Mathare
Slum heroine's stride to bring back the abandoned
By Erick Diang'a
Within the slum is Good Samaritan Children’s home
and Rehabilitation Centre. Ms Mercy Thuo famously known as Mama Mercy was the
founder in 1992. She has dedicated herself to take care of young parentless
children for twenty-two years.
Mama Mercy is a mother of three, endowed
with affection for the minors and has a selfless character. The heroine ventured into cereal business in
1980s and later chose to rehabilitate and feed hungry children. Her urge to
care for children enabled her to construct children’s home on a land that was initially
a dump site.
“I am enthusiastic in the sense that God has given
me the young angels to take care of. I feel rich for accomplishing what many
won’t dare handle,” Said mama Mercy. She added that she will not stop giving
hospitality to the needy until the last day.
The facility has 156 children who rely on Mama
Mercy’s kindheartedness. She reiterates that there are various ways in which
the children get into the home. Administration chiefs, police or good
Samaritans bring abandoned ones to begin a new life. Street children who have
the knowledge of the facility come to find shelter and food without necessarily
being brought in by adults. The home is also a rescue place for children
defiled by parents or relatives. In early years, she could go out to the streets
to ask urchins their problems and even bring them to the facility, a task she
decided to abandon after the fame of the facility.
To make the budget possible for her, mama mercy
receives funds from youths who volunteer to give donations. Many of the youths
are from various learning institutions like Zetech College, which visited the
home in mid last year 2012, Nairobi University, Methodist University and other
middle level colleges. Twenty seven students from the home are undertaking
their courses in Nairobi university. Other 50 got sponsorships from St Mary’s
Hospital in Lang’ata. The 145 Secondary school students in different schools as
well rely on the home when schools are closed. This forces mama mercy to double
the budget to cater for the needs of the children.
The home has caretakers who ensure that children are
clean and fed. External volunteers frequently visit the home to offer guidance
and counseling to youths. They are also taught spiritually to instill
discipline within them. When young children reach schooling ages, Ms Thuo takes
the initiative to find schools for them. She has engaged women by advising them
to form groups of ten each and educate at least a child.
Through her success to make children excel in their
lives, she has met challenges. Children join the facility at tender ages hence
parental care becomes vital but she makes sure that babies get the comfort they
would have gotten from their mothers. Medication for malnourished and the ailing
children is another shortcoming in the facility. “Twenty children are HIV
positive and they have to get their medication daily. They cannot speak so I
have to take them for HIV tests,” she said. The facility lacks enough
accommodation space for all the children. They have to squeeze to fit the few
beds available. This can easily allow air borne and water borne diseases to
spread rapidly. For this reason she has been in a constant lobbying exercise to
make ends meet.
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