MATHARE YOUTH SPORTS ASSOCIATION

The life expectancy rate for men in Mathare is low even by Kenyan standards and those that do outlive their peers are often tempted away from their families by drugs and alcohol. Most families are headed by single mothers who struggle to support their families let alone pay school fees. As a result, children in Mathare are often left to their own devices, spending their days on the streets looking for food or income.

Many are arrested by the police for hanging around on the street and find themselves in juvenile courts and remand homes. They are only meant to stay there until their parents come and collect them but their mothers are not told where they are and don’t know where to find them.

Remand homes run on a shoestring budget and struggle to even provide the most basic supplies. Three times a week, children in the remand homes are rounded up and taken to the juvenile courts where they are often charged with vagrancy. The experience is terrifying as they, some as young as three years old, are crowded into tiny cells with no light, ventilation or food.

At MYSA, through our Child at Risk programme, we are working to help these young people and reunite them with their families. We provide meals, medical care, and simple care and attention to the remand homes. We also run sports activities and other educational classes to teach them about respect, discipline and the values that will help stop them getting into trouble again. Once they are released, we reunite them with their families and help them get a place at school.