Passing By, Do Not be a Bypasser. A Story of brothers Henry and Peter – homeless children of Africa

Let`s walk down the streets of the city of Kitale. Going by the majority of houses lost in mud and poverty, WE DO NOT JUST PASS BY!

The exterior of the cottage, made of clay and cow dung, was a bit better than its interior: a little dark room with a wooden bed and a mattress on the floor, a small table and a chair. The mother and the father were consumptive and immuno compromised and were lying down on the bed; their five children were lying nearby on the mattress.

The family lived in horrible beggary as the mother was keeping her bed because of illness. Along with her illness, she had an abortion as her baby had died and began to decay inside. Poor woman looked more like a skin-covered skeleton rather than a live person. When we bought food to her she even couldn`t eat it. The father was constantly drinking and little did he care about the children, who were mostly on their own.

Coming to their house we often saw the same picture: the poor African children were sitting in the yard, the eldest was 6, the youngest was about 2. They were very lean, dirty and almost undressed. Sometimes the eldest boy was holding the youngest girl in his arms, sometimes she, almost naked, was sitting on the ground in mud. Having reserved and scared look, the children resembled baited little animals.

When the mother died we saw that the father didn`t take care of the children at all. Then our team decided to put them in the orphan home. At first, the father agreed to give only three younger kids and he left home two elder boys. After some time he abandoned them, too. So, the elder boys (Peter and Henry) started to live with us.

Henry is about 9 years old, Peter is 7 to 8. Henry likes action games, soccer, and cycling. He is responsible and careful. It is very touching to observe him caring for his younger brother. He is a very capable child. He finished preparatory school with honours, and this year, in January, he entered elementary school. Peter is kind, affectionate, responsible, obedient, and executive. When we visited him at home, he was very serious and didn`t smile at all. Now you can see his broad smile quite often. This year Peter entered the first grade in one of the best schools of the city.

There are no nobody’s children! Passing by, do not be a bypasser!

Author: Anastasia Klimenko

Published: 2014-05-13 17:10