TEN YEARS STRONG!!!!!!

A decade ago, Alfajiri set out in a journey to reach out to street children through art creation and discover our common humanity. In a tiny office in Pangani and a team of volunteers, unsure of where this journey would lead to. What was certain was that there were children in need living in deplorable conditions in the streets. At the time, the UN estimated close to 300,000 children living on the streets in Kenya.

Street Children and Youths

These are our children, the core of our work. They mainly range in age from 6 to 21 years. The young people and children live in the streets, rubbish dumps, or sleep under shop verandahs, near drains and dirty roads, curling up together at night to stay warm and fend off predators. They have no blanket, pillow, no roof to cover them or walls to shelter them or arms to hold them, no family but each other. There is nowhere to wash in the street and no toilet. Imagine. Their clothes are dirty and flea ridden. The girls seeking shelter with older men or in households where usually they suffer abuse, coming and going, begging for food, selling themselves for sex from a young age.

Paradoxically street kids are full of energy and surprising joy, covering sadness and rejection, illness and fear, hunger and cold with each other and various numbing substances such as wood glue, sniffed from small plastic bottles purchased from various drug dealers at 20 shillings a bottle, or musee, which is jet fuel. They beg at street corners, traffic lights and along the roads, or collect plastics and scrap metal to sell. These street kids are a universal presence in Kenya with 60,000 in Nairobi alone.

The fact of our presence means there is a safe haven, a place to go to while in trouble or sickness or be provided with counseling in their search for possible life transformation, education or a way to get home. Even the ones who do not come to the drop-in resource center have the security of knowing we are there and word of mouth among the street people has spread the reassurance we can offer. The obstacles we face in collaborating with these brave and beautiful kids, are their past traumas, their lack of trust, a street culture which keeps them together living in gangs in below standards of basic human decency. They forget their own value, stay loyal to each other and make their own alternative families in opposing groups. They run the risk of death by accident, police shooting neighborhood poisoning human trafficking and exploitation and local violence. Their life spans are short if not rescued.

They are the future of Kenya and the world and only need the chance to believe in themselves.

Alfajiri began by holding weekly art workshops at the Missionaries of Mother Teresa Mission in Pangani in 2015 as a response to the suffering of these children.

The organization rescued children from the streets of Nairobi and took them to school, vocational/children centers, rehab facilities, and also back home.

There was a need to strategize and better understand the needs of the children to avoid relapse and treat addictions which were keeping them in abject conditions. The rescues were now guided by the young people themselves including them in the decision-making process, as well as cooperating with local partners who did similar work to help them.

In the early years of Alfajiri the Director began assisting these kids.  Having about 12 children, 10 boys and 2 girls.  

In 2017, the organization was able to secure funding from Beyond the Orphanage foundation which operated successfully in Ethiopia in similar conditions.  Alfajiri was able to expand its programs to reach out to 19 other new children in or at risk of going to the streets, supporting them to stay with their families. Children flee to Nairobi looking for help from rural areas. The beneficiaries we rescued had their homes spread out across the country. Five stable and committed volunteers were absorbed as full-time staff.  Since them, staff have been professionally trained in trauma interventions program management, community development, and social work.   One achieving master in development studies.

To date, Alfajiri has reached over 400,000 community members including children, youth, families and both local and international audiences through its outreach initiatives, art exhibitions, livelihood programs and psycho-social support services. The organization has engaged over 20,000 children and youths through psycho-social support and mentorship providing formal and informal training to 500 children, supported 350 youth and families in launching small businesses, facilitated the relocation of 20 families, and connected numerous young people to employment opportunities. We have nurtured 80 young and passionate Alfajiri artists, many of whom have emerged from the streets and ghettos. Over the years, they have developed professionally and gone on to exhibit their work at the Kenya National Museum and internationally. Their art is not only exceptional but also uniquely reflective of their lived experiences.

In Alfajiri's weekly art workshops, the street children were encouraged to draw and paint from the heart. Having a director who is also an artist herself came in handy. She knew exactly what was needed to bring out the best in these children. The team affirmed the street children, encouraged them, and helped them to believe in themselves; restoring the dignity that had been robbed from them. Their worth was not diminished simply because they were in the streets. The most critical lesson was that at no point should one criticize the children’s artwork, always looking for the positive and the beauty in their artwork.

There is always something in that drawing or painting; to show how the artist visualized and felt it in their heart and mind. Before long, many art pieces had emerged, each with a story to tell. Art proving such a successful therapy and healing tool. It also became a strong force for advocacy.

At the end of 2017, Alfajiri held its first major art workshop outreach at the Nairobi Gallery. Children and staff came together to paint and colour their world. It was a one-of-a-kind event and a realization that the work of these youths was worthy of exhibitions.

