Overcoming the challenges of life in Nairobi s slums mercatornet.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mercatornet.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Speaking while launching the exercise at Uhuru Park, SFRTF chairperson Mary Wambui said the programme targets to rescue at least 500 street children from Nairobi streets following an increase in their numbers due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Nairobi County leads in the number of street families estimated to be close to 60,000 although conservative figures by the government puts the numbers at 15,337.
The rescued, she said, will be placed in partner street families rehabilitation institutions in Nairobi to be taken through a rehabilitation programme spanning between three and nine months before eventually being reintegrated back to the community after the rehabilitation process.
“We have today rescued 30 children but next week we target to rescue 200 of them. We have partnered with Kwetu Home of Peace in this exercise,” said Ms Wambui.
Sr. Caroline Ngatia of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Sisters of Eldoret shares breakfast with the street families in Nairobi, Kenya. Her center, Kwetu Home of Peace, accommodates homeless boys ages 8 to 14 who are rescued from the streets and slums in Nairobi and inducted into a process of reintegration. (Doreen Ajiambo)
The goal is as simple as it is complicated to achieve: Shift the care of children from institutions like orphanages to a family or family-like environment.
Catholic sisters in three African nations Uganda, Zambia and Kenya are leading the way in creating new models for caring for children. Their efforts are the core of the recent launch of Catholic Care for Children International (CCCI) under the auspices of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) one of many faith groups leading policy reform and family-based alternatives to institutional care.