Stuck on glue

You might remember that for my very first Sunday in Kenya, I was invited to go meet a group of street kids ‘in situ’. At the time, I promised that I would go back, and last Sunday I finally kept my word – 9 weeks later – when I returned with a couple of pre-novices to Kariua.

Little had changed about the boys themselves. Their appearance was much the same, with the same filthy clothes. One boy in fact looked the spitting image of the Artful Dodger thanks to his oversized trousers and his dark suit jacket which draped over a torn shirt.

What was more noticeable to me this time, however, was the extent of the glue-sniffing that was going on. Almost every boy had a bottle in his hand or even in his mouth. A few boys seemed completely out of it, unable to raise the energy even to stand up. With those who were more with it, we organised a game of football, throughout which the boys continued to sniff the glue from their bottles while they were running after the ball.

I was going to write about my team’s glorious 8-5 triumph and my storming midfield performance, hitting the post twice, scoring a goal and setting up two more. However, having written the previous paragraph, I now realise that it’ll sound less impressive when you consider the opposition wasn’t totally sober.

After the game we sat in the shade as a group to have a chat, the brothers said a short prayer and then we shared some bread before we left.

The real work takes place during the week by a Kenyan social worker and a foreign volunteer. They meet with the street children most days, get to know them, try to help them to find crucial documents like birth certificates from their homes and eventually refer them to centres like Don Bosco Lang’ata where they can hopefully begin a rehabilitation process. After spending some time at Lang’ata, the boys could then come here to Bosco Boys Kuwinda to resume (or, in some cases, start) their primary schooling.

It’s never as straightforward as that, though. 5 of the last 6 boys who have been referred to Lang’ata have run away. One was even there with the group on Sunday. This boy had run away twice so that he could return to the streets and to sniffing glue, but was once more asking to be taken back to Lang’ata. It’s heartbreaking to see people so young so afflicted by their addiction, but at the same time I can’t help but wonder – given the number of runaways - if more could be done at Lang’ata (and Bosco Boys) to provide support specifically to overcome any drug addiction.