Joseph is around 14 years old. His mother Damaris is from the Kikuyu tribe and his father Peter is from the Nandi tribe. He used to live in Kitale with his mother since his father left with his older brother.

One day, when Joseph was 10 years old, his mother brought him to Nairobi town to go to the supermarket. It became so late that they missed the last bus and had to sleep on the street of Nairobi. When Joseph woke up, his mother was gone.

Joseph was taken to the central police station who brought him to a TV Network station to make a public broadcasting inquiry to find his mother. They didn’t give him any food, so he decided to go back to the streets. It was very hard getting by on the streets but he finally met some boys who showed him how to survive.

Joseph started to beg for money and carry luggage for a living. He soon got used to life on the streets. He eats once or twice a day, but sometimes he eats nothing. When he is lucky enough to get food, he usually goes home and goes to sleep. The hunger is what wakes him up.

Sometimes the older boys forces him to wash their clothes, get them food or money. If he doesn’t, they’ll beat him.

“When you eat, you eat without insurance of when or if you’ll get food again.”

Joseph used to sleep on the streets, he’s not scared of the cold, he has gotten used to it by now. If it rains, he’ll stand under the roof or go hide somewhere. But now he’s lucky enough to have found himself a place to stay. He is sharing a room together with two other boys in Kariubangi. They share the rent of 600ksh(8.5 dollar) per month. They have one bed and one blanket, a small paraffin stove and a plastic carpet. He still has to go to town to get money for food, and sometimes he don’t get money for the bus back home, so he has to walk. It’s dangerous to walk home and there are lots of thugs on the way.
Joseph used to sniff glue sometimes, but he has now managed to stop sniffing. He didn’t know the consequences of sniffing glue, but when he heard about them, he got very scared.

Joseph can do math, but he can’t read or write. He wants to go back to school or get a real job. His dream is to become a rapper and wants to be like Lucky Dube, except from the rasta. He still remembers his mothers face and often thinks about his family and would like to find them again only to meet them.

SoulKids has known Joseph for a while and are now helping him with his rent,  bed, blanket and want to prepare him to go back to school. He will be one of the first boys who are taken in to the new rescue centre that is in our plans.

A few days after the interview with Joseph, he was arrested by the city council and placed at one of their centres. He has now run away from that centre and SoulKids are waiting to find him again.