Uncle James – September 2026
Some of the best work at Rafiki Mwema never announces itself.
It happens early in the morning, getting the big boys up and out the door on time. It happens in the evening, over an exercise book at the table. It happens with a slasher in hand, in the rain, because the mower has broken down again.
That’s the work our staff voted for this month. Thirteen nominations came in for Hamizi Mungai James, Uncle James to the boys and to most of the team.
The boys see a father
Nomination after nomination said the same thing in different words. The boys see a father in him, and they go to him when something’s wrong.
“He relates with the boys in a warm and fatherly manner, which has helped build a strong and healthy connection with them,” one colleague wrote. “Because of this bond, the boys feel free and safe to approach him whenever they want to share their feelings, concerns or experiences.”
For children who have survived what our children have, that trust is the foundation. Our Attachment Play Program only works when a child feels safe enough to let an adult close.
Uncle James holds that line carefully. He’s warm, he’s approachable, and he’s firm where he needs to be. Several colleagues pointed out how well he keeps healthy boundaries while still being the person the boys run to.
Homework, charcoal and data bundles
He works nights as a key worker. That means waking the older boys, breakfast on time, uniforms neat, and everyone at school when the bell goes.
Then there’s everything nobody asked him to do.
He sits with the big boys over their homework every evening, and their school results are starting to show it. He hands over his own phone when they need to look something up for a project. When the Wi-Fi drops out, he buys data himself so they can finish.
If the day staff forget the charcoal, or the exercise books and pens, he quietly sorts it out. And if the boys have health worries they feel shy about, he’s the one they’ll ask. He treats them with care and respect every time.
A month of small, unglamorous wins
- He settled a fight between two boys before anyone got hurt
- He kept cutting the long grass with hand slashers after the mower gave out
- He set up a wall where he leaves encouragement for the rest of the team
- He baked bread
- He took the boys out for a walk, and by all reports they loved it
- His team recorded zero incidents last month
Congratulations, Uncle James. The boys are lucky to have you, and so are we.
Our Kenyan team is the reason this work happens
Almost none of what Uncle James did this month is in his job description. That’s true of our whole team, and it’s the part supporters rarely get to see.
A regular donation is what keeps people like him in the boys’ house at six in the morning, and at the table at homework time. If you’d like to be part of that, you can donate here:
