A Dickens Tale

Two weeks ago, while walking home from dropping off the kids at school, a young teenage boy approach me. Right away my New York sensibilities kicked in as I sized him up. He seemed to be a street kid, probably wanted money or worse wanted to rob me, who knows. I hurried my pace to my gate and stood in front of the guard while I talked to him. His name is Dickens, a very shy teenager. What he asked was amazing to me. He didn’t want money or food, he just wanted help to get back to school!

Kayla and I have been thinking a lot about how we can contribute to the community here. There is so much need you could go in any direction anywhere and find something to do. We have been thinking about working with an orphanage. It would be something we can do as a family too, even the kids. But this boy came to me first and I was intrigued. I told him I had no idea what it meant to send him to boarding school in Kenya and I won’t say no right away but I would speak to Kayla, to see if we would be interested in supporting him. I told him to give me a week to research.

Kayla and I agreed we should do the research but after four days I was still asking questions when Dickens saw me in town and asked how it was going. I told him I had no answers yet. He told me he would bring his friend Chris, a relief worker from England, around to see me.

Chris is a great source of information and manages to clarify a lot. Dickens himself, steers me to a missionary organization called Interfelk. I will say up front that I’m not so keen on the missionary system and the only reason I agreed to check them out is that Dickens was interested checking them out.

Two days later I meet with Silus at the Interfelk center and we set up a meeting with Dickens and Interfelk. Turns out the whole design of Interfelk is to take care of street kids like Dickens so this might be the right place for him. Apparently kids have to start out by come to their school three days a week for around a year, while still having to find their own room and board, before they accept them into the school program (sounds a little like brainwashing to me but whatever) and the room and board is 30,000 Kenyan shillings a year (which is about $500 USD) and after discussing with Kayla we think it might be do-able, but, we should proceed (with caution).

Two days later I bring Dickens in to the Interfelk office and guess what, Silus already knows him (surprise) AND he’s already been through their system only to drop out just before he is able to go to boarding school. Trying to find out why he left is hard, everyone gets a different story from him. But he still ‘seems’ to be motivated now. I leave Dickens at their office and I’m on my way.

Later that same day I see Dickens in town, he says things are going well and he is going to continue with the program. I buy him lunch while we talk. Now he tells me he is ill, thinks he has malaria. I agree to get him tested before we buy meds. Tests negative, probably just a bad head cold. Now I’m starting to feel a little more cautious about him, like maybe I’m being ‘played’. I run into Chris, the aid worker/friend, he knows of a place for Dickens to stay so we try to work out the details of how he can meet up with James, who has a house for four or five boys to stay in. Are you exhausted by all this? I am!

Four days later Dickens is at our gate with yet another aid worker to meet with me. Diane works for yet another mission. She says that they might have a place for him. They would be able to take him right away, they have a farm outside of town and a school. He seems interested, and eventually he meets with them.

In time Dickens is offered  three opportunities that he is reluctant to pursue. He sites his fear of any commitments because of two prior abusive situations and the lack of freedom a boarding school offers. As it stands now, it’s up to him but he’s gonna have to take a chance on one of these things or stay in the streets.

The story is not over but I’m not very hopeful he’ll do anything. He’s either been ‘playing’ me to try to get me just to give him money or it’s just not something I can help him with. Either way I have learned a lot of new things about Kisumu; aid organizations, missions, street kids, boarding schools, and made some new friends.