I was informed that HOPEHIV and their Kenyan partner, the Undugu Society, have just begun working with Moses’ street gang. Collectively, they have a wealth of experience working with street children and have successfully rehabilitated and reformed the lives of many of the most vulnerable children in Kenya. To prove the point, we were driven to see a second street gang that HOPEHIV have been working with for seven months. This time we were taken to a high-walled, side-street that backed onto a busy shopping area. Although still living and sleeping on the streets, the difference between Moses’ gang and this one was immeasurable. Their environment was much cleaner and they were well organised; each member of the gang having a defined role and contributing to the group by collecting and selling bags of metal and farm food. Most encouragingly, there wasn’t a glue bottle in sight and every child I spoke to, talked optimistically of their determination to succeed and of their future hopes.
This remarkable transformation has not happened by chance. It has been the result of a deliberate strategy involving leadership training, counselling and group activities that enable the children to deal with substance abuse, criminal tendencies and self-image. Group members also have the opportunity to come off the street to undertake technical skills training, which, as we were to see later on, has lead to many street children gaining employment and being able to leave the streets for good. Furthermore, gangs themselves contribute to a preventative strategy, informing the project of new children on the street, who then can be rescued before they become entrenched in street culture. The possibility of Moses’ gang (and hundreds of others) similarly benefiting from HOPEHIV support is an incredible thing to contemplate and one that makes me realise the importance of the work I am doing here.
My visit to Kenya and Uganda was often an experience of disturbing extremes. In Nairobi for example, slum poverty inhabits the same space as great wealth and it is a bitter reality that, as street children huddle together in filthy side-streets, petrified of what the night may bring, they can easily make out the cities huge commercial buildings and the many advertising boards that promise hope and wealth for all. Yet, I return from Africa an optimist. The street gang experience in particular demonstrated that where there is vision, determination and compassion, human neglect and ignorance could never truly create a lost cause. HOPEHIV’s staff and their partners demonstrate all of these life-affirming traits in abundance, and to feel part of this makes my time here a rich and rewarding experience.
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