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First and foremost I would like, on behalf of Hope for
Orphans and Rescue Centre (or HOREC in short), to extend our most sincere
gratitude for the invitation to your church to share the journey that led to
the birth of HOREC. My names are Christine Wambui Munyi, the founder of HOREC.
As a young girl I harbored dreams of becoming a nun or a
nurse. I was actively involved in our Church as most of you are. It is always a
joy when I see how most of the young people from this Church are passionate
about the less
fortunate in the society and it reminds me when I was young.
After I completed college my life took an unexpected turn. I
met a young man who pursued me with so much vigor that we ended up marrying. My
dreams of becoming a nun remained just that-dreams. It’s during that period
that I ventured into business. I started a successful saloon business in the
CBD. I concentrated on the saloon business until my sister, who was very dear
to fell sick. I did all I could to ensure that she got well in vain. Later on
she was diagnosed with AIDS. Then AIDS was associated with all kinds of evils.
The stigma was so much that we were practically left on our own devices.
Information on HIV and AIDS was scanty. The little information that filtered
was that it was a death sentence.
My sister health became worse by the day…..It’s during that
period that I had the privilege of meeting Asunta Wagura, the founder of KENWA
who had declared her HIV status as positive. To me she looked healthy-I
explained to her about my sister condition. She was helpful but before any
assistance could be extended to my sister she died. It was too late and it
totally crushed me. That is the day I vowed to work with people living with HIV
and AIDS.
I closed shop and joined an organization for women with HIV
and AIDS as a coordinator. It wasn’t easy as we were not paid and the working
conditions were deplorable. I coordinated all the activities in Kiambiu and I
saw first-hand the miserable state the slum dwellers lived. So many people
died-I would see an ailing person like today only to be informed that he had
died that same night. We did all we could and I saw God healing people through
the provision of food and ARVs we provided them. Sometime it was very
disheartening to learn that a person who was healing was in a changaa den
enjoying his tipple instead to adhering to the drugs we had given them.
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| Anthony Gumbo and Carol Kakuve of HOREC wow the congregation with a song. |
What we did not do as an organization was taking care of the
children who had been orphaned as a result HIV and AIDS. These children became
targets of sex pests, some who had been accommodated by their relatives were
turned into househelps. The state of affairs bothered me a great deal. I would
report about the sad state of affairs to the area chief. The villain would be
arrested only to be released the very same day. I started receiving death
threats. I put my life in danger on many occasion-I remember once I was almost
thrown in a river after I had reported a case of sexual abuse on a minor.
These incidents prompted me to start taking some of these
children into my house. All my children were in boarding school and my husband
was working in Mombasa then. When my husband came back from Mombasa and found
that I had children in our house he wasn’t impressed at all. He had little
knowledge, like most of the people back then, of HIV and AIDS. He gave me an
ultimatum of getting those children out of the house or he would kick all of us
out.
With no money and support, I headed to Ruai-I was living in
Komarock then-to look for a place where I could keep the children. It wasn’t easy
as most people were not comfortable with my narration of how I got the
children. I almost got a place in Ruai only for the wife of the landlord to be
uncomfortable with the arrangement….I was shattered. Let me not delve on the
lows-the history is long but because of time allow me to bring you back to the
present day HOREC.
Currently we have a total of 35 childre-26 girls and 9 boys.
My first born is in college studying social work, 4 are in secondary school and
the rest in a primary school. The children under HOREC care are either infected
or affected with HIV and AIDS. The youths from this church have been amazing;
the love they show the children cannot be overemphasized. I came to learn of
KAG Buruburu through Charles who came with youths from this church while HOREC
was still located in Ruai. The relationship with HOREC continues to date and the
love shown by the yours and by extension your parents who support you is the
true calling of what Christianity embodies. I would also like to see your
parents visit us to see your brothers and sisters in HOREC. Our children are
your children.
Thank you.
