August 11, 2003

Dear Friends,

My last week in Kenya was just as intense as the rest of the trip. Last Friday evening Ochieng and I took an overnight bus to his ancestral land in the west of Kenya. We arrived at his uncle's mud hut around 6:30 in the morning.

The uncle (Ochieng's mother's brother) was very surprised and happy to see him, as Ochieng hadn't been home in over 4 years. Once his parents died, Ochieng went to the city in order to find education, something this uncle was too poor to provide for him.

We had gone to the west to fetch Ochieng's younger brother, who was tending cattle and therefore not in school. The uncle did not know where the brother was, though, because he had been working in the next village over.

Before we went off searching for the boy, Ochieng showed me his mother's grave, which was in the middle of a corn field and marked simply by a half-buried bag which she used to carry with her wherever she went. I asked where his father was buried, and he told me it was complicated, but that he would show me later on.

We went to the next village, where Ochieng's father was from. The father's relatives were not happy to see Ochieng. And they told us that Ochieng's 13-year old brother was in jail, accused of rape. The relatives did not know if there had been a trial, if the boy had been convicted, or even if he was still in prison. They simply did not care.

We went to the police station, where we found the very scared, very small boy. He claims that he did not rape the girl, that he did not even touch her. Some people saw them talking and told the girl's parents they saw them having sex. When confronted, the girl panicked and told her parents he forced her.

Without hearing the girl's and witnesses' testimony, I am in no position to judge the claim. It was clear, though, that because he had no family, the justice system was not giving the boy a fair chance to defend himself. The boy will be sent to a police-run school at the beginning of September. In the coming weeks, Ochieng will try to get the Children's Welfare Office to intervene, to see if at least the boy can get a fair trial.

I asked Ochieng why his father's family was not looking out for his brother. Ochieng revealed that both he and his older sister were born out of wedlock. Even after his parents got married and had his younger brother, his mother was never accepted by his father's family. When his father died, he and his mother and siblings were kicked off his father's family's land. That is why his mother and father are buried seperately.

We went back to visit Ochieng's father's family, and to see his father's grave. It was marked by a large (and expensive) tombstone. The father's family did have some money, but would not spend it on Ochieng or his siblings. While Ochieng was paying respects to his father, his father's brother (Ochieng refuses to call him an uncle) started demanding that Ochieng leave. They argued, and Ochieng left in a huff, threatening to come back one day and "get them all."

Seeing as we couldn't help the brother, and Ochieng's family was not supportive, we went back to Nairobi after only one day in the west.

Back in Nairobi, the search for the two young street boys continued, but before I left we were unable to find them. The Home will continue to look for them, but it is very difficult to find children who don't want to be helped. They often simply move to a different part of the city. Perhaps these boys will be picked up by the police. Perhaps another organization will find them and help them. Or they may simply continue to live on the street. It is nearly impossible to know what will happen to them.

I plan to return to Nairobi in November to continue following the lives of many of the children at Good Samaritan. I hold out a small hope that I'll find out more about these street boys then.

best,
Randy