We have had links to Kenyan organisations since 2008, and we have been working with Glad’s House, based in Mombasa, since 2014.
In the last five years, along with Glad’s House, we have conducted a series of joint trainings and workshops in Mombasa, London and Kolkata as well as working on projects including the Street Child World Cup in Rio De Janeiro and Moscow.
Glad’s House formally became our Regional Coordinating Partner (RCP) for East Africa in 2018. As part of this partnership, we continue to invest in Glad’s House’s Street Work practice and support them as a hub of best practice for Street Work, to further our shared goal of putting a trustworthy adult in the life of every street-connected child.
Aims
The ultimate goals of our partnership with Glad’s House are to (1) develop a regional network of partners across East Africa who are committed to the delivery of Street Work in support of street-connected children; and (2) maximise positive growth and development for street-connected children and minimise the stigma, discrimination and abuse towards them.
The first phase of this ambitious program was the development of a network in Mombasa. As with all RCPs, we continue to support not only Glad’s House’s own Street Work but also the building of the network and the network member’s capacity for Street Work. Our support is framed in the Four Pillars of (1) Informing through data collection and research; (2) Influencing through advocacy and awareness raising; (3) Building the capacity of Glad’s House and the network members through training and mentoring; and (4) Strengthening the sustainability of the network and Glad’s House
Impact
“We redesigned the street soccer program. The bigger boys have expressed a lot of gratitude for this move. They participated in two friendly matches including with the inmates in an adult prison. They got a chance to play with some of their friends who are in prison.”
During the first year of the partnership, the Glad’s House team of 8 Street Workers supported an average of 583 children per month. Glad’s House has also engaged with 8 organisations to build the network and delivered Street Worker training to 16 staff members.
Glad’s House’s engagement with both civil society and local government creates the extraordinary possibility of implementing systemic policy and practice change across Mombasa and a model of best practice for both the country and region.
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