As I was vacationing in Kenya in April this year, I took the time to visit the children sponsored by Youthful Faces (YF) and to meet with people who had expressed the willingness to work with Youthful Faces and help us attain our goal.

My Meetings

I met with Dr. Pat Youri, who is the Executive Director of HACI (Hope for African Children Initiative). HACI is a partnership that brings together six organizations that share an international focus. These six organizations are; Care, Plan, Save the Children, The Society for Women and AIDS in Africa, World Conference on Religion and Peace, and World Vision. They work together to increase the capacity of local communities to provide support services to orphans and vulnerable children in Africa.

Dr. Youri was kind enough to sit with me and discuss the problems African children are facing and how his organization is working to empower communities to be able to help themselves.

Dr. Youri advised Youthful Faces to work with schools and village groups, especially women groups. He said women groups tend to care for the orphaned child better than any other group. In the future, he encouraged YF to try and work with the guardian, not just the child. In his opinion empowering the entire family is the best way of promoting sustainable development.

I then met with Mr. Muli Jonathan, the Head Teacher of Tala Township Academy. Tala Academy is a primary school located in Tala, Kangundo District. We discussed the problems affecting schools and how the schools were coping with the influx of children after the introduction of free primary education.

Mr Muli revealed that he has been working with five other organizations that deal with orphaned children and that some of the children from those organizations attend his school. We talked about having some of theYF children attend his school. He agreed to review their performances and give recommendations on where to place them come January of 2006 when they do their school intake.

I paid a visit to Dr. Vincent Wambua who is a pediatrician at Machakos. He and his wife, - who is also a doctor, - have been working with children affected by HIV/Aids. The doctor talked about problems affecting the young children. He talked of how he has been helping the children to cope with the disease, both physically and mentally. Dr. Wambua agreed to work with YF. He promised to work with Mumama Musau and Nthenge Musau who are being taken care of by the YF and unfortunately have HIV/Aids virus.

The Children

I visited the Mumama and Nthenge Musau. They live in Ngelani, Machakos District. They live with their grandmother Nzisa, who is in her seventies. When I arrived, Mumama, who is the youngest boy was asleep. The grandmother told me he spends most of his time sleeping. Not too long after I arrived he woke up. When I held him I could tell he was ill. I was disturbed by the roughness of his skin, he had several oozing wounds all over his body and his health was deteriorating.

My visit was met with great disappointments. The information we had previously received was that only one of the brothers had the AIDS Virus. I also learned that the older brother, Nthenge Musau has the virus too. This was discovered in February, when he suddenly caught pneumonia and was rushed to the hospital. At the moment the two brothers are getting antiretroviral medication, but that is not enough since they need to have better nutrition.

Nthenge Musau told me he wanted to be a doctor one day and help cure the disease that killed his parents. Looking at him I saw an ambitious child who hoped for a brighter future, a future he might not live to see if nothing is done soon.

I took a long, nine-hour drive to Lugari in Eldoret. In Lugari, I visited Earn Andika and Elvis Aradua. These two young lads live with their grandmother and eleven other children all being taken care of by the grandmother.

Their grandmother who is a hard working woman in her seventies. She is a very entertaining woman, who loves children and is God fearing. She could tell stories from dusk to dawn. I could sense her pain when she talked of how she lost her two sons to Aids. Because of her age, she is unable to walk without her walking stick. I found out from the children that her nickname was "The Trainer."

The grandmother talked of how the two children - Earn and Elvis - never stop talking about their parents. How they kept asking why their parents had to die, and how Earn always said he could not wait to meet them again.

The boys took me to their father's house, which is where they spent their night. The house is located a hundred meters from their grandmother's house. The house is a one bed-roomed house, with an empty living room and one bed in the bedroom. When I asked them if they got scared at night, they said yes, but according to their tradition - the Luyah culture - they are not allowed to sleep at their grandparents' house. They told me their house furniture was stolen after their father died. They also took me to their father's grave, which was located a few feet from their house.

I also visited Brian Omondi Olando in Kayole - Nairobi. Brian Omondi lives with his aunt and two cousins. They live in a one-room house, on the third floor of their apartment building. The aunt works in a salon not too far from their house. She does not earn a lot of money, but what ever she gets she divides it equally amongst the three children. Brian is an energetic child who loves playing soccer. His dream is to become a professional soccer player.

I had scheduled to go visit Winnie Achieng and Laurence Olewe Oyieko but due to unavoidable circumstances, the trip was canceled. I did talk to their guardian Lilian Achieng, who lives in Kiganjo and promised to have someone visit the children soon.

Due to time restraint and other commitments, I was disappointed by the fact that I never visited all YF children. At the end of my visit, I was happy to have taken the time to visit these little children. I met children who were determined to succeed in life. They know there are pieces missing in their puzzles, but this does not stop them from their daily routines, and putting up a beautiful smile each and every day. From them I saw the great signs of HOPE. I saw children, whose conscious kept them on check, assuring them that there was a bright light at the other end of the tunnel.