Where Would We Be?

Ibrahim writes:

"My life and that of my siblings was like that of any other child, filled with so much joy and fun as far as I can remember, though never missing its ups and down either. Having been brought up by a single mother, being the sole provider was not that easy for her, but I cannot remember a single day when we missed a meal or any basic need. It had never dawned to us that this would come to an end without notice. August 2003 was the beginning of our sorrows; on this fateful day, we lost our mum to what we haven’t perceived would be the problem to date. Life for us had hit the end because she was all that we had. Our firstborn was 13yrs I was 8yrs old, our 3rd born was 5yrs and our last born was nine months old, if I remember correctly. I vividly remember that I had our last born Mercy on my back on that fateful day; I enjoyed babysitting. It hit our brains that we were fatherless and, worst of it, motherless and society now branded us a new name, “orphans”. This was hard for us to accept, but did we have a choice? We were left under the guardianship of our grandfather, who wasn’t financially stable to support us. As they say, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. NEW HOPE CHILDREN’S CENTRE shall forever remain a lifesaver for us. A constant question remains in our mouth “WHERE WOULD WE BE?” We were taken to a new home that we never knew would turn so homely for us. Our stay in New Hope is something that turned out to be the story of our lives. I have just qualified to be a clinical officer (the equivalent of a medical assistant) as I write this. Our elder sister is a teacher, the 3rd born just completed her college pursuing agribusiness, and our last born is preparing to join a medical school to pursue theatre operations technology. This would never have happened without Mr and Mrs Chege (‘mum and dad’) and the generous financiers of New Hope Children’s Centre. New Hope has been a life saver for us and so many needy children in Kenya. Thanks mum and dad, for giving hope; God bless you abundantly."

Anne Chege and her team continue to help transform the lives of many in her community in Kenya. Where children can be reunited with family, they make every effort to do so but the reality is that it is not always possible. Without a system that assists a good family structure where there are needs, places like New Hope Children's Centre will continue to be a vital resource and even recognised by the local government children's offices when children are needing to be cared for.