HERE ARE NINE HAPPY FACES - well maybe the youngest isn't quite so happy! Nine children aged 2 to 9 years old who have been picked up from Eldoret Streets over the last three years and holed up in the Eldoret Child Rescue Centre. We left behind about 30 others of the same age group. We took 7 girls and 2 boys, and later on that afternoon (Friday 29th October, we took two more boys aged 6 and 7, making a total of eleven. ALL of these children have been abandoned, dumped, THROWN away on Eldoret Town Streets or at the door of the Rescue Centre. The Centre, 
originally built for 40, now houses more than 185 MINUS the 11 pictured above, and perhaps also minus another 20 taken in to other Charitable Children's Homes during the past week. The Centre is poorly supported by the Community and not at all by Government. Techincally it was opened as a Rehabilitation Centre with the idea of taking vagrant children into temporary (6month) care for investigation, rehabilitation, and then either repatriation to their families or to some suitable institution for further care of education. However this did not work out, and so in the end it has become purely a dumping centre with no real plan of how long to keep the inmates. It has had a bad record and has continued to exist purely and simply because there was no other place to take the inflow of youngsters floo
ding to the streets. In many ways it has been little better there than the Streets ? Some might think so, but I might not be right to comment! The real problem, of course is in stopping new cases continuing to arrive on the scene! Poverty amongst the majority of our population is increasing, and thus the more charitable aid, help that might be seen to be available, the more there will be to take advantage of it. In fact it does seem at times that we are only encouraging the situation rather than helping it.
ELDORET is currently said to be dealing with such problems more successfully than any other towns in the Republic. I personally, would not want to confirm it. There IS a lot of real concern both at Government (both local and central) and Private Sector levels, but so far not a great deal of material increase in the provision of residential care, rehabilitation, or simply good strategy. This weeks joint action by the Registered Children's Homes in our immediate Districts resulted from an Appeal made at the Children's Forum. Out of some 14 Homes there represented we only managed to get 18 offers of immediate help to reduce the present overpopulation of unwanted children under 10 years presently in need. For me this was a distinct disappointment, as I had felt that if we, poor as we are, could afford to stretch what we have to take at least 9, then many of the others who live a more predictable financial life would have done more. An urgent effort to obtain realistic statistics of the actual numerical needs are hoped to appear during November. It is indeed more than agonising to have to watch these children - from 2 to 18+ destroying their lives in front of us.
Of those we have recieved this week, we have placed 6 girls and 2 boys in Tyndale Cottage with Micah and Catherin Senge; 1 girl of 9 years (she has HIV) in Drakely Cottage with Steve and Emily; and two boys in Jacaranda Cottage with Joseph and Beatrice. Testimony House is too full already to receive more for the time being. We now have a total population of 146. And of course although our new arrivals all look like little angels, we are aware that they come to us with a great deal of unwholesome experience and aquired habits. Many have been exposed to immoral practice, crime and addiction to various substances. Of course we shall do our best to keep a careful eye on them all, and pray they will slowly accommodate themselves to our own way of life and to the influence of God's Spirit.
It is NOT the first time we have admitted children from the Rescue Centre - Perhaps more than 30 over the last 20 to 15 years. Generally they have responded and done well, but they have certainly needed a lot more care and supervision, love and patience. It is always interesting to note that these sudden influxes, and the urgency for them, have usually occured at times of economic problems for us as well. I am sure that we often reach out to help before we have even counted the cost. We have in fact been often critised and cautioned about this - since our budget is and always has been unpredictable. The Lord has always undertaken, however, proving always His Mercy and Compassion for the orphaned. He is SO good to all of us.
Generally we are rejoicing all together at our ability to have been able to offer help at this time to so many - our walls are indeed elastic!!
originally built for 40, now houses more than 185 MINUS the 11 pictured above, and perhaps also minus another 20 taken in to other Charitable Children's Homes during the past week. The Centre is poorly supported by the Community and not at all by Government. Techincally it was opened as a Rehabilitation Centre with the idea of taking vagrant children into temporary (6month) care for investigation, rehabilitation, and then either repatriation to their families or to some suitable institution for further care of education. However this did not work out, and so in the end it has become purely a dumping centre with no real plan of how long to keep the inmates. It has had a bad record and has continued to exist purely and simply because there was no other place to take the inflow of youngsters floo
ding to the streets. In many ways it has been little better there than the Streets ? Some might think so, but I might not be right to comment! The real problem, of course is in stopping new cases continuing to arrive on the scene! Poverty amongst the majority of our population is increasing, and thus the more charitable aid, help that might be seen to be available, the more there will be to take advantage of it. In fact it does seem at times that we are only encouraging the situation rather than helping it.ELDORET is currently said to be dealing with such problems more successfully than any other towns in the Republic. I personally, would not want to confirm it. There IS a lot of real concern both at Government (both local and central) and Private Sector levels, but so far not a great deal of material increase in the provision of residential care, rehabilitation, or simply good strategy. This weeks joint action by the Registered Children's Homes in our immediate Districts resulted from an Appeal made at the Children's Forum. Out of some 14 Homes there represented we only managed to get 18 offers of immediate help to reduce the present overpopulation of unwanted children under 10 years presently in need. For me this was a distinct disappointment, as I had felt that if we, poor as we are, could afford to stretch what we have to take at least 9, then many of the others who live a more predictable financial life would have done more. An urgent effort to obtain realistic statistics of the actual numerical needs are hoped to appear during November. It is indeed more than agonising to have to watch these children - from 2 to 18+ destroying their lives in front of us.
Of those we have recieved this week, we have placed 6 girls and 2 boys in Tyndale Cottage with Micah and Catherin Senge; 1 girl of 9 years (she has HIV) in Drakely Cottage with Steve and Emily; and two boys in Jacaranda Cottage with Joseph and Beatrice. Testimony House is too full already to receive more for the time being. We now have a total population of 146. And of course although our new arrivals all look like little angels, we are aware that they come to us with a great deal of unwholesome experience and aquired habits. Many have been exposed to immoral practice, crime and addiction to various substances. Of course we shall do our best to keep a careful eye on them all, and pray they will slowly accommodate themselves to our own way of life and to the influence of God's Spirit.
It is NOT the first time we have admitted children from the Rescue Centre - Perhaps more than 30 over the last 20 to 15 years. Generally they have responded and done well, but they have certainly needed a lot more care and supervision, love and patience. It is always interesting to note that these sudden influxes, and the urgency for them, have usually occured at times of economic problems for us as well. I am sure that we often reach out to help before we have even counted the cost. We have in fact been often critised and cautioned about this - since our budget is and always has been unpredictable. The Lord has always undertaken, however, proving always His Mercy and Compassion for the orphaned. He is SO good to all of us.
Generally we are rejoicing all together at our ability to have been able to offer help at this time to so many - our walls are indeed elastic!!
MORE photos on Face book. In the meantime our Love to you all. Having to be short again as I have been more than usually busy today - preparing another Sunday Message, working on a Bible Study for Monday, and finding time to celebrate Helen's 21st Birthday - it was last Wednesday, but she is home from Nairobi for the week-end so we had a family get together for her. God is good. Every little detail, the good and the bad is in His Hands, and we are CARED for.
Love in Him to you all
JOHN AND ESTHER
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