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"Who funds you,” Is a question commonly asked by people whenever they encounter a successful project. I’m one of those people who continually asks this question. I have visited children’s' homes and been involved in many events that involve some of the many non-governmental organisations in Kenya Today.
Normally when I ask the question "Who funds you?" There is always an answer of so many international and less local funders. There is always the main sponsor and associate sponsors. You can therefore understand why I was in shock when I got a different answer to that question: "Sisi kwa sisi.” Now if you are a Kenyan reading this you might have concluded by now that I'm talking about the environmental organization, no I'm not talking about "Sisi kwa sisi" the organization I'm talking about "Sisi kwa sisi" the method of survival used by the Dreams youth team. To non Kenyans "sisi kwa sisi," in Swahili literally means by us for us. When I asked the Dreams youth team who funds you, they gladly told me that the project is run by themselves for themselves. They raise the funds themselves and use it.
Dreams youth is an organization of thirty three young adults, based in Mathare slum, Nairobi. The actual location of the project in the vast slum is called Kosovo. It is called Kosovo because of the circumstances surrounding its formation. There was a war between land grabbers and the slum dwellers before it was legally decided that Kosovo was government land and therefore for the majority squatters. Therefore they settled and extend the Mathare slum.
After former street children, I should say among the first street children in Kenya, completed there skills courses at different church institutions, they had to face the reality that the church could only host them for a certain period of time, and had to move out for the next bunch of street children. They had to establish themselves as adults even before they became adults. Thus the birth of Dreams youth. Ten years ago they moved to the cheapest place (the slum) in the city that they had grown in.
The slum might be the cheapest place to live in, but it also costs to live there. These former street children faced the challenge of either going back to the streets at night as gangsters or earning a living the hard way. As the secretary Robert Kamande told me, "Everyone was sure that the easiest way to start out big was to steal. But we discussed the repercussions of this and saw that the faster you earn, the faster you loose. "Thus the decision was made to stay off the streets:" a life everyone of us never wanted to re-live again," Ekutwa confirmed.
From the church, armed with skills but no capital the Dreams youth started a new life. They had to make money fast. Members worked day and night for daily jobs that earned them about 200 Kenyan shillings a day at most and 10 Kenyan shillings at least. That translates to two dollars at most and few cents at least. And then their earnings were banked. Dreams youth office is a tree shade with a poster that reads "Dreams youth." "An office is not a priority," said Kamande when I asked him why they did not have one.
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christopher bernardo | Oct 29th, 2003
nice article. Im Christopher. Pleaso do email me some of your other works. I am also a contributor in TIG. Keep it up, cmli_jc@yahoo.com
real home life keith martin sendagire | Nov 27th, 2004
Yea i have to admit that what you wrote was all in my eye's i think this article is nice and good , to the way i live in the same sitaution i understand you might have wrote this after being just next to me for about 2days in your life
KEEP IT UP BROTHER send me any article atkiethmat05@hotmail.com
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