When we asked our partners in Kenya what we could do to help them with the problem of street children in their communities, they responded that we should help the children stay in their villages and communities and not leave for life on the streets. They informed us that many of the children on the streets had simply left home in search of food and never returned. We have found this to be a common reason for many children who come to the streets from still intact families. Usually there is some abuse or conflict at home that further encourages them to leave, but often it is just the need for food that drives them to the streets of the cities nearby. Even for those who have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS or other prevalent diseases in their communities, they will frequently leave the home of an extended family caregiver or a community member who has taken them in because of a lack of food in the household.
We realized that if we could help the caregivers of orphans and vulnerable children in some of these rural communities to provide food for their families, then we might be able to keep these children from seeking another life on the streets. We began our pilot program in the village of Dago, Kenya, with agricultural assistance in the form of training in bio intensive farming methods that would allow them to have greater yield from the small plots of land they had to harvest. We were able to provide indigenous maize seed through our friends at Fruited Plains that did not require chemical fertilizers. These seeds are self pollinating, meaning they could save some of the seed from their harvest in order to plant crops for the next season without paying for more seed. The savings alone allowed the caregivers to have enough money to buy food or pay school fees for the children in their care. The larger yield they received from their harvest enabled them to sell some of these crops and bring in extra income as well. Land that had lain fallow for years was now providing the food and income that would allow families to feed their children as well as the orphans that had been left in their care. These children are now far less likely to leave a home that provides for their basic needs to attempt the unknown life on the urban streets.
In August 2010 we had our second successful training session in Dago. The president of a local agricultural college joined us and provided answers to questions and issues that have arisen since planting their crops. Since many of the women involved in this project are widows, it is providing a way for them to care for themselves, their children, the orphans in their care as well as providing a much-needed boost to their self-esteem. They are now learning to be self-sufficient and to become good providers for their families.