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The Street Ministry in Eastleigh
Our ministry begins in the streets of Eastleigh. We go to the streets to find kids just as they are, and offer them a new life. Our team is trained to take first aid, friendship, Bible study, food, sports, counseling, and the opportunity to go to a skills training school - all the things needed by children who are sleeping on the streets.
On the streets, we are looking for boys and girls who are 13-14 years old and ready for a new life free from glue, drugs, stealing and hunger. We also look for young girls who are pregnant or have babies. Girls with babies may choose to live with us in Kamulu where our other teens live. Several of our team members live at the Eastleigh Center and minister daily at the street bases and at the center. They teach Bible and make friends at the bases. They help the older youth get national identity cards and they go with street kids to visit family members, trying to reconcile broken families. Larry and Hollye Conway spend their days at the Eastleigh Center: Larry at bases and Hollye helping with mothers and girls at the center. The Conways are a vital part of our Eastleigh ministry and serve with love and grace in very difficult environment. |
Life in Kamulu
The boys and girls who come to live with us in Kamulu are blessed with a loving, safe and healthy environment. We have separate boys and girls compounds with dorms and kitchens. Students are in charge of cooking their breakfasts and evening meals and work to keep their clothes cleaned and living quarters kept up. There are dorm supervisors who oversee the students and make sure their needs are met.
There are many aspects to life in Kamulu. Every day starts with a chapel time, full of singing, praying, words of encouragement and announcements for the day. Students have daily studies in Bible, Math, Computers and English. They learn to live together as a family through sports, chores and working alongside teachers and visitors. Students are also active in the church, giving them opportunities to grow in spirit and service. Skills training is available to students once they turn 16. Students choose a skills path in the area of auto mechanics, sewing, woodworking, catering, hairdressing, computers or farming. Once students turn 17 years old, they can take on an internship in a local business to further their skills. Students also take part in business training, computer classes and Bible studies to better prepare them for going out into the world to build a new life once they exit our program. |
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Our Properties
The Learning Center at Kamulu is about 45 minutes driving from Nairobi. The Learning Center is where our classrooms are located and where we feed students lunch. Our computer lab is located at the Learning Center and is a favorite meeting place for students and staff. Near the Learning Center are our shops, which are located along the highway. We have a tea house, a salon, and a uniform shop that are open to the public and provide valuable training opportunities for our students.
The Girls' Compound has dorms for 34 girls and a newly improved kitchen and study area. The 34 boys in our program live on a seven acre property where they have two dorms, a basketball court, a water well and our water tower (where visitors stay). A soccer field and pens for our animals (cattle, goats and chickens) are also located at the boy's compound, along with three acres of farm land under dripline irrigation, where we grow tomatoes, kale, bananas, beans and other vegetables.
Adjacent to the Boys' Compound is the new multi-purpose building where we have daily chapel. The multi-purpose building is where the Kamulu Church now meets. Also on this property is the MITS orchard and the nursery school building. Our nursery school program is large enough to accommodate 12 children. This nursery school is primarily for use by our single moms who come to Kamulu for skills training and for children of our own team members.
Another property is the "20 Acres" located about a mile's walk from the Learning Center. Our woodworking program, MITS uniform factory, catering training and salon training classrooms are located at the 20 Acres. We have new dorms constructed there and also new houses for some of our staff members. Also, there are several acres of farm land where we grow corn, bananas and other vegetables.
The Girls' Compound has dorms for 34 girls and a newly improved kitchen and study area. The 34 boys in our program live on a seven acre property where they have two dorms, a basketball court, a water well and our water tower (where visitors stay). A soccer field and pens for our animals (cattle, goats and chickens) are also located at the boy's compound, along with three acres of farm land under dripline irrigation, where we grow tomatoes, kale, bananas, beans and other vegetables.
Adjacent to the Boys' Compound is the new multi-purpose building where we have daily chapel. The multi-purpose building is where the Kamulu Church now meets. Also on this property is the MITS orchard and the nursery school building. Our nursery school program is large enough to accommodate 12 children. This nursery school is primarily for use by our single moms who come to Kamulu for skills training and for children of our own team members.
Another property is the "20 Acres" located about a mile's walk from the Learning Center. Our woodworking program, MITS uniform factory, catering training and salon training classrooms are located at the 20 Acres. We have new dorms constructed there and also new houses for some of our staff members. Also, there are several acres of farm land where we grow corn, bananas and other vegetables.
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Skills TrainingStudents complete skills training and business training to become as prepared as possible to live on their own. By the time they exit our program, they will complete government exams in the skill area they have studied and will have work experience in local small businesses. Before they leave MITS, they will also prepare a professional resume as part of their exit plan.
MITS staff carefully counsels students on "life outside" and completes each student's life story, allowing students to state what was learned and how each has grown during their time at MITS. Staff and students spend time planning the process by which they will leave MITS and begin their new lives in the outside world. Above all, they encourage a life of faith in God. MITS staff assists students with the exit process and goes with students with their first interviews. MITS assists with rent until students have settled into paying jobs. Staff members also go with exiting students to a church near their new home to help with the transition process. |
The Church
The Kamulu Church of Christ meets in our new multi-purpose building. Attendance is usually 135 in worship service, plus an additional 60 children in Sunday school. They meet Sunday morning and they have care groups that meet on Friday evenings. Our students stay active in the church, giving them opportunities to grow in spirit and service. Our students regularly read scripture, give talks, sing on the praise team and serve in many other ways each week.
A church also meets at the Eastleigh Center and small cell groups regularly meet at street bases in the Eastleigh area. |
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AgricultureAll of our students spend time working on the farm each week. Many of our students have grown up in the city, so learning to grow crops is a new experience for them. They are learning how food is grown and how to tend many aspects of the farm.
All the acreage is fenced, and twelve acres near the Boy's Compound are under cultivation, with four of those acres irrigated under drip lines. The 20 acres is also fenced and plowed, and we have drilled a new water well, which provides even more water than our first well. We have more than 500 fruit trees planted in our orchard. The trees are growing slowly, even though it is a difficult work to keep weeds and grass out of the orchard. In about 3 years we expect to have much fruit for street kids. |
Board of DirectorsWe are blessed to have a board of directors who freely give their time as they help guide our ministry. We'd like to thank these men and women for their commitment and dedication.
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David Wilson, President (Nashville, TN)
Bob Brannon, Treasurer (Nashville, TN) Steve Sherman, Secretary (Nashville, TN) Ralph Wilson, Assistant Treasurer (Thompsons Station, TN) Sarah Wilson (Nashville, TN) Kevin Wimpy (Franklin, TN) Suzette Wimpy (Franklin, TN) Paula Frisby (Franklin, TN) Jerry Rainey (Brentwood, TN) Tim Lewis (Irving, TX) Darren Wilson (Guthrie, TX) Bill Rider (Mount Vernon, IA) Moe Colby (Vinton, IA) Michelle Jack (Thousand Oaks, CA) |
