Our outreach team recently visited a school in an informal settlement in Kenya, where many families are doing it tough.
Poverty, joblessness and overcrowding sit alongside real risks to children: neglect, abandonment and abuse are all too common here, and they can escalate quickly when a community doesn’t have the tools to talk about them.
In recent months, Rafiki Mwema has rescued four girls from this school due to defilement, and 10 more children due to abandonment and neglect that left them exposed to serious danger.
Those numbers were the reason the local Children’s Officer, the local police, the area Chief and the school’s leadership came together and asked Rafiki Mwema to help. Together, they organised a sensitisation day for the school’s learners and their parents, and we were honoured to lead it.
On the day
When our team arrived, the learners and their parents were already gathered and waiting. The Children’s Officer met with the parents first, speaking candidly about neglect, abandonment and defilement, and what these things cost a child.
Our outreach lead followed, laying out the reality in plain terms: neglect and abandonment can push children onto the street, and defilement can leave a child carrying trauma for life. He also walked parents through the penal code, why preserving evidence matters if abuse is suspected, and the referral pathways available to them. A psychotherapist from Clear Point spoke about parenting with responsibility, warmth and structure, and about how much it matters for a child to simply be listened to.
The area Chief closed the parents’ session with a clear message:
Report abuse, don’t hide it.
While the parents were meeting separately, the learners had a session of their own.
They were taught about their rights, how to recognise unsafe situations and get themselves somewhere safer, safe and unsafe touch, how to preserve evidence, and who to go to for help.
What we heard
Both sessions opened up real conversation. Parents and children asked question after question, and our speakers worked through every one of them, patiently and clearly.
Some of the learners spoke up about their own experiences: harassment, physical assault, neglect, and being left to fend for younger siblings for days at a time. Some parents were honest too, acknowledging harm they’d caused their own children, and many committed, there and then, to doing better.
This kind of honesty in a room full of neighbours takes courage. It’s also exactly how change starts.
Who stood with us
This day only happened because so many people chose to show up for these children. We were proud to work alongside:
- The local Children’s Officer
- The local Police Boss
- The area Chief
- A representative from the office of the Member of Parliament
- A psychotherapist from Clear Point
Why it matters
A single day of sensitisation won’t undo the harm that’s already been done, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise. But it gives a community the language and the confidence to protect its children, and it tells every child in that room that someone is watching out for them.
This is what our Outreach Program does every day: staying close to the children and families who need us, long after the visit ends.
