Aloys (13) and Nyachuba (10)
These brave kids lost their mother a while ago. Their father remarried and moved out of the area, leaving them to fend for themselves.
They live in a two-room hut, living room and bedrom. Thre is a smaller hut which serves as the kitchen.
Aloys, the boy in this pair, milks his cow and sells the milk to buy food for the two of them. He cooks over an open grate in the kitchen. There are few utensils and some of those he has, he made himslf.
Both children attend school, and despite their desparately hard life, they both attain good marks.
Aloys, at 13 years old, has to act as father and mother to Nyachuba, administering medication if she needs it, etc.
I was astounded, when he was at the centre, preparing the soil for the vegetable patch. He was the hardest worker there. He stripped off his shirt and his hard life can be seen in his thin, sinewy body. He has muscles that many twice his age could only dream of.
But why should a kid have to work so hard that he has the body of a fully developed athlete?
Both kids are very cheerful, always helpful and rarely without a smile. In the case of Aloys, he also has a very cheeky disposition.
Their dream? To help build the Twiga centre so that they can move in and enjoy a little comfort.
Edwin (14) and Dennis (12)
Cousins to Aloys and Nyachuba, these brothers had a similar fate when their mother died. Luckily, they have an older sister who took them in, despite the fact that she is a teeneage single mother of two very small children.
Edwin is open, cheerful, helpful, and ready for hard work. Dennis is more withdrawn, but once he comes out of his shell, his rare smile lights up his usually serious face.
Edwin and Dennis put in more than their fair share of work to prepare the vegetable plot, working very hard to clear the weeds, prepare the soil and build the animal-proof fence.
They also want to help to build the Twiga centre so that they can move in and benefit.
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