An Ever Growing Family

On Monday the Children’s office called us to go with them to visit some children who were being very badly neglected by their mother. When we arrived at the house a neighbor told us the Mother had taken the youngest child, a baby girl into Malindi for begging. 4 children were alone in the ramshackle filthy hut. Fred, the youngest child there was naked, the others were in dirty rags. Billy our Social Worker has been doing his job for 15 years and he was shocked by the conditions as were the Children’s Officers. I was just stunned that a Mother could leave her children like this. I have worked here 11 years and seen many cases of extreme poverty, but this was not just poverty it was neglect in the extreme.

It was decided we would take the children home to the Happy House. When we asked them to come with us they just came, there was no questions, no resistance, nothing. Billy thought it was due to the fact that they knew wherever we were taking them could not be any worse than where they were. A message was left with a neighbour for the Mother to go the Children’s Office the following morning with the baby, which she did. She was told why her children had been removed from her care and also told to give us the baby. She just handed baby Rose over to us. As we walked towards our vehicle Billy carrying the baby, the Mother waved goodbye. No show of emotion at all, just nothing!! She still has 2 older children in her care and the children’s Office will monitor the situation carefully. The man who raped the 9 year old was known to the child so we have informed the children’s office who say they will follow the case.

When we arrived with Rose her brothers and sisters were so thrilled they were passing her from one to the other kissing and cuddling her. They were a family of little carers. Now they are part of the Happy House family they can again be children, children who run laugh and play in the knowledge they are safe with a family that loves them.