Across Kenya, it is estimated that more than 300,000 children live on the streets, making it one of the larger social issues in the country. In one particular town, Eldoret, this was known as a nationwide hot-spot for street children, and once upon a time, there were thousands of street children who lived here. However, in early 2023, we were informed of an incident that took place against the street children, reducing that number to very few. In May 2023, we went to investigate...
The Street Children of Eldoret
We originally visited Kenya in 2019, looking to investigate the issue of street children in the town of Eldoret. When working there, we found thousands of children who resided on the streets, living in horrible conditions of unimaginable poverty. Initially, we were working with a local organisation named 'EX-STREET' which was founded by a local community activist, who was a former street child.
From 2019-2022, we were planning to work with EX-STREET to deliver an ongoing project, which could provide permanent support to the street child population of Eldoret. At first, we were seeking funding to provide free education, sports and nutrition for the street child community. Unfortunately, our funding appeals always fell short.
However, in early 2023, our friends at EX-STREET alerted us to an incident that had taken place against the street child population. It had been alleged that most of the street children had been rounded up, and then subsequently gone missing, many of them presumed dead.
Upon learning about this, in May 2023, we set out to Eldoret to investigate the truth behind this issue. We teamed up with a journalist from BBC Africa, who intended to help us to release a short article on the issue, which would raise international awareness about the plight of Eldoret's street children.
Sadly, due to ongoing communication issues, the BBC article fell through, but having gathered hours of footage and evidence ourselves, we decided to publish the information ourselves.
Our Documentary:
WHat happened to the street children of eldoret?
We're currently in the process of releasing our own documentary on the issues we found when visiting Kenya in May 2023. The footage that we gathered, and the evidence that we have compiled, points towards an official culprit who is responsible for the disappearance of Eldoret's street children.