An African Boy named Peter

Slowly we wound our way into this Northern Kenya slum near a town called Eldoret. People, stopped and stared at me, I am sure not too many white men had ventured here. This was not your average tourist attraction; this was sheer hell, and certainly would rank amongst the worst in this world.

Small shacks made out of dark, red clay, the ground seemed to churn up after a recent downpour. Our vehicle just inched its way along in order to avoid the hundreds of people all around.

Our driver stopped the Land Rover in front of a nondescript hut; I wondered how he knew that this was the place. A young boy came out through the door covered by a filthy piece of cloth. A big grin on his face, his eyes wide, he waved to us.

It was there I met Peter, at his so-called home, but like so many children in this slum, all Peter had ever known in his life of 11 years was misery, poverty, sickness, death, hunger and a shortage of nearly anything and everything.

He looked at me and said "Habari Muzungu" and I answered him with a simple mzuri. I had come to take Peter out of this squalor, to talk with him and his grandmother, whether I could bring him to a home and school in nearby Kisumu, where he would live with other children like him, be fed, housed, clothed, but most of receive nurturing love.

Peter and I sat on a small makeshift bench at the back of his house, drinking warm Coca-Cola and getting reacquainted with one another. I asked him how life had been. He did not say anything, just silence. I asked him again, and again there was a silence. My hand reached out for his, and we sat there in the warm afternoon sun, quietly, just two people connected by a touch of a hand.

My mind went back to my own childhood, my own growing up years, when people used to ask me how things were and I simply said fine, or like Peter - silence.
I thought of the times, where there was no money in my family, when there was not much food, when there was no love, and I was a child like Peter in survival mode.

Peter began to talk, to tell me in a smoky sort of voice about his life. He told me how he had not eaten anything in three days, but mostly stayed inside of his house lying on a straw mat, trying to escape the hunger.

He told how his grandmother would go out at night or in the day even and try to find men to sell herself too, so that there would be some money for food. How the uncle would come and steal even the little there was in the house. How no one interfered with his uncle, since he had murdered three people in the last few years and the police were looking for him, but every time that they showed up, he would know it and disappear into the slum or go to a nearby village.

He began to talk about his mother, her life as a prostitute, her violent death, her wanting to throw him into a pit latrine just after he was born. Tears trailed down his face. Our hands still united, understanding the moment in time that were we part of.

No words were needed from me, he knew somehow that I understood, that I knew what it was like, that somehow, even though our skin color was different this young boy knew I was a safe person, he felt accepted, home with me.

Age wise we were miles a part, we came from different cultures, but somehow he sensed that I understood him, that I felt his pain, maybe he even realized that I had a childhood, not unlike his own.
Germany, was thousands of miles from this slum, but as Peter spoke, I was back home, I felt once again the sting of the rejection of a father as he deserted his family, I felt the beatings of a mother across my face until she drew blood. Of being called a bastard because I was conceived prior to my parents were married. Of being abused by an older person at a very young age. Yes I felt what Peter felt. It became so real again.

The times of crying in my room, under my featherbed to muffle the sounds, the feelings of abandonment, isolation, of not feeling the love a young boy needs. Of finding safety in books, of going to church during the day and simply sitting there looking at an image of Jesus hanging high above me, praying for change. Of daily running away into the forest up by the castle and making a fire and simply dreaming of a better world, where I would and could make a difference. Yes I felt what Peter felt. I had been there and now could do something about not my life back then but his life today.

Years have past since my childhood; the scars are still there, the pain even surfaces at times. Somehow though I refuse to see myself as a victim, but have learned to allow my past to shape my present into a better world for me.

The Land Rover slowly inched its way out of the slum, Peter's meager belonging in the back, our hands still touching, knowing that it was OK to dream - to believe - in a world where one can still laugh and dance, growing and becoming...jon

The Children of Africa Section

Stories of African Children, Pictures of African Children, Life for children in Africa

Africa's Children Struggling to Survive: Life is a daily struggle for the children of Africa. The things we take for granted in the west are often simply absent. From nutrition to hygiene, from education to the lack of books for reading, find out what life is like for the children of Africa.

Meet Monie and Leakey: Two children and their stories. Two different countries, Monie in Rwanda and Leakey in Kenya, but the struggle to survive is similar. One a child of an unjust war that resulted in a genocide, the other child a boy of the streets in Nairobi. Both give you insight into the daily lives of children in Africa.

