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Chapter One: The 25th Anniversary—A Celebration of What God Has Accomplished

The MCF celebrated 25 years of existence on November 14, 2014. Within this period, we have been able—by the grace of God—to transform the lives of thousands of young Kenyan children and restore their hope after they had been abandoned. With the motto of “Saving Children’s Lives” MCF has endeavoured to heal hurting souls and turn sad faces into happy ones. We have touched the lives of children who had no hope and have given them an opportunity to flourish.

These were 25 years of tremendous humanitarian intervention and transformation undertaken by MCF—a charitable organization that I established in 1989 to care for orphaned, vulnerable, abandoned, abused and neglected children.

It started with a simple, absolute surrender to God’s call. And He has blessed it beyond what I could ever have imagined. We have major centres in Ndalani and Yatta in Machakos County and branches in Kitale (Kipsongo), Kilifi (Vipingo) and Lodwar. By the grace of God we have been used to rescue more than 10,000 precious children.

Friends, supporters, partners and other stakeholders from all over the world attended our silver jubilee celebration. We had guests from Uganda, Tanzania, Canada, Australia, Germany, America, Taiwan and other countries where we have friends who have partnered with us over the years to save children’s lives. Over 3,000 people were in attendance. It was also a moment of reunion for MCF beneficiaries. Former MCF children who were serving in various capacities in Kenya and even globally were happy to come back home and meet with their daddy, mummy, brothers and sisters. The highly publicized event was covered live on national television.

The celebration took place at MCF Yatta and was marked by jubilation and thanksgiving as the children who were once desperate were now full of hope. Many of them had achieved their life dreams. Their beaming faces reflected a great sense of renewal, confidence and optimism. People who were once considered a nuisance were now very useful members of society. Most of them were already serving in key professions across the country and abroad. They gave moving testimonies of how MCF had positively impacted their lives.

Their stories of triumph filled my heart with joy. I was impressed and humbled to see how God had enabled us to go out and touch children’s lives by turning their misery into victory. MCF has saved these thousands of children from the harsh, cruel street life and nurtured them into men and women of substance.

“I came here after being rescued from the streets, where I had lived for many years. I was so hopeless. But later I learned that it does not matter where you come from; what matters is where you are going,” one of the beneficiaries testified. These sentiments were echoed by many other MCF beneficiaries.

It was amazing to hear the stories of children who used to rummage through garbage cans in the streets, for as many as ten years, who had never gone to school, had nothing to eat, had nowhere to sleep and did not know God. But all these circumstances changed. They came to know God and received an education, followed by special training for various careers. Now they are earning incomes and leading honourable lives.

These are children who used to spend their lives walking the streets, carrying heavy sacks filled with leftovers and satisfying their addiction to glue. Their health was poor due to persistent drug abuse, malnourishment and a diet consisting of mainly filthy leftovers found in the garbage. They did not know values such as honesty, courtesy, love or kindness. All they knew was fighting, abusing one another, plotting malice against one another, stealing and even killing.

But after undergoing rehabilitation at MCF, their lives changed dramatically for the better. They became physically, mentally, socially, emotionally and spiritually healthy. They came to lead dignified lives full of hope. Most of them have gone on to succeed in life.

They gave numerous testimonies about everything being possible with God. Their faces denoted happiness and contentment—something that told a very long and exciting story. This reinforced our theme for the day: Celebrating 25 years of our unfathomable God. It is true—God is unfathomable, because He can perform miracles that no human being understands. He can move mountains, He can change the course of a river, and He can make a way where there seems to be no way.

In Psalm 118:22, the Bible says, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” This was true in the lives of these children. These children were the stone that was rejected. Just like in the story of the stone that was rejected by the builders, these children were considered less important in society. I personally witnessed how society regarded the children as less significant, but God transformed them into pillars of society. How is it possible that a child who had been in the streets for as many as ten years could eventually rise up to become a medical doctor? How could you expect an abandoned child from a remote cattle-rustling-prone area to defeat all odds to become a leading information technology expert with a global institution? Or how about the case of a former street child who eventually opens a children’s home to rescue the helpless in society? Only God can make that possible.

Truly, it was difficult to understand and explain how God had touched and transformed the lives of these abandoned street children—who were rejected and written off everywhere they went—and turned them into doctors, engineers, teachers, accountants, managers and successful businesspeople, among other careers.

As we marked 25 years, we celebrated all the needy children who had already benefited directly from this charitable organization. Those who had benefited indirectly are triple that number. Another 2,500 were receiving various forms of assistance, mainly through formal education, vocational training, the provision of basic needs (food, clothing and shelter), mentorship and rehabilitation, among other forms of life support. As I quietly reflected over these statistics, it dawned on me that MCF had actually operated for many years and had accomplished a lot in society. I realized that we had come a long way and had accomplished many good things. Still, I felt we could go further.

Even as the beneficiaries, staff, friends and other stakeholders celebrated MCF’s milestone, I sighed with relief, coupled with absolute astonishment, and thanked the Almighty God for having brought us this far. I knew that nothing happens without God’s divine intervention and all that we had witnessed at MCF was a result of His mercy upon us. In the process, I remembered my favourite song:

This is the day that the Lord has made.

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

This is the day,

This the day that the Lord has made.

This was truly a special day that the Lord had made. It was a day that signified God’s massive presence in MCF. I realized that our efforts to save children’s lives had not been in vain. God’s blessing upon MCF was abundant in the manner that the Bible says in Luke 6:38: “a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.”

