Mental health issues can often affect street children due to chronic psychosocial distress associated with marginalisation, hunger, and violence. Violence against children is common in Kenya, a problem with lifelong negative consequences. A survey published by UNICEF in 2018 found that 79% of boys and 76% of girls had experienced physical, sexual, and/or emotional violence before the age of 18. In general, 42% of children in the country (8.7 million) live in economic poverty, and about 53% of children (11.1 million) live in multidimensional poverty (KNBS, 2020). This reality might often drive young people toward substance abuse as a means of escape. There are several rehabilitation centres in Kibera, the largest slum in Africa, that try to tackle this issue. Ndugu Mdogo (Little Brother in Swahili) rescue centre, which I visited in December 2023, rehabilitates kids, teaches life and communication skills, offers shelter and provides kids with a sense of hope.

“About 80% of the boys we support come from families living in extreme poverty: this is the reason why a large number of young people grow up in a violent environment, which pushes them toward substance abuse,” explains Jack Matika – “a way out often chosen to escape from the harsh reality that surrounds them.” Helping families, therefore, means addressing the issue at its root, and in this sense, financial support constitutes an essential form of assistance. However, according to Jack, it is not the most important aspect: “It is time, affection, and attention that are missing, more than material goods.”

First and foremost, it is necessary to understand the immense effort required from these children, who are called to confront new aspects of their personality, often veiled by traumatic life experiences. Vivid memories that, over time, can overshadow their most fragile side—a part of their personality that is very often denied and that they must first discover, then acknowledge, and finally name. “Asking themselves the questions ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Who do I want to become?’ represents the first step toward a path of growth that they must embrace without coercion,” emphasizes Father Kizito. For this reason as well, it is crucial to offer them a kind of affection they have never experienced before—an affection capable of awakening a part of themselves repressed by fears and violence, which only an act of love can set free.