May 26, 2004

Dear Friends,

It has been about two months since I was last here, and for once things have been relatively stable at the Good Samaritan Home. One of the most notable changes is that 11 year-old Mary, who I mentioned on my last trip had been raped on the street and brought to the Good Samaritan Home, and then ran back to the street, has been found. A few weeks ago she simply returned to the family that had initially assisted her after the rape.

She does not want to return to Good Samaritan because she is afraid of Auntie, who made her take the terrible-tasting anti-retroviral drugs given to her to prevent HIV infection after the rape. The family has agreed to care for her, with the assistance of Good Samaritan providing necessary items such as a uniform and bag for school. Tomorrow, Auntie and Freddy (the teacher and social worker) are taking Mary back to the doctor who gave her the anti-retroviral drugs for a check-up.

On the other hand, 17 year-old Elizabeth, who was one of the children who started her first year of high school in February, has disappeared. She was one of the top students in her class, but she has quit school and reportedly moved in with a gang member in Mathare. Good Samaritan cannot talk with her because they cannot approach the man's house.

Elizabeth's story is another tragedy. After her parents died, she moved in with an uncle, who raped her. She then got a job as a maid, and was raped again by her employer.

Next week we are going to visit Laikipia, the semi-arid area where Elizabeth grew up, to talk with her grandmother to see if she might be able to come to Nairobi to find the girl and help her.

Njeri, the HIV positive mother of Kennedy and his brother Tony, who I mentioned in my updates from February and March, has become very ill and has returned home to her family to die. The uncle of the boys has requested we bring Kennedy and Tony back to the family so they can see their mother one last time. We'll be visiting with them next week.

Auntie also hopes that the family will take the boys in, as even in two months time one can see how Mathare is affecting their behavior. As I've mentioned before, Auntie wants to bring as many children as possible to live with extended family, so she can focus on children who truly have no one to help them.

Because of the fight Boss got into last time, he no longer lives at Good Samaritan. Instead, he lives with his older brother Malonza and younger sister Njambi (who was another of the children who started high school in February) in a little house in Mathare. They all continue to be in close contact with the Home, and I am spending the evening with them tomorrow, and the day with Boss on Friday.

Ochieng is still at Eastleigh High School (Chalo's former school), and lives in a little house in Mathare. The rent is 600 shillings/month (about $8), and since he has no income he struggles to find the money from friends, relatives, and well-wishers to pay each month. The landlord is understanding about late payments, but that entire area of Mathare might be torn down soon as the owner of the land wants to build a new building. Ochieng doesn't know what to do if that happens. He refuses to come back to Good Samaritan even for a meal now and then (he only eats when he is at school) or for pens and paper so he can study. Freddy is trying to get him to get him to re-establish a few ties with Good Samaritan, so at least they can help him at this level.

Yesterday I visited Chalo at his boarding school. He was feeling sick -- he had a headache, his eyes were hurting, and he had been vomiting for two days. The headmaster was afraid it might be malaria or typhoid, and sent Chalo to the hospital. Fortunately, the tests for malaria and typhoid were negative, and it appears it was just a stomach bug!

Chalo is doing relatively well at the new school. Last term he was 26 out of 83 in his class -- he claims it is math that is holding him backfrom being at the top of the class. He is excelling in drama, and is a school leader after only a few months.

While I was visiting, Chalo showed me a photograph of his mother, which he had recently found. It was taken a few years before she died. She was a beautiful, healthy-looking young woman. It is terrible to imagine her as I saw Njeri in February: gaunt, frail, and desperate. Unsure of what to do with her children.

A good deal has changed in the ten years between the time Chalo came to Good Samaritan and when Tony and Kennedy came. HIV/AIDS is something Kenyans will now talk about, though Njeri was still very brave to openly admit she was HIV positive. Stigma continues to exist, though Auntie was able to convince Njeri's family to take her back -- something that I'm told might not have happened ten years ago. But as I am continually asked if condoms really work, and abstainance-based sex education is often the only sex education children get, HIV continues to spread and people continue to die.

It is remarkable, though, that Good Samaritan has been able to help children like Chalo, and Kennedy and Tony for the past 13 years.

Until next time,
Randy