Kiundu Waweru

Along the Nairobi-Mombasa Road, is the sun kissed, wind swept town of Mlolongo. The dust blows and spirals to the sky inexorably hitting you in the eyes ruthlessly. Visiting the town for the first time, you curse as you gasp for breath and shield your eyes from the raging dust and the hot sun.

Nestled behind this gloom and doom, however, is a haven of hope, aptly named Heritage of Faith and Hope Children’s Rehabilitation Centre. This is a non-profit organisation founded by a compassionate heart for street children, orphans and destitute children within the community. The home’s objective is to holistically develop the children — physically, emotionally, spiritually, academically and morally. Husband and wife, Rev Joseph and Teresiah Waweru Kimiti, founded the centre six years after they both lost their jobs when the company they worked for, after it went under receivership. Theirs is a story that reads like a fairy tale, tinged with the amazing power of a strong believe in God. Teresiah Gathiori narrates of how God used her to reach out to unfortunate children.

"I still remember July 15, 1996 vividly as if it was yesterday," she begins. "We reported to work as usual at Kenya National Assurance and everything seemed normal. A few hours later, we were asked to go home — for good — as the prestigious Insurance Parastatal had gone under…" she pauses with a dreamlike look of remembrance. Teresiah, who worked at the Motor Department’s front office adds that it was hard to digest the news given that there had been no warning signs. Worse still, her husband, Joseph Waweru, also worked for the same company as an agent.

All the employees hit onto the streets in protest. "How could they do this to us?" they mourned. But after eight weeks of protest, Teresiah says she paused and took stock of the reality: "We had five children, and the first born was in Standard Eight. We had no savings but for Sh4,000 in cash.

Financial pressure

Our house in Harambee Estate was under mortgage — the pressure to get a job was huge." Despite this, Teresiah strongly felt that she could not look for another job. What to do? "One day, just from the blues, a voice told me, ‘Teresiah, sell meat’, I did not know any thing to do with meat, or where the abattoirs were situated," she reminisces. Nevertheless, she obeyed and traced Kiamaiko where they specialise in mutton. She bought 10kg of mutton at Sh700 and asked the butcher to cut it into quarters, halves and kilos and pack them in polythene bags.

She placed her wares in a huge basket and off she went. Her first stop was her estate, Harambee; she knocked on doors. At this juncture, she pauses and then says, "Picture me, a lady who had worked for the same company for 17 years, going to work everyday in high heels, hawking meat in a basket…!" To date, Teresiah says that she has never understood how people trusted her as to buy the meat. "That first day, I made a profit of Sh500, God had shown me favour."

She went on ‘hawking’ the meat and soon she was soliciting for orders in city hotels. Surprisingly, everyone she approached never turned her back without placing an order. One client, Princess Hotel, even asked her if she could supply them with rice and beans. She said yes, even though she had no idea where to get the products. Despite being a soft-spoken lady, Teresiah forcefully says that the word ‘no’ and ‘I cannot’ has never featured in her vocabulary.

Breakthrough at last

Her determination paid off when she got an order with the YMCA, Alamano Seminary and the juicier one, which really ‘blessed’ her, the Catholic University of Eastern Africa where she supplies 500kg of beef bi-monthly.

"When I was starting off, I asked God to bless the work of my hands, and in return, I had promised him I will touch someone in need."

One year later, she sat down and took stock. "I had Sh300, 000 in cash," she says matter of fact. "We managed to take our child to high school and we generally had a good life." Two and a half years later, Teresiah and her husband coolly walked into DT Dobie showroom and came out with a brand new Datsun pick-up truck.

"God had kept his promise. Around that time, I felt compelled to give back. I started to empower women at our church (Bethel Ministries), giving them hope and even funding them to start their own businesses." Her husband was the youth pastor then and they would take the young men to Burma where the couple had their business. "We taught them how to de-bone the meat, employed them in our butchery and we even opened food kiosks and reached out to dejected house helps and employed them too."

Making of the home

Teresiah solemnly narrates how one day she saw a street boy scavenging in dustbins in front of her food kiosk. "I was touched and I asked the boy to come in. After feeding him, we talked and the boy said he was willing to live a decent life if given a chance. I told him of Jesus, prayed for him and he got saved, there and then."

Teresiah took the 18-year-old home, and employed him at the butchery. And the family had no qualms. "My family is amazing, in fact, I would later take more street children to live with us. My children never once complained. They loved them as their own siblings and they would even share clothes!"

No stopping yet

Teresiah did not stop there. Around the Re-insurance Plaza, she discovered a group of street children who had made the place into their home. She started a ritual where she would pack food from her kiosk and bring it to them everyday. They would then talk and pray. One day she asked them: "What if someone took you out of the streets. Would you agree?" the answer was a unanimous, "Ndio mama (yes mum)".

She talked to her husband about the idea of starting a home. He was for it. "We identified a place in Kitengela and the home, with 38 children, was born on August 30, 2002. However, something happened and we had to unceremoniously relocate to Mlolongo," she rues.

They enrolled the children in school and the grown ups to vocational training institutes. Around this time, an entrepreneurial organisation, Partners World Wide, got wind of what they were doing. "They invited me to a conference in California, USA, where I gave a speech. One of the attendants, Mr Rodney Huisken was touched by our project and offered to support us with $2,000 monthly," she smiles.

Highly needed help

In 2005, the home supported 70 children. Their premise in Mlolongo was becoming congested. Luckily, Rodney visited Kenya the same year and asked Teresiah to look for bigger premises. "There was a flat under construction in the neighbourhood, and we got a good deal. We moved and Rodney, God bless him, pays for the rent, which is Sh82,000, monthly." In the same year, they started a primary school, Heritage of Faith Christian School, after which they withdrew the children from other schools to integrate them with those around the community. The first bunch sat for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education, KCPE, last year. Ten of the children have completed Form Four with four bagging straight Bs.

Teresiah thanks God for what they have managed to achieve. Their major challenge is the cost for running the primary school, teacher and staff salaries, secondary school fees among a myriad others. However, she is quick to add that compassionate individuals and companies have extended a helping hand as the home and school solely survive on sponsors. Notable is Mavoko Municipal Council, which gave them a 300-acre piece of land where they ultimately want to settle. Already, construction is underway.

Teresiah Gathiori was born on Christmas Day, 1959 in Gatundu. She attended Ngenda Secondary School and always wanted to be a nun. Together with her husband, they take care of 90 children in the home and are blessed with six of their own.