FIGHTING FOR LIVES: For Kenyan Street Children - Parvez Alam, FIGHTING FOR LIVES June 2013

I AM BACK FROM KENYA!... and what a lot we achieved in this visit. Before I start I have to give huge love and thanks to Dan, Kirsten and Silas at Berur who gave their best efforts to help me achieve what I came to do for the street kids in Kenya. The video below

To summarise:

1). The home we helped build - pretty much complete and 30 kids living there - includes also a rehabilitation centre for the street kids and mothers, a skills training room for the mothers and the library we promised to build for them in 2009!
2). We purchased half an acre of land (using 2012 World Fighting for Lives funds - 5000€)... we need to get the other half acre and then we can start building a school for street children
3). We took the kids (over 50 of them!) out on a day trip to Kisumu where they had the opportunity to release anxieties and just have fun... something they absolutely loved and appreciated
4). Spent a couple of weeks teaching street kids and some of the mothers to protect themselves from violence and abuse in the street. Concentrated a little extra effort to some of the kids who i felt would be able to continue training the others over the year while I am away. ALSO a group of Kenyan fighters who will form part of Fighting for Lives Kenya have promised to train the kids once or twice a week.
5). FIGHTING FOR LIVES KENYA - a registered organisation will consist of high profile Kenyan fighters and specialists in the care of street children!!!!!.... after 4 years of coming to Kenya we finally decided the time was right and what a qualified group this will be...!! FIGHTING FOR LIVES KENYA IS THE 5TH COUNTRY THAT FIGHTING FOR LIVES IS REGISTERED IN!! - Reg. No. 67758

6). Prize giving of Fighting for Lives backpacks to the kids that tried the hardest to improve in sports, music, behaviour/kindness and academia.

As always, all travel and accommodation costs to Kenya and back have been paid for by the volunteer worker (i.e. me in this case). Pictures below:

Capoeira memories:

CAPOEIRA is positive energy and an expression of freedom like no other. It always stokes me out 100% to play capoeira games with the kids - this time at Berur was no exception! Can't wait for the next sessions with them!

Establishment of Fighting for Lives Kenya Society Reg. No. 67758:

We fought, we talked we sat down and decided it was time. Four years of coming to Kenya and now we have created an excellent board for our non-profits organisation in Kenya. Here we are:

Training for the kids and mothers:

Our promise to train the street children and mothers to deal with everyday violence they face in the streets went very well. Here are some pictures from the 2 weeks of training:

Visiting the slums:

These are the places the children spend their days surviving. They face regular abuse (of all forms) and use free glue to free themselves from the harshness of real life.

The day trip to Kisumu:

The psychological well being of children is paramount. That's why we always try to arrange for day trips whenever we get the chance!... this one was to Kisumu with 50 children.