You will be glad to have read these two stories.

Life in a Kampala Neighborhood: I spent some months living in an area of Kampala where you will not many a western person. My home, was in a small courtyard where one of the children I became friends with was Axum. An account of what life is like for people in Kampala, Uganda and how children live in tough times.

A day in a School in Africa: A day at Saint Andrew's Nursery and Primary School in Kampala, Uganda. Get a feel of what school is like in a Kampala neighborhood. Get a feel of what school life is like for a child at Saint Andrew's Nursery and Primary in Kansanga, Kampala, Uganda.

Life Saving Medicine - Soap and Water: Death comes to thousands of children in Africa, all it takes to prevent it is soap and water. What people do not realize is that soap and water will eliminate 40% of children's sicknesses and diseases. The best medicine for African children is simple soap and water. The problem is access to water, besides water in many cases costs money and has to be carried a distance, so you avoid using it, even for washing of hand in the case of children.

Aids and the Children of Africa: Each day more children become orphans because of the ravages of AIDS. Many children are born being HIV positive and life ahead of them is simply tragic. The emotional scars, the inner and outer pain is great for the children of Africa.

Culture – Patriarchal Ways and Education of Girls: African Parents are deeply concerned for the education of their children. Boys are pushed to be educated, girls on the other hand, if there is a lack of funds, they just might be the first to stay home. The poorer the family, the bigger the chance that the girls in the family will stay home and help at home. 67% of girls in slums drop out of school while only 38% of boys do so.

Born in the USA and Born in Africa -Where you are born, determines how you live: For most children born in Africa, life is simply tougher than being born in the west. Life for a child in Africa is simply a struggle. From the moment of birth life becomes a fight for survival.

The children of the LRA: This section deals with the children of Northern Uganda. Find out about Child soldiers of the LRA, what happens to abducted children, the children who evaded captivity by becoming night commuters, the stories of abducted children. The person behind the abductions of children, Joseph Kony.

They just keep on coming: There is Church and then there the unique, one of a kind church for children in the Bugolobi area of Kampala. It is amazing sight as children stream in rain or shine to come to church. They come mostly from slum areas nearby, but quite a few walk several miles to come to church on a Sunday morning.

Children born into Slums: A child that is born into a slum in Africa does not have much of a chance in life. From day to day survival which ranges access to clean water and food to education, it is all about money. The future for such a child means being locked into the cycle of poverty and rarely is there a way out for such a child.

Children - Born into slums-The Solution=Education: How do you help a child in a slum in Africa? Education is the solution and even with education alone there is no guarantee since here in Africa getting a job, any job is simply tough, without an education there is no hope for a meaningful future and a breaking of the cycle of poverty.

Children Born into Slums - Child Sponsorship: Sponsor a Child in a slum in Kampala. His or her parents have no money to help and assist their children. There is not enough money even for food, at times for water, at times to pay to go to a latrine. Life is simply tough. When it comes to education, children stay at home, work around the house, take care of the other children and miss out on being a child.

Send a book to a Child in Africa: If you go into a home in Uganda, one thing that will be absent are books. In Kampala there are only about five book stores to be found. Children grow up not reading. The power and of the dream and imagination is simply not released in the life of a child. Your donation of some books could and would make a difference in the life of a child living in a slum, where books are the last things one thinks about.

Start a Library in Africa for Children: Libraries, one can spend hours in them. In Uganda, most schools do not have lending libraries. If there are some books, they are behind a locked door, behind glass, to be protected. Children are deprived of books that would allow them to grow and become. Start a library in Africa is a project with the intention of getting thousands of books into hands of children that will allow them to released in their imagination and heart.

African Children Photo Album: The pictures of Africa's Children tell their story. One can read the stories on this site, but when you see the pictures of the children of Africa, your heart simply melts. Meet the children of Africa through pictures. There are lots of pages for you to peruse and enjoy.

Make a difference in the Life of a Child: It is one thing to read about the children of Africa, look at the picture, but coming here and being with the children is most awesome thing one can experience. Not only will you make a difference in the life of a child, but a difference in your own life. One to two weeks that will be life changing.

What can I do? This is a question that I am often asked, here are some practical answers as to how you can help and assist the children of Africa. One of the most inspiring ways is coming here to spend a few weeks and visit. It is one of the best investments you can ever make.