Every morning, Mwitha leaves for school on an empty stomach.
No breakfast.
No packed lunch.
No idea what she’ll find when she returns home in the evening.
What she does know is this: she must find a way to feed her younger siblings before the day ends.
Mwitha is just 14 years old, still in primary school. But life has forced her into a role no child should ever have to take on—she is the parent, the provider, and the protector of her family.
A Home That Isn’t Safe
Mwitha’s parents struggle with alcoholism. They are barely able to care for themselves—let alone their children. The burden of responsibility has fallen entirely on her small shoulders.
Each evening after school, Mwitha goes from shop to shop, borrowing flour for ugali—even though the family is already deep in debt. With whatever she gets, she then heads to the shamba (farm) to pick kale, spinach, and wild greens.
This is the only meal she and her siblings will eat. If there’s enough firewood.
Because even cooking is a challenge.
They use a three-stone stove—the only form of cooking available to them. And before she can cook, Mwitha must first gather firewood, sometimes walking long distances just to find enough to light a fire.
Where She Sleeps Will Break Your Heart
At night, Mwitha and her siblings don’t sleep on a bed.
They don’t even have a mattress.
Their “bedroom” is a patch of muddy floor, covered with an old sack. The house has no cement, no tiles, no comfort. Just cold, dirt, and silence.
Yet somehow, she still wakes up and goes to school.
School—and the Struggle to Stay
Balancing school and survival is a daily war for Mwitha.
On weekends, instead of resting or catching up on studies, she works in the rice fields to try and repay shop debts—most of which weren’t even hers, but her parents’.
And she’s not alone.
Many girls in her situation are forced to drop out of school, choosing early marriage just to escape the pressure. They give up their education, their dreams, and sometimes—their safety.
A Small Victory, But a Start
Thanks to support from PGIO, our team on the ground was able to take a small but meaningful step:
We bought a bed and a mattress for Mwitha and her siblings.
For the first time in a long time, they didn’t have to sleep on the floor.
A single mattress brought back a sense of dignity and hope to a child who has lived too long without either.
But There’s a Bigger Problem We Must Face—Together
Last year’s floods destroyed our rescue home—the one safe space where children like Mwitha could find shelter, protection, education, and care.
And now?
They have nowhere else to turn.
We urgently need to renovate and restore the rescue home. Children like Mwitha are waiting—not just for a place to sleep, but for a chance to be children again.
💔 The Truth? Mwitha Is One of Many
Her story is real. Her pain is daily.
But she is just one of hundreds of children across Kenya living in extreme neglect and poverty.
Children who are raising themselves.
Children sleeping on the floor, cooking over open fires, skipping school, and shouldering debts that don’t belong to them.
You Can Help Rewrite This Story
🛠️ We need funds to rebuild the rescue home.
🛏️ We need mattresses, bedding, and food.
📚 We need school supplies and dignity kits.
❤️ We need you.
✅ How You Can Help Today:
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Donate – Every coin brings us closer to safety.
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Sponsor a child – Be the reason they stay in school.
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Share this story – Awareness saves lives too.
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Partner with us – Let’s build stronger communities together.
🌱 Let’s not wait for another child to break. Let’s act now.
