Street Children: They are also God's children

So this month of February is finally coming to a close. I am quite sure that a good number of my male friends are delighted to see the end month finally arriving. If you wanted to get the real meaning of living hand to mouth, you should have looked for some of my friends. The damage that was done to them was more than material. Wallets were emptied on February the 14th, the wallets were never the same again. Looking through some of my friends wallets you just find business cards to show for their hustles in life. Any currency that was stumbled upon disappeared as fast as it came around. Ladies, please next year, can you just take Valentines day to be like any other day? Just wear red and be contented with it. Please no more suffering. Well, this was the plight of many of my male colleagues. I, on the other hand, am proud to say that I escaped unscathed and unscalped. For the nineteenth year in a row!!!! Well, last year I was stood up but oooh well, that was one of the cases where you wake up on the fifteenth of February and your broken ego is soothed by the sight of currency in your wallet. Anyway, where was I? Yes, for the 19th time I escaped the horror of Valentines day. That must be a record right? Anyone with the number of the Guiness Book of Records, anyone? Guys I know you have, just because Ulitobokwa (that means, pierced or rather those who were drained financially to my international audience) doesnt mean you have to do this. C'mon, help a brother out. 
I see some of you are wondering "How does he manage to do that at such a consistent level?" I hate to brag, but I must say, I am the Ryan Giggs of escaping Valentines day. I should get a title for that. Something like, Daniel Kalya, the Valentines Avoider! Stop frowning, its a work in progress can Valentines Vanisher work? Naaah. I'm still working on it, chillax mayne dont pressure me. This is the Valentines Exceptionee at work. Drat! my creative muse is hiding from me. Come out come out wherever you are. I'll get you someday.
To continue with my brag. Its not that I dont care for my girlfriend. Our love goes beyond Valentines Day (Thats the excuse I used and guess what, it worked. All ye men must be hating me right now) and to add on to that, I delegated the Valentines day dinner to some one else. For once the friend zone did me some good (I so hope he doesnt see this coz he will definately demand for a refund). While ye men were busy sweating over the bill and the 22K champaigne, I was happy that Manchester United managed to get out of the Santiago Bernabeau with a point and an away goal. You see, for most of you Feb is Valentines month, for me it is Champions League month and for the sake of my friend one Ken Kiptoo and other Chelsea fans, EUROPA month. I just felt pain writing that. Lemme get a barf bag.
Anyway, enough small talk. Now today as I was heading from the gym. Why the surprise and the shocked faces? Yes, I do gym. I actually started last week. You see, getting home to mama's cooking made my already pronounced belly start to shout so I saw it fit to hit the gym. And no, there arent visible changes yet. Anyway, as I was leaving the gym today, I was heading to see whether I could get a bus home. You see, I live in an institution (NO! not a mental institution) a school institution and every day it brings school employees to town and picks up sufferes like us. So today, I missed that bus. I went and bought some fruits and on my way back, I saw the university bus. I ran to board it but apparently the driver was going somewhere else and coming back at 8 pm. it was around 7 pm then. So I alighted and started debating whether to go take a mat or just wait for the bus. I was heading to some bench that is usually around Standard Chartered bank (for those who know Nakuru) I passed between some curio shop and there was a street kid there playing (or rather destroying) with an airtel board. I passed him and he called out "Boss, nisaidie 10" as is the norm, I ignored him but he didnt stop he went calling "Boss, boss", I ignored and thought maybe he had given up but he hadnt. He ran besides me and was like "Boss, nisaidie 10 ya chai" I stopped and turned to him. I then thought "Maybe I could ask him a few questions to kill time"
For the sake of my international audience (But do I say?) I shall present the conversation in English. "That tea, where will you buy it from?" he pointed to some place and said "Its near those aerials" ( I am resorting to Kiswahili, sorry international community) I said okay and asked "Utapata chai ya ten bob kweli?" and he was like "Chai huanzia kitu 15 bob, lakini hio 10 itasaidia tu" I thought and then asked him whether he goes to school. He told me he goes to school and pointed in the general direction. He then told me that that was a school for the needy "Huko tu tunasaidiwa tusome na pia chakula. iko uko chini, kwa father. tunapewangwa chakula asubuhi, na lunch halafu jioni lazima tujitafutie chakula, ndo sasa tunakujanga town ndo tupate kitu ya kukula halafu baadae tutarudi uko tu shule. Shule watoto wadogo wanalalanga kitchen, tunapewa magunia halafu tunalala tu uko kwa kitchen" What he told me made me sympathise with him. So I asked him how he came till town and he told me after school he would just walk till town, beg for money then go back. I asked him how he would go back to school and he said he just walks, sometimes alone and sometimes with his fellow schoolmates. He then told me how if he gets some extra money he would save so that he could buy some shoes foe 200 shillings. he showed me his shoes and told me they werent even two months old but they were so worn out and he takes some extra cash to his teacher to help him get the shoes (or something of the sort. I didnt quite understand that part)
I asked the boy his name, and he told me that he is called John Kamau, he then told me how his mother had run away to Nairobi and his father is in Narok. His parents just deserted him. I asked him his age and he told me "Niko na miaka kumi na moja". My brother (our last born) is 11 years old. He is his agemate and it really pained me to think of parents deserting their children. I imagined what would my life have been had my own parents deserted me. What would have happened to my baby sister and baby brother? I wouldnt have turned out the way I am. I would have been worse than John.
I asked John about his safety and whether guys get beat up and he told me that they dont beat each other up and that what happens is that if someone does him wrong, he'll just mark him and tell his older friends who will revenge for him. I asked him his teacher's name and he told me "Teacher Ben" and how he takes some money to teacher Ben to save for him.
Despite all these, one thing really impressed me about this boy. The boy makes bead necklaces. he told me how he could buy beads for 20 bob and make necklaces which he sells to some guy for 20 bob. He had put one on and he removed it and showed it to me. It was a good necklace. It had red, white and black beads and something like a medallion at the front. I was amazed. He told me he even hadnt bought those beads, he had just picked them up. I was amazed and at the same time I was sad and felt sorry for the boy. Here is a boy with massive massive potential. Evidently bright, he has passed through alot for a boy his age. Being deserted by parents, having to sleep in a gunia, having to hustle money from people, some of whom insult him and treat him like an animal, but he is just a boy. A boy like you and I used to be. We had bikes to ride on but he has municipal council officers to run away from. We had a place to call home and beds to sleep on, but he has a gunia and the cold hard kitchen floor to call home. We had teachers and some of us even personal tutors but he only knows of Teacher Ben. Life hasnt been fair to this young boy. You look at your life and you thank God for what you have. Some if not most of us complain that what we have isnt enough but we ought to give thanks to God and not take anything for granted. I know it may seem hard especially for litlle John to do this, but the Bible tells us to give thanks in all circumstances (I cant seem to find the verses at the moment). What gives me hope is that the BIble tells us that God is the father to the fatherless, defender of the weak. He will provide for little John and many others like him. However, what I ask you and myself is, Are they really hopeless? Is there anything I can possibly do to help out? because it is not fair for a child to go through such. it is not right. anyway guys, have a good night and God bless you.
PS March is coming soon, my birthday is in March, my M-Pesa lines remains open at all times.
For feedback, you can email me Kalyadaniel@gmail .com or tweet me @Danielkalya.
God bless you and touch a heart