"When the limited income is spent on food, there is no money to buy medicine.  When there are three new mouths to feed because of a remarriage, someone goes hungry, gets ill and eventually dies.  Limited resources often send the 'man of the house' off in search of a job in the city.  This leaves children often to fend for themselves.  Mom may be working the plot of ground or working herself.  Consequently many children are taken care of by their siblings.  It is not uncommon to see an 8-year-old girl in charge of the infants in a household.  And if the father is home, he may be drunk and/or abusive to the children.  Such circumstances create a vacuum of love in the heart of a child.  He craves attention, someone to care.  On the street, he may be experiencing love for the first time in his life.  His friends accept him.  And quickly a kind of Tom Sawyer effect takes place.  Life becomes a playground. There are no schoolmasters or harsh parents around telling them what to do and not do.   Stealing and begging becomes a game.  Those who are physically strong can dominate and create a little fiefdom for themselves on the street.  And as long as gracious people give them a few shillings, what motivation remains for changing their circumstance?  The loneliness, the cold, and the fear can be tempered by inhaling cobbler’s glue—a common practice among street children in Kenya.  The life soon becomes addictive and the spiral downward begins."

"But occasionally a child comes along who wants more.  Lebaus, our Project Manager tells visitors that the single greatest contributing factor in the rescue of a child from the street is his own desire to change and want something different.  This makes a child’s first days and weeks off the street the most crucial.  In fact, the rehabilitation process begins long before the child is physically removed from the street.  Our natural reaction to seeing a child on the street would be to remove him and deal with the issues of motivation afterward.  But this is not America and the simplistic approach simply isn’t effective.  Instead Lebaus will have regular dialogue with a child on the street.  By the time the child is brought into the compound, he has a strong desire to do what it takes to seek his future.  While we have encouragers all over our compound in guards, cooks, house parents, teachers and others; the most powerful element for change is the heart of the child himself.  And unfortunately this large burden of arriving at this decision about his future has to be done alone.  This could be one of the major reasons why rehabilitation from the street is a very difficult and challenging work.  But, the rewards are mountain top experiences."

"While Patty and I love all our boys, we have a special place in our hearts for those we have been involved in rescuing.  We’ve invested ourselves in their lives from the time they entered Agape.  We’ve watched them develop and grow.  We’ve cried over their failures, worried about their mood swings, and looked for new ways to encourage and challenge them.  They are like our own children."

"One boy named George comes quickly to mind.  George was the breadwinner in his family at the tender age of 10.  His father was absent from the home.  Mom was busy with little ones.  George sold plastic bags in the vegetable and fruit market in town when we met him.  The industrious street boys can usually be found selling something to get a few shillings for a meal or for glue.  But George seemed different from the moment we met him.  He seemed somehow, focused and intent.  From the moment George entered Agape, it was if he could smell his future and nothing was going to deter him from obtaining it.  After a little more than a year, George is still a focused young man.  At the end of every single term, he has finished #1 in his class.  He is a model for the others at Agape and the picture of our goals for them all."

"Recently we found the perfect teacher for our Orientation class.  Her name is Mary.  Mary suffers from the effects of polio.  She walks with crutches.  She needs nothing however to hold up her spirit.  She is lively, always wearing a smile and a positive word on her lips.    It is as if God made her heart strong to compensate for her legs.  She easily laughs at her own limitations and shortcomings.  She is just what the boys need in their first weeks at Agape.  For these first few weeks can be quite demanding on child, teacher and everyone else.  Withdrawal from glue creates mood swings, irritability and defiance.  Someone patient like Mary is just what is needed during these crucial moments."

"Mary currently is teaching three boys in the orientation class: Ismael, Mike and Walter.  They are the boys in the attached photos.  They have been in the class for several months and are adjusting to the new environment of disciplined work and structured days.  These are the most difficult battles for a former street boy. On the street, their time is their own:  to waste or to use as they see fit.  At Agape, there is structure.  There is regular school time, time for washing clothes, duties around the compound, preparation for classes, and prayer and church time.  It is a dramatic change from the complete freedom they have on the street.  And it is these first few weeks at Agape and even the days of considering a change while they are on the street that is strategic for their future and success." 

Administrator; Agape Children’s Ministry