In 2006, John Lokee was convinced by his aunt to leave Napak District and stay with her in Kampala since his mother, who was mentally unstable, could not provide proper care
in and the kid says, for this one, it s going to make a difference. you know? and that s really it. you know? it s one kid at a time. reporter: the starfish. children like cendy, with no place to go. and maccenson, a former street beggar. just the kind of children they were looking to help. our criteria in picking children is the high-risk child. a child living on the street. whose parents sent them from countryside to earn some money. nobody out there advocating for them. they can get hit by a car. they can get rape, murdered. reporter: at first, maccenson was suspicious of the white americans running the orphanage. were you afraid? translator: i heard from other kids that they would treat you badly. reporter: instead, he got
live here. child slavery, traffic in the street selling our kids reporter: each day he followed children into the streets to beg. he s come so far. but sharing his past is painful. you d run out into traffic, basically? yeah. and ask someone, do you want me to wipe your car down? yeah. reporter: the life he once lived passes by in a flash. child slave. street beggar. his life of destitution ended
you know? and that s really it. you know? it s one kid at a time. reporter: the starfish. children like cendy, with no place to go. and maccenson, a former street beggar. just the kind of children they were looking to help. our criteria in picking children is the high-risk child. a child living on the street. whose parents sent them from countryside to earn some money. nobody out there advocating for them. they can get hit by a car. they can get rape, murdered. reporter: at first, maccenson was suspicious of the white americans running the orphanage. were you afraid? translator: i heard from other kids that they would treat you badly. reporter: instead, he got food, a place to live, an
the auntie who kept mackenson is gone. this woman and her husband still live here. child slavery, traffic in the street selling our kids reporter: each day he followed children into the streets to beg. he s come so far. but sharing his past is painful. you d run out into traffic, basically? yeah. and ask someone, do you want me to wipe your car down? yeah. reporter: the life he once lived passes by in a flash. child slave. street beggar. his life of destitution ended when he approached a missionary who took him to the lighthouse.