We all see them on the streets not knowing their names or their stories. They are the homeless of Nairobi. Individuals who, by choice or circumstance, find themselves without a roof over their heads and all they are left with are the streets of the city to scavenge for food and places to sleep. Most of us turn a blind eye to their plight as we have problems of our own, some search their pockets to find a few coins they can share – mostly to gain a clear conscious- but there is a group of individuals trying to make a difference in the lives of the homeless.
The Homeless of Nairobi started out as a Facebook page about a month ago. August 22nd to be precise. Borrowing a leaf from the Humans of New York, they aimed at sharing the stories that we fail to hear from the homeless people in Nairobi. The first story was of a man who lost his two daughters and his wife during the post election violence. He walked all the way from Molo to Nairobi to find help but did not find any thus ending up homeless in the streets of the city.
A lot more stories have been posted on the page generating interest from good Samaritans who want to help those featured. The page itself has been growing exponentially in terms of fans and now has over two thousand followers.
A posting by the admin on the page reads: “When we started the Homeless of Nairobi page, it was not only to shed light on the plight of the homeless. It was also an attempt to inspire people to talk to homeless people, to interact with them and learn their stories and help out wherever they can. We’ve already had a few people sending in stories and pictures of homeless people they’ve been speaking with and small things are happening here and there which is so wonderful to see. If we all, collectively, decide to eradicate homelessness, we will do it and soon.
Homeless of Nairobi is now one month old and we’ve received so much love and requests from people who want to help. We’ve realized that we have to evolve from just being an inspirational Facebook page to being something more and something sustainable. So in that light, we’re registering ourselves as a charity and soon we’ll be able to create a movement with complete transparency which will strive to better the lives of the homeless as well as work towards our long term goal of setting up a creative, self sustainable homeless shelter.
In the meantime, go speak to a homeless person today. Show them that society still recognizes them as human beings. Find out their stories, take a picture (with their permission) and send it to us via inbox and we’ll share the love”
We wish them all the best in their endevours and hope that from this builds a sustainable initiative to help the homeless of Nairobi.