Currently we have 25 boys living with us. Most of them have been with us for 6 years or more.  Nico has been part of the family since December 2002, while Pennius has just been here since October 2012. The age range is between 12 and 24 and most of them live in a dormitary close to our house. The boys who live with us have all come to us through different means and with different stories. Some of them have family living in Zambia and remain in contact with them but some of them dont know where any of their family are.

Don and Christine met a lot of the boys when they started giving them lunch on Sundays. Some of them were on the streets because their family couldn't afford to keep them any more; for some a parent had died and the step parent didn't want to look after someone elses children and others had run away from abusive situations. Some of the boys that stay here didnt live on the streets, they found their way to Don and Christine before they were forced to the streets through difficult circumstances.

Like a lot of teenage boys they are football mad and spend many hours playing and watching or listening to 'the game'. Some of them are extremely talented musically and although they have never had any formal lessons enjoy playing the guitar, keyboard and singing. Friday nights are movie nights where they all gather around the projector in the lounge to watch a movie together with Dad. 

We also have one young girl - Memory - aged 13.  She and her brother Lucky were orphaned 7 years ago and we were asked if we would look after them.  We felt our work was with street kids but then realised that it made no sense to wait until they had reached the street and then to help them if we could prevent it happening in the first place.  Memory and Rachel - Don and Christine's younger daughter - are inseparable friends and share a room which is in constant need of tidying up!

We often get asked why we have "only boys", and although this is not strictly true as Memory proves, it is a fair question.  Across the world, statistics show that 70% of first generation street children are boys.  In Zambia this figure is nearer 90%.  Girls will be kept because they are often seen as having economic benefit - they can be made to do housework, can be married off for dowry at a young age or can make money as sex workers.   Boys on the other hand are seen as nothing but trouble, and are therefore abandoned much more quickly.  In addition, Western driven pro-girl policy means that there is far more provision for destitute girls than for boys.

The boys all go to two different schools. Tina Trust school is a 40 minute walk from the farm. All of the boys in Grade 8 and above go to Tina trust. The boys in Grade 7 and below go to Lusaka East school. Lusaka east is about a 25 minute walk from the farm and we have been sending children to the school there for a long time.

We also support over 30 pupils in and around the Lusaka area. Some of them are siblings or relations of the boys we have staying with us and others are children who have come desperate for help with school fees, exam fess or uniforms. These pupils are able to remain with their families and attend government schools near their homes.

The boys (and Memo) are shown in the photos below, and we hope in due course to have a short profile of each of the kids written by themselves.

Click on the picture to see names.