Ester

          On Monday we went back to the twins house to see how Ester, Patrick, Franco and Dorcas were doing. Patrick was out, but we ran into the mother so we talked with her for a while. She was not cooking maize so we her how the business was going. She told us that it had been going well, but because Patrick is the man of the house, he holds all of the money and is in charge of going to buy the things they need to sell. When it is time for him to go into town to buy things he just hangs around and does nothing. Leila asked her what the plan is for when we bring the twins back in a month if they weren’t going to keep the business going. Ester told us not to bring the twins back and her eyes started to tear up.  She told us that she plans on leaving Patrick on Wednesday morning. She told us that they argue all of the time, he beats her and that he is bringing a second wife into the home even though he is unable to adequately provide for his family  now. So, she is taking Marcy, Franco and Dorcas to her mother’s home and probably never coming back. 

Franco

Mary, Ester's firstborn

Dorcas

  We went back the next day to talk to Patrick and see what he had to say. Leila asked him about the business and he kept coming up with different excuses and admitted that they just ate everything that was meant to be sold. He wouldn’t accept responsibility for his lack of willingness to work and provide for his family. In the beginning it seemed like the mother was the one to blame because she sat at home while her husband was sick, but now he is better and is still unwilling to take the simple steps that could help his family’s situation drastically improve. We asked him how he plans on supporting the twins when we bring them back in a months time. He said they will sit here like they did before and eat if there’s food and not eat if there isn’t. 

One thing here that is heartbreaking is that many people don’t value children. They are seen more as a burden than anything else and because they are not looked at as a blessing they are often mistreated. This is an effect of poverty. These people are in survival mode and I think it makes it difficult for them to put the needs of their children first when they themselves are struggling to survive. The good thing is that Ester is showing us that she really cares about her children and is willing to work for them when she could easily just abandon them. We went back today hoping that she was still around and found her collecting firewood. When she was talking to us you could see that she was holding back tears. She told us that she was unable to get money for transportation, but was leaving as soon as she did. There was no talking her out of it, so we asked her again about the twins. She said that in El Doret, where her mother lives, she will find work as house help or sell things on the street like she did before the family moved to Kitale. She plans on saving money until she is able to find a place of her own where she can live with her kids. She said that once she gets back on her feet she would gladly take the twins back.  It might take some time for her to be able to earn the money to be able to support them all, but at least she is willing to put in the work.

Me with Dorcas

Dorcas running up to greet us

Franco

          Rael and Rose are removed from this situation and have at least one parent who truly cares about their well-being, but there are countless other children all over Kenya who are living in conditions like this or worse. Although, God knows their needs and will provide in one way or another it is still a difficult thing to see children suffer from the choices their parents make. Despite their hardships, these kids still have so much joy and you can see it on all of their faces.

Me with Franco and Dorcas