Child neglect and abuse remain hidden barriers to education in underserved communities like Dandora. Fellow Joyce Karanja’s story reveals why we must break the silence, protect vulnerable learners, and ensure safe learning environments. Learn how our Let’s Girls Thrive (LGT) Program and Speak Up Boxes are empowering children and how you can partner with us to fight for every child’s dignity, safety, and education.

When Joyce Karanja, a Cohort 5 fellow stationed at Ronald Ngala Primary School, began her fellowship, she quickly realized that teaching was far more than delivering lessons. Situated in Phase 5, just a few meters from the Dandora dumpsite, the school serves a community where poverty is a daily reality. Joyce explained that being a teacher there meant seeing the humanity in every child and advocating for their well-being, even beyond the classroom.

During our Leadership Training Institute, Joyce and her peers were prepared for such challenges. They learned how to identify and support learners affected by trauma recognizing signs of withdrawal, sadness, and isolation and how to design interventions. Still, she admitted that no training could fully prepare her for the depth of trauma she would encounter in her own classroom.

Early in the term, she noticed a newly enrolled girl who was withdrawn and avoided her peers. At first, Joyce assumed it was due to adjusting to a new school, but over time she realized the child carried a quiet sadness that kept her anchored to her desk. Eventually, after building trust, the girl confided in her about the hardship at home. Her brother confirmed the grim reality they were enduring neglect, hunger, and physical abuse.

Joyce reported the case to her Center Manager, but before the school could intervene, the children fled in search of food. A good Samaritan later returned them. Despite the mother’s insistence that the children were simply disobedient, the school began providing them with food daily. Even then, the children frequently absconded, driven by hunger and neglect. Eventually, they returned from a police station bearing visible injuries: whip marks on the boy’s back, burn scars on his arms, and signs of deep neglect.

The school reached out to relatives, but none could take the children in. Matters worsened when Joyce encountered them in town, starving and afraid after being chased away by their mother, who had even threatened them with a knife. Determined not to abandon them, she accompanied them to the police station. With support from her Leadership Development Coach, Ann Gakubu, and Programs Officer, Albert Ngetich, she ensured the children were taken to the Dandora Children’s Office. Their mother was summoned and later admitted guilt for child neglect at the Milimani Law Courts. The children are now safe in a rescue home.

Joyce revealed that such cases are not isolated. She is currently involved in another case of a seven-year-old girl cast out by her mother and temporarily housed by a nyumba kumi representative.

Reflecting on these experiences, Joyce emphasized that children taught her a difficult truth: education cannot exist in isolation. A child who is hungry, abused, or neglected cannot thrive in school. She added that as fellows, we are not only educators but also advocates for dignity, safety, and hope.

To address such issues systemically, we launched the Let’s Girls Thrive (LGT) Program, which includes the installation of Speak Up Boxes in schools. These boxes provide learners with a safe, anonymous way to report cases of abuse, neglect, or violence. By giving children especially girls a voice, the program empowers schools to intervene early and protect vulnerable learners before their situations worsen.

Joyce concluded that if communities, schools, and partners do not step into the gap, children like the ones she encountered risk being lost to the streets along with their brilliance and potential.

Child neglect and abuse cannot be ignored. If we remain silent, more children will slip through the cracks robbed of their dignity, safety, and future. Together, we can change this.

We are calling on partners, communities, and changemakers to stand with us. Support the fight for safe learning environments, help us expand the reach of Speak Up Boxes under the Let’s Girls Thrive Program, and ensure that no child is left behind because of poverty or neglect.

👉 Join us in breaking the silence. Together, we can protect Kenya’s children and unlock the brilliance they carry.

📩 To stand with us, partner with us, or support this mission, reach out at: info@teachforkenya.org. or donate directly through GoFundMe or Mchanga  – Visit https://teachforkenya.org/donate/