After a battle of almost two years, two young men who lived and worked on the streets were discharged from the Njiro rehabilitation center (also known as Sober houses) in Arusha on the 7th of February 2024. The group of young men at the detox center. From left to right: Hamisi, Rashidi, Kais, Mathayo and Stanley.
Kais and Stanley, had begun the detoxification process from a glue and marijuana addiction. They were discharged after an evaluation involving three parties: the beneficiaries themselves, the supervisor at the rehabilitation center and KISEDET. We all decided together that the time had come to discharge the two young men and enroll them in a vocational training school which offers courses in fabricating shoes and clothes. Vocational training aims to help their students to learn skills that will help them become independent and self-sufficient. On Friday, the 9th of February 2024 (that same week) the beneficiaries were enrolled at Ambrosini, a vocational school run by the Sisters of Santa Gemma.
We rapidly completed the transfers so we could reduce the possibility of a relapse. There, they will be trained for 6 months on different skills and after an evaluation they will decide which course to continue with.
The story of Kais and Stanley, like that of most street children and young adults, is a story of abuse and violence, both as victims/ perpetrators.
After living on the streets for a few years, Kais was a guest in all of KISEDET’s long and short-term shelters. He was reunited with his family, but then returned to the streets.
After living on the streets for about ten years, Stanley went through a traumatic experience which changed his life. After him and another boy were accused of theft, they were violently beaten and doused with petrol and by pure luck, the match did not light, allowing the two boys to escape.
Once they arrived at KISEDET, they were taken to the hospital and underwent treatment. Once Stanley left the hospital, KISEDET’s social workers suggested he stayed at the Shukurani short-term shelter.
The next day, the other boy went back to the streets. We found him a few months later in the morgue of a regional hospital, his killers unknown (see News article of 02/16/2023).
Stanley, on the other hand, resisted the temptation of going back to the streets and also the withdrawals. After about three weeks, he was admitted to the detox center.
Will Stanley and Kais make it? It’s still too early to say and/or to claim victory, but we know that they are trying hard.
Good luck dear Kais and Stanley, may you be an example to the children and young adults who still live and work on the streets and to the young adults who are undergoing rehabilitation at the Njiro centre.