FIGHTING FOR LIVES: Glue sniffing and street children in Kenya - charity work at Berur Street Care

To: Izaac d'Aquin Auguste Dobles (1996-2010)
We only met once while your dad taught me Silat but I'll remember you as, "the small guy with the big smile who keeps offering me soda"
Rest in Peace little brother - Parvez

This is the 1st of 10 videos about our charity work at Berur Street Care International in Kenya (December 2010). This is a general video summarising everything that went on... we donated around 400 000 shillings in total (about 4000 euros) about 700 euros went to taking all the children out on a day trip to Nakuru National Park and about 3300 was donated to the facility so they could buy land to build a stable home. On top of that we provided activities which included capoeira, mathematics, filipino martial arts, music and singing. Finally we also visited the places that the children are coming from. The people running Berur Street Care have proven to me that superheroes still exist. Enjoy the video and check out all the other videos we have on the trip.

FIGHTING FOR LIVES in Kenya for Street Kids at Berur

This is the 2nd of 10 videos about our charity work at Berur Street Care International in Kenya (December 2010). Here we are having some fun practicing Filipino Martial Arts with some of the kids before they were taken to see their relatives from the slum village that they have come from.

Filipino Martial Arts + street kids slum village Kenya

This is the 3rd of 10 videos about our charity work at Berur Street Care International in Kenya (December 2010). Here we take the children (over 40 of them) and their caretakers to the Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya. We all had a great time and it was wonderful to be able to give the kids a day out that they'll remember!

Day trip to Nakuru for street children at Berur, Kenya

This is the 4th of 10 videos about our charity work at Berur Street Care International in Kenya (December 2010). We donated about 330,000 shillings (ca. 3300 euros) towards the purchase of land for a stable home. Currently they are renting, which offers no long term stability for the street children that go there. A further 70,000 shillings (ca. 700 euros) was used for the day trip to Nakuru National Park (see 3rd video of 10)...and a little extra was spent on purchasing musical instruments to donate to the facility.

FIGHTING FOR LIVES donation to Berur Street Care International, Kenya

This is the 5th of 10 videos about our charity work at Berur Street Care International in Kenya (December 2010). Here were are teaching the children to play capoeira. Alot of fun, a healthy pastime and a skill they can keep and develop upon... enjoy the video!

Capoeira at Street Kids Home in Kenya (Berur)

This is the 6th of 10 videos about our charity work at Berur Street Care International in Kenya (December 2010). Here were are learning to sing Lá Lauê together both in the original Portuguese and also in Swahili (so the kids can understand)! A lot of fun and the children laughed at me greatly through every practice... quite possibly because my Swahili didn't sound right! :)

The Swahili version we used is like this (I didn't keep the bem-ti-vi part as a bird but had it translated literally as "well i saw")

Vizuri nilikuona ukiruka
Vizuri nilikuona ukiruka
Basi ni kuruka
Lá Lauê Lauê Lauê Lauê
Hiyo sauti ni ya sana hii
Ja kumpambana na kucheza
Je ni duara ajabu?
Ni FIGHTING FOR LIVES!!
Kila sauti, kila kugusa, kila upande
Ana Style ya kucheza
Kila sauti, kila kugusa, kila upande
Ana Style ya kucheza
Lauê Lauê La.....
Lá Lauê Lauê Lauê Lauê

La Laue [Lá Lauê] (in Swahili) at Street Kids Home in Kenya (Berur)

This is the 7th and 8th of 10 videos about our charity work at Berur Street Care International in Kenya (December 2010). It is the first and second part of a two-part informational video and highlights one of the gluesniffing areas in Eldoret where the staff at Berur Street Care International find street children and offer them and their parents rehabilitation, residence, food, education and a better life. It was a real honour to be taken to these slum areas to meet the glue sniffing parents of some of the children I had been entertaining through the week. Many of these guys have scars everywhere (unfortunately like their children too). Criminality through the nights is normal and they are often targeted and beaten over nothing. The glue seems to be an 'escape' from the life they live. Unfortunately, some of the mothers also share glue with toddlers and children. The children are exposed on a daily basis to violence, glue, pathogens and harmful bacteria from the garbage tip and the river.

Part 1 - Glue sniffing slums in Kenya: home of the street children

Part 2 - Glue sniffing slums in Kenya: home of the street children

This is the 9th of 10 videos about our charity work at Berur Street Care International in Kenya (December 2010). We donated 80 academic books earlier in the year (January 2010). During part of our time at Berur Street Care we used these same books to help the children a little with mathematics. We both work at universities and have the necessary skills to teach. According to Kirsten, since we made the book donation in January, the children have improved considerably. We are very happy to hear this!

Mathematics practice for Kenyan street children (Berur)

This is the last of 10 videos about our charity work at Berur Street Care International in Kenya (December 2010). In this video one of the founders of Berur, Kirsten, tells us a little about the home, the drop in centre, the problems they have had and still have through renting and the hope for a stable home. At Fighting for Lives we aim to help raise the necessary funds for them to have a stable home for street children....LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!!

Interview with Kirsten Vårdal and hopes for a stable street kids home