Theatre  Music 
Human rights

"I am Duncan Njoroge and I was born in 1994 in Kibera slum; I grew up in Ndugu Mdogo home. After being rescued from the streets I stayed in Ndugu Mdogo for four years where I also attended primary school at Kerarapon and later joined Domus Mariae secondary school. Am currently in college doing my diploma in social work at Diakonia institute 

I have had a lot of ups and downs in life since I was a little child, my parents were teenagers when they messed their life, and so life became a bit tough for them and my dad ended up being an alcoholic addict, this habit caused their relationship and my parents separated in 1997. I was left with my grandmother who I stayed with till I started going to school and so conflict started between the two families as for who is supposed to stay with me and so this affected my studies in the lower primary. 

After some years of conflict between the two families the decision was made that I stay with my mother, but already she was married to another man as a second wife, the first wife already had three daughters, she was at the rural area while my mom was in Nairobi with the man. Every time they would decide to go to the up country they would leave me with a neighbor, and this neighbor use to mistreat me a lot by batting me a lot and refusing me food. One day after a terrible beating which left me with a lot of injuries I decided to run to my father’s place to find help.

At my father’s place things were not as easy as I thought, things were much harder because my father had also married another woman who had five children {four boys and one girl} my dad and my step mother both did not have a job and so they only depended on the fire wood which they used to go collect In the forest and the sell, per day they would make Kshs 100 if much Kshs 200. Not forgetting my dad had the same drinking habits which would bring a lot of chaos in the house every time he comes drank. And so my aunty decide to take me to her home.

My aunty had four children (2 boys and 2 girls) she was also staying with her sister who had five children{ 3 boys and 2 girls} we were all staying in the same small house in Kibera. My aunty took me to Olympic primary school in grade three. The only challenge was food, clothes and a place to sleep because we were many in one house. My father and my aunty were unable to pay my tuition money and so I was chased from school.

At this point my cousins and I decided to depend on dumping places for food, and sometimes going around to collect metals to get money to buy food and other things that we needed, through this activities we meet other children like us who had the same surviving tactic and we became friend this made us more close to the streets than home.

After staying in streets for some time, I was introduced to drugs (like bhang and glue} this drugs were to give us confidence to approach people to ask for money or food. This is how I got myself in the streets of Nairobi. 

In the year 2005 while in our normal activities in the streets, we were approached by a social worker called Robert Mugendi who offered to buy us tea and late introduced us to Boniface Okada. This was my first encounter with Koinonia community. After few days of bonding Okada and Robert introduced us to our new home, the Nndugu Mdogo rescue center inn Kibera. There I met Fr. Kizito and my life changed.

Life started changing because of the love and care which was in Ndugu Mdogo, the teachers were very kind and ready to rehabilitate us in every way possible. At that particular time the only thing I wanted is to go back to school and feel normal like other children who were in school. Koinonia made me see light again after taking us to a new home at Kerarapon in the year 17-12-2006. This was my new home, where I also found a new family, and I started going to school in 2007 I started in grade 4.

Life was never the same again Koinonia had made my dreams come true, I was a happy child with every basic needs and nothing to complain about. I stayed in ndugu mdogo for four years and later I was reintegrated in the year 2011 after completing my primary school. I was reunited back with my mother at her home in kawangware.

In 2012 I joined domus mariae secondary school for my high school education for four years and I completed in 2016. And I immediately started going to college, I was also given an opportunity to work with children at Kivuli center as a peer- educator all this journey being supported by Koinonia Community.

I am currently (2019) a social worker in Riruta health project, one of Koinonia projects, working with for the community of Kabiria and Dagoretti south at large, am now a stable person who can support his daily activities and other activities in the community.

I give all Glory to God and many thanks to Koinonia Community."