When running away from home is the only option: A street child's journey to rehabilitation in Nakuru
Josephine Mbone, reunites with her son Enoch Victor, three months later in Nakuru, after he ran away from home in January 2024.
Enoch has twice run away from his home in Baringo County to live on the streets.
The ten-year-old decided to leave the place he had called home since birth after his mother's partner kept beating him for various reasons, the latest being that he (Enoch) was hungry and ate some 'mandazi' left on the table.
His mother, Josephine Mbone, vividly recalls how her son, rejected by his father, left home three months ago after a row with her current partner.
But her tears of sadness have now been replaced by joy after she received a phone call that her son had been found on the streets of Nakuru and would be graduating from a rescue centre after undergoing rehabilitation.
"I wasn't at home when my son left, after a fight with my partner that left me in hospital, I went to my grandmothers leaving my children behind. I got the message that my partner had bought 'mandazi' and left it on the table. When he came back and found it missing, he started beating up my son and so he left and I haven't seen him since," said Mrs Mbone.
"I looked for him in Mogotio and couldn't find him. I just use to hear that he has been seen in different places like Kampi ya Moto, Kabarak and Nakuru. So I told myself to calm down and that God was the one who knew where he was. After three months, I got a call that my son had been rescued in January and that he'd been at a rehabilitation centre," she said.
Today, after three months of intensive rehabilitation and detoxification, which included spiritual nourishment, psychological counselling, mathematics, science and languages, Enoch and six others will be able to adjust from life on the streets and return to their communities and homes.
As a young boy, living on the streets exposed him to the harsh realities of life at an early age. There was a lack of clean food, the risk of drug addiction, abuse and exploitation, not to mention sleeping on cemented pavements without proper bedding, which put their health at risk.
Many children leave their homes due to various challenges including parental neglect, poverty, drug addiction at home and lack of access to education.
Nancy Ndegwa, founder of Realz Hand of Love Rescue Centre, identified love as the basic need in a family and urged parents to love their children despite their circumstances.
Nancy Ndegwa, Founder Realz Hand of Love, makes her remarks during the graduation.
"Love is the basic need of a family. If a child feels love, even where there's poverty, a child can endure and stay at home. I urge all parents to love their children, to speak good words to them, to show them that they are wanted, and to show them that even though you cannot give them the life they want, they are loved in this family and they can grow up to be better people in this society," she said.
Ms Mbone is now looking forward to the future, hoping that her son will stay at home with her and go back to school.