Educate, Feed & Protect Children in Kibera, Kenya

Alcohol addiction is a common problem in the Kibera slum.  In an unsuccessful attempt to cope with the pervasive poverty, lack of jobs, high rates of HIV and gender based violence, men and women often turn to alcohol as an escape.  St. Vincent’s sees this trend – and its devastating effect on children – all too often among parents and caregivers of our nursery school children.

Hope* is one of these parents. A mother of four children, Hope joined the St. Vincent family four years ago when she enrolled her daughter, Mary*, in our nursery school program. It was not long before we learned of Hope’s alcohol addiction. Time and again, she would show up at school intoxicated, irate and sometimes battered. She would scream and cry about her situation, often times with Mary looking on. Consumed by her addition, it seemed impossible to reason with Hope, to get her to see the direct impact of her addiction on the health and wellbeing of Mary and her other children.  

Hope consistently denied she had a problem when confronted by the teaching staff at our school and refused to get help in treating her addiction. Typically the first one in the pub early in the morning, she had little money but was able to drink ‘on debt,’ promising to pay her bill later either with borrowed cash or with in-kind goods. Hope even used food she received from St. Vincent’s, that was intended to help feed her family, as payment for alcohol. The alcohol helped numb her problems and deny the reality of her situation.

Over the course of more than a year, St. Vincent continued to try to talk with Hope and encourage her to accept her problem and seek help at an alcohol rehabilitation centre. We expressed our concern for her life, as well as that of her children. It was frustrating and heartbreaking as it seemed no progress was being made. The effects of the alcoholism (and the ensuing fighting and violence in the home) were easily visible in Mary's demeanor at school. Mary graduated from our nursery school in November, but was not enrolled in primary school as Hope was too consumed with her drinking to initiate the process.

In January, after much persistence by the St. Vincent staff who continued to follow up with the family routinely, Hope agreed to accept help. St. Vincent called an alcohol addiction counselor from Jamii Bora, an in-patient treatment centre. The counselor met with Hope and talked to her about alcoholism, sharing her own story with addiction and recovery. The counselor then conducted an intake assessment and admitted Hope to their three-month program that comprises drug counseling and testing, group psychotherapy and medication testing.

It took consistent outreach and monitoring of Hope and her family, but St. Vincent's persistence to manage cases of the children under our care yielded a victory for Hope, Mary and the rest of the family. On the day of her departure, Hope’s husband couldn’t wait to see his wife to finally receive help. He even paid his own transport to take her to the rehabilitation centre and witnessed her being admitted. Her treatment will comprise drug counseling and testing, group psychotherapy and medication testing. St. Vincent's will provide support and monitor the family during Hope's treatment and will help her to reintegrate into her family when treatment is complete, continuing to monitor and ensure that the children's protection and wellbeing needs are being met. 

 *The names of individuals in this story have been changed to protect their identity.