On Friday, I made an overnight trip to Arusha with the Amani street educator, Godfrey, to learn how he works with kids and the conditions in which they live. Amani special education teacher and roomate, Laura, tagged along for the ride. The trip to get on the bus at Moshi depot was harrowing in itself, as touts surrounded us, yelling, and with no concept of personal space. We finally jumped on the emptiest bus, even though we knew it wouldn’t leave for a bit, just to get away from the worst of them.
After a ride of about an hour and a half, we met up with Godfrey and booked a room in the same hotel in which he usually stays when in Arusha. He usually works with the kids til later in the night and buses don’t run late enough to get you home and, even if they did, you wouldn’t want to take them. It’s largely unsafe to travel at night. I heard that in the 1980s, before it was paved, the Arusha-Dar es Salaam highway was in the Guiness Book of World Records for being most dangerous road in the world. Adventure!
We went to the streets twice that night, once in the early evening, the second time later, around 10:00 p.m. At first we saw few children and Godfrey explained it was because it was still early—they were out on their own scouting for food. They congregate together again at night and sleep in small camps.
In an effort to engage the kids, Godfrey invited a group to play a card game. We sat on the ground of the Arusha bus depot and shuffled the cards. I think it was called “six card”, but I’m not certain. All that I know for sure is that my newbie’s luck held and I won the first round by accident. As the game went on, I saw several children sucking on small plastic bottles. I saw Godfrey’s hand move quick as lightning trying to grab the bottle, but the kid was faster. “When it’s cold outside and they have nothing to eat,” said one volunteer, “the kids sniff glue to sleep.”
Substance abuse is very prevelant among the kids and, as we spoke to them, several of them sucked on plastic bottles hidden behind their coats, which contained glue or some other inhalant. Substance abuse and dependence seems to be the most prevelant reason why children refuse assistance. Even some of the younger children, as young as nine, have admitted to using heroin—oblivious, as children are, to the danger of dirty needles.
Godfrey is wonderful at his job; I can’t think of anyone better suited for it. He roams different streets throughout the metropolitan areas, searching for children in need. Though his kindness and sincerity is obvious, he has a sort of emotional detachment which allows him to relate to the children on their level, while maintaining his own sanity. He is known among the long-term street survivors and I very often heard him greeted as “teach-ah”. One by one, Godfrey coaxes them to Amani.
We took a break and got some traditional African food before returning to the kids. We met up with a larger group of children now, back at the bus depot. Godfrey announced that he would buy a round a chai and bread, if the kids were hungry, and the number of children instantly doubled. When I stopped to count, 16 children gathered around waiting to be poured chai from a street vendor.
Later, as we continued around the city by car, we came upon the same group of children with which we’d played cards earlier in the evening. Several of the boys were talking to a man. Godfrey asked the driver to pull over. When the man saw Godfrey approach, he scurried away in quick fashion. Sexual predators also inhabit the dark streets of Arusha and know how to get what they want for cheap. I haven’t been so very mad at a single man in a very long time. Try as I might, I would never want to forget, but I can’t see the man’s face in my mind—it’s just a blur of shadows.
(I have made it a personal policy not to post any pictures of children with their names in any post. Due to the conditions in which we found them, I have further elected not to post pictures that clearly show the children’s faces.)
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