“If I had the power, I would help all children go to school, have a good place to sleep and see that they are not hungry.”
12-year-old William lives with his aunt, uncle and six cousins in Nairobi, Kenya. When his uncle unexpectedly lost his job, the family did not have enough money to keep him in school, so William dropped out in Grade 5. Here, in his own words, William shares a little about his life and involement in the Urban Farm project.
"I dropped school in March 2024. My uncle used to do bodaboda work*, but the owner took back his motorcycle so there was no money to pay for my school. After that, my mother* had twins. Sometimes I was left to take care of the babies while she was out looking for work, so that we could get money for food.
I used to love school. My favourite part was drawing time. Watching other children going to school while I remained at home made me feel sad. The babies also cried a lot and they refused to sleep.
Sometimes, before I came to the project, I used to go to the dumpsite and the streets with my friends to collect plastics to sell. I used to earn Ksh 150 (£0.90) a day, which I used to buy food, or pay Ksh 10 to play games at the play station. I would then go by the riverbank to play with my friends until the evening. Collecting enough plastics was hard - you have to work many hours, and sometimes people called us bad names which makes you angry."
*Bodaboda work - William's uncle worked as a motorcyle courier/rider.
*William refers to his aunt as his mother
Discovering the urban farm
William joined the Urban Farm project after hearing about it through some of his friends. He shares;
"I joined the project in August. My friends told me that they were encouraged to invite other children like them — those who didn’t go to school or were on the streets — to join as well. When I first came to the project, I was afraid because I didn't know some of the children, and I didn’t know how they would behave towards me. I also thought we would be told off for not being in school. But when I continued going, the teacher* encouraged me a lot.
We have been learning good things at the project, like children’s rights and how to be good people in society, respecting our parents and how we can become great people in life despite the difficulties we face. We also learn about why drugs are bad and why we shouldn’t have friends who influence us to do bad things.
I like it when we come here to work in the farm. I have never travelled to my rural home where people farm, so it makes me feel good to have a place to do farming. We come here once or twice a week, to tend to vegetables, water them and weed. Now I know how to plant and weed. When the vegetables are fully grown, we're allowed to pick and take them home and share with our family.
Through coming to the farm, some of my friends have reduced using mssi* because they are busy. Sometimes, after the farm session, we discuss many things as we eat lunch. If you have a problem, the teacher can help you. I have made many friends. Coming to the farm gives us time to play with friends and it makes you feel happy.”
*Mssi - a common inhalent used by children and young people in street situations in Nairobi.
*William refers to the project staff member as his teacher.
Pictured above: William (in red) with some of the other project paricipants at the Urban Farm in Nairobi.
William concludes by sharing his hopes for the future;
"I want to go back to school and continue from where I left: I really miss school. When I grow up I want to be a doctor to treat people who are sick. I would be happy if my mother could get money to start a business and if my uncle could get back his boda boda job, so that we don't have to sleep without food. If I had the power, I would help all children go to school, have a good place to sleep and see that they are not hungry."