Mark & Galaxy

Childhood was not a happy time for 20-year-old Mark or his older brother, Galaxy, 23. Their father went to prison when they were young, leaving their mother as the sole provider the family. Life was hard and before long, the family were forced to move in with their grandmother, Anita, who rented one small room which they all called home.

Lack of income from their mother’s work meant that as well as having to give up their own home, Mark and Galaxy both dropped out of school before the age of 8 as the fees were too high to cover on top of basic needs at home. The boys began joining their mother at work, scavenging on some of the many dump sites that surround Nairobi both for food to eat and for scrap metal and plastics they could collect to sell for more money.

Despite them all working, the days were stressful and the brothers rarely had enough food. At times, they resorted to stealing money from their mother to buy extra, even though they were often punished with beatings for their theft. With little keeping them at home, they decided to move onto the streets when they were barely teenagers.

Lack of food was not the only challenge Mark and Galaxy faced. Neither of them had their identity documents which made it very hard for them to move forward with opportunities that might present to them in life. In taking the first steps to get their ID documents, they came to know of Pendekezo Letu (PKL), Toybox’s partner in Kenya, and began attending some of their activities. The brothers share their story since then in their own words below.

"Before we started coming to the project, we were hopeless since life then was difficult and we had no one to turn to for assistance. We felt nobody cared. Every day at around 11am, we would head over to the dumpsite to waylay the garbage trucks before they enter the dumpsite. Here we hung on the trucks and scavenged for plastics and scrap metals before they go in so that we can get the chance to scavenge before other people do.

Our father has been in prison throughout our childhood and was released in 2021. We haven’t developed a relationship with him as he doesn’t live with us. Our mother was also ill from 2015 and then died in 2021 so now we only have our grandma."

"In July last year, the hope of acquiring identity documents after many failed attempts in the past made us get to know PKL. We also wanted to learn life skills as we felt coping with the hardships of life was a challenge. Magdalene, the Street Worker, introduced us to her colleague Charles (Identity Officer) and we shared our challenges of getting our IDs with him. He requested to meet up with our mother, but by that time, she was sickly and in hospital so couldn’t talk. We came with our grandmother. Through explaining our situation to the area Chief, we got a confirmation letter and were able to use our grandmother’s documents. Then, Charles went over to the registrar’s office of our sub-country and booked an appointment for us to undertake the vetting process.

We were asked questions about where our father was, which school we attended when we were young and various questions in our mother tongue to ascertain our ethnicity. Then we were given a date for fingerprinting and an interim card. 3 weeks later, we got the IDs.

There was a time I was employed in a hotel in Nakuru, and the time came when I was required to open a bank account, but I didn’t have the identity card. After being unable to acquire one, I was forced to quit my job. This is when I came back to Nairobi to trace my mother to assist me in applying for an ID to no avail. Since then, I have struggled for more than two years trying to get the identity card with no luck because I did not have the basic processing documents."

“I feel safe now because we can provide identity documents whenever we encounter the police who usually use the opportunity to harass and arrest us whenever we fail to produce our ID card.” Mark

"Now I can apply for any job opportunity. We’re also hopeful of securing a job with the National Hygiene programme where fellow youths living on the streets are being employed to conserve and clean our environment.

Having my ID card means I am now known and recognised as a full Kenyan, and I am able to access government services because we often use to avoid any government offices because of lack of ID," says Mark.

"And I can now register a phone sim card. These days, many people send money by phone and if you don’t have a sim card, you have to use someone else’s line and they can receive that money and not give it to you. I hope to learn skills in auto mechanics. My dream is to be a good mechanic, to have my own house and family and live like other ordinary people – and to be a good role model to other street-connected children and youth," dreams Galaxy.

“I feel so happy that now I can be considered fully as a Kenyan citizen – I can vote.” Galaxy

As well as receiving support to get their identity documents, Mark and Galaxy have also participated in some of PKL’s other activities focussing on rights awareness and life skills. Galaxy's life, in particular, has changed significantly since he's had support to escape an addiction to drugs.

“I have been able to sober up from drug addiction thanks to the life skills, guidance and counselling sessions. I feel comfortable now I know my new skills and am happy when I attend the sports events. Of late, I’ve also noticed that people have started to change their perceptions of street-connected youths and we are now able to live harmoniously in the community.

My role model is David (another young man supported by PKL) who used to come to our base. He enrolled in a mechanic course with PKL and he completed the course. Due to his good performance, he was taken on by the owner of the business and he now works there. He is always good mannered and humble.

My family is the most important thing to me because they are all I have, and we support each other.”

Mark has also empowered himself by learning more about his rights and setting boundaries for himself that allow him to make the best decisions for him and his future.

“Now I feel more knowledgeable about life and my rights. I can avoid peer influence from bad company. Having people around me who I can trust makes me feel safe. I treasure my life; it is the most important thing I have, and I want to make it and become a successful business man.”

“Other children should not give up on the process – it’s good to have an ID. There will be light at the end of the tunnel.” Mark

To learn more about how you can help more children like Mark and Galaxy get their birth certificates, visit www.toybox.org.uk/christmas