls fault she left. I saw Lilian and Helena just two days ago. Helena hugged me and said, “I’m sorry, Auntie Mary.” Then she and Lilian asked if they could come home. I told them that we had new girls living there now.

I hugged them both so tight. I grabbed each of them by the side of their faces, kissed their cheeks and told them how much I loved them. They smiled at me, those big beautiful smiles and each said, “I love you too, Auntie Mary.”

I don’t give up on them, not at all. I continue to pray for them; I continue to love them; I continue to fight for them but I just trust that God has it all worked out. He is in control of all that we do here; in our lives, in our ministry, in all of it. He has it all figured out; we can’t pretend to understand what’s going on.

Lilian, Helena, Leah and Anna know that I love them…but we also have Metrine, Jennifer, Theresa, Sarah and Rose who are fighting to stay off the streets, to better their futures. It’s an uphill battle for all of these girls; a battle that I can’t comprehend and never will. But I think my place in this is to pray for them, accept them and show them that they are loved, no matter what.

So please, continue to pray for these girls…all of them.

Meredith
xoxoxo

The Day of an African Child...

June 16th of every year, people around the continent of Africa and South Africa celebrate…The Day of the African Child.

In 1976, South African children were killed while in demonstrations to stand-up for their rights for basic necessities: such as shelter, education, food and safety. To honor the children who risked their own lives to bring the rights of all future children to the forefront, Africans give this day to those children.

Today, we marched. We marched through the streets of Kitale with hundreds of kids from different children’s homes along the way. We marched for a few kilometers in the beautiful morning sun, with the Salvation Army band playing in front. We marched straight in to the Kenyatta Stadium where the festivities began.

There were songs and dancing performances done by different children’s homes. Then there was a football (aka soccer for you North Americans) match; it was the managers of children’s homes/NGOs verse the children of the homes. Our very own intern, Tim participated in the manager’s team of the match (manager’s won 2-1). We’re so proud of him; he did great.

There were two special guests (guest of honor) that were picked before the event. They were to be a young man and a young woman to represent the children on this important day. Our very own Elizabeth, who’s in Form 1 (Grade 9) and lives at our children’s home, Hope Bright Future, was nominated to be the Female Guest Speaker. She was AMAZING. We were SO proud of her.

It was a great day; I got to hang around SO many children, hug on about 100 children (yeah, seriously!) and got to catch up with some children that I haven’t seen in awhile. We’re all a little burnt and extremely tired but to spend the day, appreciating and loving these children was worth it all.

I love you all!
Meredith
xoxoxo

George, Sammy and Me. Ex-street boys now in a home and going to school. It's the first time I've seen them in a few months.

Marching in the downtown area of Kitale....

So many people....it was awesome.

The Oasis of Hope scouts. They were AMAZING!!

A beautiful little girl named Grace. Her and I became friends today.

Anne (our social worker), Shayla and me.

Our sweet Elizabeth sitting in the guest of honor chair, awaiting her time to give the speech.

She did an AMAZING job!!!

Daniel, Elizabeth, Anne and me.

Street Girls - No Longer On The Streets

Well, it’s official. TI has launched our first Street Girls Rehabilitation Home.

Last Tuesday, Daniel, Tim (intern), Sarah (intern), Anne (social worker) and I ran around town and got the necessary things needed for the girls to be welcomed in to their new home the next day. We moved in three sets of bunk beds, a single bed, two couches, two chairs, two coffee tables and two end tables. We also purchased the household items needed, such as basins, pots, cups, plates, etc.

We moved the new house mom, Janet in to the house on the same Tuesday as well so that she could get the house ready during the evening for the girls’ arrival on Wednesday. We were all set to go.

Last Wednesday morning, Daniel and Tim set out to the girl’s house to assemble all the beds, while Sarah, Anne and I went to complete the rest of the shopping, including food and pick up the girls to take them to their new home.

We had planned with the girls to meet them at 11:00; however, at 9:15 as we were heading to one of the supermarkets, we were approached from behind. Skinny, dark hands covered my eyes, “Lilian, wewe!” I knew immediately who it was. We turned around to see Lilian, Anna, Leah, and Sarah. The girls said they had seen me and came running, so excited about going to their new home today that they just couldn’t wait until 11:00 to meet with us. So we took them to the supermarket with us.

