Joshua's mother was 15 years old when she gave birth to him. Unable to care for him at such a young age, she left him under the care of his grandmother. His grandmother did her best to raise Joshua and managed to pay for his schooling by washing clothes and doing odd jobs until 2015, when she could no longer afford to pay for their house rent and his school fees. She decided to move with Joshua from her home in Kisii, located in Western Kenya, to Nairobi in search of a job that would support Joshua and his school fees. After searching for months without finding a job she moved to the slum of Ngong, Mathare. Joshua soon found himself collecting scrap metals to help feed himself and his grandmother, as she was still unable to find a job. A neighbor directed Joshua to our program for street children at the Ahadi Education Center. After learning that Joshua and his grandmother were living in the slum without even a blanket or decent mattress to share, we decided to help Joshua return to school, and even got them a new mattress, blanket and the pillows they so badly needed. Joshua is a a confident boy despite his past and upbringing. When asked if his new private school is tough he responded with "Of course not!". |