In 2016, an exhibition of Alfajiri street children’s artwork, framed and beautifully presented (an Alfajiri imperative) was held at Shifteye gallery in Hurlingham Nairobi. This exhibition was funded by Ford Foundation in New York with the assistance of the Spanish artist Begona Lunde.

The following year, Alfajiri set out to hold its first National art exhibition at the Nairobi Nationam Museum.  The National Museum gave us a new beginning, creating an international platform for advocacy and display of young people’s art work reaching out to over 12,000 individuals. Alfajiri has since evolved and exhibited both locally and internationally. Internationally, the organization began with an art exhibition in France in 2022 followed by another one in Germany, and most recently in the United States in several art auctions, 2024. Several of our artists are represented in collections including at the residence of the Australian High commission.  Currently, our art pieces are spread out globally; through purchases and donations in exchange for paintings. The artists have developed from “sijui kuchora” to “art is my life.”  This has meant so much encouragement for the young marginalized people to find their voices.

Alas! Alfajiri grew, as did the number of beneficiaries, and the tiny Pangani office could no longer serve the organization’s needs. In October 2018, the Alfajiri drop-in and resource center was born. Alfajiri moved from Pangani to Kasarani, where the drop-in center is now situated in a beautiful treed environment. Alfajiri maintained its link with Pangani by continuing to hold the art workshops at Mother Teresa Mission every Wednesday with the street children.

Alfajiri is now engaged in a number of other activities such as farming, counseling of children and families, and a full-day program that engages street children in art, martial arts, Narcotics Anonymous meetings, dance, football, and, at the close of the day, a time of prayer and reflection in the chapel with the staff.

Alfajiri also conducts quarterly parents' meetings, assists with family relocation from slums to other parts of the country, and offers business training to the parents of beneficiaries and other members of the community.

The children remain our core focus. We support them toward independence through both formal and informal training and business start-ups. The children Alfajiri started with are now young adults who are still welcome to contribute to the organization’s goals. Youth programs have since been developed. Alfajiri began art workshops with these youths, mentoring them to become professional artists and engaging them in apprenticeship training in sectors such as catering, electronics repair, carpentry, plumbing, framing and canvas stretching, mechanics, and farming.

After the devastating floods and demolitions of May–June 2024, which affected major slums in Nairobi; Mathare being one of them, a major initiative was born: the Mathare Community Kitchen. Its main aim was to support the community, especially the children, with nutritious meals and to affirm the community so that they could rebuild their lives and avert more children living in the streets.

Herbs

The impact was visible, but sustainability became the next goal. Alfajiri Farm Produce for Change became a necessity as social enterprise. In January 2024, Alfajiri launched a farming initiative to help sustain its programs. The organization began by planting capsicum and various vegetables, and by October of the same year, it celebrated its first capsicum harvest, with produce sold in local markets. Since then, the farm has expanded to include herb cultivation, yielding its first herb harvest in April 2025.

 Alfajiri Farm Produce for Change is also a platform for youth employment. The farm is expanding, and in the near future, it will help complement donor funding.

What does success look like to Alfajiri.

Once upon a time, Kamau, a street boy had an opportunity to visit an art gallery where he saw his artwork on display. He sat under his art piece for hours after which Kamau wore a smile for two weeks straight. This was a moment of a lifetime, discovering his worth which made him leave the streets and go back to his family. The true success is the understanding of his worth no matter the outcome.

Odhiambo was once a street boy, deeply entangled in a drug trafficking gang, with little hope for a different future. But through Alfajiri’s compassionate and determined intervention, his life began to change. He was rescued, taken to rehabilitation, and given the chance to return to school first to primary, then to secondary education. Today, against all odds, Odhiambo is a proud second-year university student. His journey is a powerful testament to the impact of second chances and the resilience of the human spirit.

Faith and Willy graduate from college

Faith was supported through primary secondary and college.  She found her passion working in a beauty salon earning her own income. This is what we aim for our young people.

Richard was rescued from the streets, taken home and sponsored in the school for the blind in both primary and secondary. Since then, he has represented Kenya in the paralympic games and has won a silver medal in Brazil, and a gold in Kazakhstan, in May 2025.

Grace has been supported in secondary and college and is now giving back to the community as a social worker on attachment from college.   She has a deep understanding and loves the work.

In a nutshell, this is Alfajiri over the past ten years. The organization has maintained five staff, five supporting staff, and a team of volunteers who join on a rolling basis, both local and international.

Alfajiri’s beneficiaries, donors, staff, partners, individuals and you, our readers and supporters, have played a huge part in this milestone. Our hearts are filled with immense gratitude. Asanteni sana. Cheers to 10 strong years!!!!!!!

As we celebrate this milestone, we invite you to walk with us into the next decade.

“Coming together is the beginning, keeping together is progress and working together is success.” Henry Ford.