Niaje aunti smart : The case of the Thika street kid and AFCIC

Sasa aunti smart, siunipatie five bob ya mandazi (hey aunt smart, please give me a 5 bob coin)...Sounds familiar? Has to..Thats usually that small dirty, tattered boy with a dirty bottle in his mouth near Leens supermarket..There is the older female one with "wailing parcel" tucked on her back..wait a minute..its a baby..This one has a larger bottle in her mouth with a dirty sackcloth besides her full of dirty scrap metal and cardboards. They maybe fortunate that day to get a coin from you but 6 out of 10 people will just brush them off..

When introduced to early life of poverty especially in the urban areas, it maybe hard for these kids to understand the need to go to school especially when Primary School in public schools is absolutely free..That is the main reason that many people banish them...weee kachokora haka enda shule uwache kuombaomba ( You street kid stop begging and go to school )

There comes in Action For Children in Conflict. This is a registered non government organization in Thika that has dedicated its energy to protecting, supporting and rehabilitating street kids and other vulnerable children and their families. Every time there is a crisis in any home, the child is the greatest casualty..
Maybe if Charles Taylor had not supported the resistance that maimed children by making them child soldiers and amputating their limbs maybe he would have gotten a lesser sentence than his 50 years in jail..That explains the high value that the life of a child should be held with.
One day when that kid begs for a bob, just take time to ask the reason he or she is on the streets..war, extreme poverty, hunger, illness, persecution, or neglect..His reasons will automatically fall within any of the seven.

According to  Action for Children in Conflict the main reason you see the street kids sniffing glue and taking those strong narcotics is as a means of escaping the cold and hunger which pervade their daily lives.
To help out the kids, AFCIC believes in reducing the number of street kids in the streets of Thika by  providing sustainable return to the society. Allowing this vulnerable group to support itself, makes it less reliant to donor fund. By engaging all stakeholders in this mission through dialogue and mission sharing, AFCIC ensures justice to each of these poor ones.
 
The organization has therefore established programs around Thika and its environs. From Makongeni to the Old Thika Tannery near Thika Memorial Hospital, the organization has ensured that these poor souls are protected and rehabilitated to the normal society that has always discriminated against them.

1600 children daily..yes i did not falter there..that is the number of children under the school feeding program initiated by AFCIC across various primary schools in Thika.

The statistics for the success of the organization since 2004 are limitless. Every time you hear of a transformational story from a street kid around Thika, just know you have felt the hand of AFCIC. The organization has extended their hand into buying a 3 acre piece to develop an integrated children center near Karibaribi to ensure full rehabilitation.

The Thika Live Blog community and other stakeholders in this mission welcome the support of our online friends in ensuring that the street kids around Thika are fully rehabilitated into fully self dependent young men and women.

  

AfCIC deeply appreciates all donations of food, clothes, toiletries and monetary assistance.These donations and monetary support will always go a long way in supporting the rehabilitation of a vulnerable street child. Visits can be organized with the NGO from their Imara Plaza office ,2rd Floor near KIM Thika.

Tel: 0722753137, 067 22604.
Further contact can be made with John Muiruri the Country Director or any of the dedicated staff at their offices. To know more about the AFCIC and its noble work visit  www.actionchildren.org

www.facebook.com/actionchildren 
Photos courtesy of www.actionchildren.org