After much running around for food, I called our two main taxi guys to pick us up and take us to the new home. The whole way there, the girls were talking non-stop. They were staring out the window…a few of them said good-bye to the streets as we drove out of the downtown area.

We arrived to the compound; Janet opened the gate and the girls gasped. “Wow, this is home!” They all jumped out of the taxis, Janet rushed over to them, greeting each of them with a hug and said, “Welcome home!”

The girls quickly helped unpack the vehicles and rushed into their new home, running from room to room. After they did so, we all got in to a circle, held hands and prayed.

We sat down with the girls and went over house rules, expectations from them and their expectations of us. I shared some personal stuff of my own with the girls. I shared a dream that I had had a few nights before they moved in their home. The dream was a small but detailed and graphic glimpse of the life that these girls had lived while on the streets. As I shared the dream that I had with the girls and the emotions that I went through as them in my dream and how I felt when I woke up, I saw them nod their heads in agreement.

While Anne did more talking with the girls, Sarah and I ran from room to room and put up the new curtains. It was just the finishing touch that each room needed to make it feel more like home.

On Thursday, we brought the new teacher, Nancy, to meet the girls. Nancy is awesome, young and so eager to be a part of this program. She and the girls immediately warmed up to one another. We also brought new clothes for the girls (undergarments, a few skirts, a few shirts). It was like a fashion show in the bedroom. We collected the clothes that had glue on them or smelled like glue and threw them away. The girls were so thankful to get rid of them.

On Friday, Anne and I brought over the school supplies for the girls and Nancy to use. School was starting on Monday for them and they were SO eager to begin.

On Monday, we found out that Nancy had gone over to the girl’s house on Saturday to see how they were doing. They told Nancy that she was already there and they had the school supplies, could she start teaching them right then and there. So Nancy did a basic lesson with them. She was thrilled at how excited the girls were to finally be getting an education/schooling.

Anne also went over to see how things were going on Monday and ended up having a group counseling session with the girls that went very well.

Yesterday (Tuesday), Anne and I went over there and as soon as we got to the gate, the girls came running out of the house, “Auntie Mary, Auntie Mary!” They gave me their usual big hugs, pulled me in to the house and dumped all their school workbooks on the table in front of me. They wanted me to go through them and see how well they were all doing in their subjects. I asked them how school was and they just all started going off in Swahili of how great learning was and how nice Nancy was. They were just so thankful to be in a learning environment.

Today, we went to visit the girls as it was food delivery day for them. When we arrived, they were still having school lessons so we stayed outside and waited for them. When they were finished, they called us in. “Uncle Daniel, Auntie Mary, Uncle Tim, Sister Sarah….” They wanted us to go through their workbooks again; they wanted us to see how good they are doing in school. And they are….so well.

It was good to see the interaction between Nancy and her students. One of the girls, Lilian, wanted to show us how she is learning to read in English. It was so cute to see Nancy and Janet (the house mom) guide Lilian along in her reading. The girls all said that they wanted to be able to talk to us in full English. And they tried today; they asked us questions in English, broken English, but it was awesome to see them so enthusiastic in accomplishing it.

The girls were reminded that today was one week, one week since they had been off the streets. They were surprised, realizing it has gone by quickly. We were getting ready to leave and the girls wanted to walk us to the main road with Janet. Leah grabbed my hand and her and I walked ahead of the rest of the group. She said, “Auntie Mary...ugh, English...” She wanted to say what she had to say in English. “I tell you that I love you so much. And I thank you and Uncle Daniel for all.” I squeezed her hand, “I love you so much too Leah. And you are so welcome.”

So continue to pray for these girls. It’s been a week which is awesome, but it’s only been one week. There is still so much healing to be done and I know God is working on their hearts. So please, continue to pray for them.

I hope to have some pictures up in the next few days of the girls and us. I’ll keep you posted.

I love you all!
Meredith
xoxoxoxo