This teenage mother and her daughter were rescued from the streets of Thika town where she used to scavenge for food from the public dust bins and begging from the members of public, especially around the supermarket exits. The shop corridors along mama Ngina street was their sleeping place. These children became a big talk in Thika town from the members of public, after the teenage mother was always found drunk and sniffing glue and exposing
her helpless baby to the cold.
The department of children in Thika sub-county and Thika police station gender oce intervened and the two children were rescued and placed to Kusitawi village for care, protection and rehabilitation. Over time this teenage mother and her baby were fully rehabilitated She chose to train on hair dressing and beauty therapy, this was after we had tried to persuade the teenage mother to enroll in primary school education to complete her basic formal education but she refused.
As the children went with capacity building, efforts to trace her parents at Kiandutu slums were successful. Although her mother suers from substance abuse and addiction, we conducted a social inquiry. After conducting our inquiry we realized that the mother lacked the financial and social skills to take care of her children. Sadly, we determined it was not possible to reunite the children with their biological parents. We had to re-strategize on
alternative care option.
We started by tracing the great-grandmother in Murang`a county. We discovered that the great-grandmother has the good will to care for her grand children but her heath was of great concern. She promised to help us trace her daughter who is the biological grandmother to the teenage mother. Together with her we were able to trace the grandmother who was very happy to meet her granddaughter and the great-grand daughter. She promised to take care of Lucy and Shaqueen. Happily we reintegrated these children to her and they are currently living together. Lucy sat for national industrial training authority examinations and is waiting for the results. She has been attached to a saloon within the shopping center and fine-tuning her profession.