Rehema Ministries/dba In Step Foundation, Kenya

Arrived July 2006, James was brought to us, along with his sister Jessica. He was approximately 6 months old at the time and had been abandoned by his mother four months prior. The old man who found them was not able to properly care for them, giving him nothing more than a few bites of bread soaked in water each day. When James was brought to us, he was very near death. James suffers from a variety of health problems, including seizures and developmental delays, probably due to the malnutrition and dehydration that almost took his life. Despite his rough beginning, James is one of the happiest kids you will ever meet. He will be with us his whole life.

Arrived November 2008, he was 7 months old, and he was living with mother on the streets. She is mentally unstable and people were worried about her ability to take care of him. With the cooperation of their local chief, they “rescued” the child from his mother. He is a very happy boy who loves people and smiles constantly.

Arrived December 2007, Amos was born at the district hospital, but his mother ran away leaving him behind the day he was born. He stayed in the hospital for two and a half months as they tried to trace his mother. During that time he did not receive proper food and suffered from malnutrition and developed a serious case of rickets. When he arrived we started treatments for rickets with balanced nutrition and baby formula, he began to improve quickly. Amos looks like he might be Somali. He has curly but not really kinky hair and very round eyes.

Arrived November 2009, Fred has a very sad story. His mother died giving birth to him and his twin brother in September 2006, so the babies were left with the grandmother. Unfortunately, she was unable to properly care for them and they became extremely malnourished. Fred’s brother eventually died of malnutrition. A Catholic ministry stepped in and started providing food for Fred, but the other family members would take the food for themselves. The grandmother eventually agreed to release Fred to us so that he could receive proper nutrition and health care. At the age of 2, Fred weighed 11 pounds and wore size nine months clothes. He has now over compensated for the lack of food, so we have to watch him or he takes from the other kid’s plates.