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Seeing representatives of the thousands of children who passed through MCF really touched me. I thanked God for giving me the energy and inspiration to serve and motivate these children, who all called me Daddy, and reflected on the role God placed me in. I came to realize that, beyond the usual roles of provider, caregiver, confidant and family peacekeeper, being a father means that you are a role model to your children. They will follow your steps, consider your opinions and learn from your example. Through this, I became more careful about the way I conducted myself, because they would adopt the behaviour that I portrayed. I realized that children learn more through observation than from what they are told. Thus I chose to be a good example—through actions—to help them prepare for a better tomorrow.

I resolved that as a father to thousands of children, I must make every effort to do the right thing at the right time and to make intelligent and thoughtful decisions that would benefit all the children under my care. I also learned to be a good listener, to be compassionate and patient. Furthermore, I purposed to be respectful and instill the same virtues in my thousands of children.

As the head of what is considered to be one of the largest families in the world, with over 2,500 children presently under care, not to mention those who have come and gone, I love each of my children, and I try to spend as much time with them as I can. I always create an opportunity to meet them regularly, both formally and informally, in their dormitories, in class, on the pitch, as they eat and when they walk in the compound. We crack jokes and bond while at the same time I listen to any issues that they have.

I spend most of my time with them encouraging them to be positive in life—to avoid looking at what they do not have and instead to learn to appreciate how far God had already brought them. As such, whenever we meet, we discuss matters pertaining to their future plans and aspirations.

All the same, I appreciate that in every home, especially a big one like MCF, there are a number of setbacks and challenges. But we purpose to treat them as minor hiccups and not permanent obstacles. I tell my children that challenges are only meant to test their resilience and not to deter them from marching on to victory. Furthermore, I encourage the children not to mourn over their past misfortunes but to focus on rebuilding their lives for future greatness.

Most importantly, I never discriminate against any of them, and this makes them grow up feeling they are part of a big, loving and caring family. I show them that they are not in MCF by accident but rather by the will of God. They belong here. They are part of this huge family.

I am always fully aware of the fact that most of the children we take into MCF have faced very difficult pasts. They have been rejected by their own family members and society. They have been discriminated against and treated as insignificant. People who were supposed to protect them abused them. And they have been molested and shown all manner of brutality and many other unfortunate happenings. Thus we strive to make a change and to show these children that they have invaluable worth and that we care for and love them. We endeavour to show them the other, good side of the world, which God desires for us all. That is when the true meaning of healing hurting souls is portrayed.

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As we celebrated the silver jubilee, I recognized that the journey had not always been smooth. The MCF story has occasionally been full of hills, potholes, sharp thorns and rough, slippery surfaces. But I thank God for making us strong and enabling us to move on successfully and achieve our goals. Despite the challenges we face at MCF, I am always encouraged by God’s promises to King Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:14. It says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

I tell the children to observe this proclamation—humble themselves before the Lord, and He will save their lives. In my talks with MCF children and staff, I have always maintained that we must be humble and respectful to God and those around us. I have strongly spoken against pride, dishonesty, thanklessness and selfishness and urged MCF family members to always remain down to earth and put the wishes of others first. And I came to notice that whenever you put others first, God even puts you ahead of them. I can testify that through us serving others well, God has listened to our prayers and lifted us up.

MCF has gone through an epic journey, full of surprising revelations from God. The initial 25 years showed me that with God everything is possible and that He does not forsake His people as long as they have faith in Him, obey His commandments and live by His Word. While on this mission, I learned that God can manifest Himself in very many ways, through all manner of people and actions. You never know when He is going to bless you. You can never predict His next step. He makes things happen when you least expect them to happen. Every time we pray to Him, He answers our prayers. It may take a day, a week, a month, a year or even a decade, but He will respond positively.

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One particular blessing we celebrated is God’s consistent provision for our need for food. Since 1989, my main concern and prayer request has been to feed the numerous children I have taken in. While living on the streets, they languished in hunger, and I would not have wished to see them go through the same while at MCF. At one point, all the food in our stores was depleted and the money in the bank was finished, but I knew God would not forsake us. He has always come to our rescue at the hour we were most in need. He has always touched people’s hearts to provide aid.

As MCF grew, we felt the need to engage extensively in agriculture to ensure sustainability. God has enabled us to be self-sustaining by blessing our land and making it very productive. We have been able to grow food in a semi-arid part of Kenya. We even export food and sell it to Western parts of the world. The MCF farm has constantly supplied tomatoes, French beans, onions, eggs and other farm produce to markets in Kenya and even globally.

We saw God’s favour when we joined a list of selected farms in Kenya that were awarded the Global GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certification, which enables us to export our produce to European markets and other parts of the world. This international body sets standards for the certification of agricultural products around the globe. They took us through a thorough inspection process at the Yatta and Ndalani farms and confirmed that our agricultural practices met international standards and that our products were safe for consumption in international markets. As a result, we export French beans and tomatoes to European markets every week. The proceeds from these sales have been instrumental in feeding, educating and clothing our MCF children.

In Psalm 23:1 the Bible says, “The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” This popular statement may sound quite familiar and ordinary, owing to its wide usage, but truly when you trust in God, you cannot lack anything, and neither can you fail to achieve the desires of your heart. MCF is a living testimony to this declaration.

We have seen God shepherd us compassionately. Despite the difficult times we have encountered, we have not lacked food for our children or the resources to educate them. Despite the harsh economic conditions in Kenya, we have been able to meet all our financial obligations. This truly manifested God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This has come to pass. Though many children were leading hopeless lives in the streets, while others were orphaned and abandoned, God’s plan was not to destroy them but rather to give them a hope and a future through MCF. I am glad that God chose to use MCF to fulfill one of His greatest promises to humankind.

In my child rescue mission, I have been strongly inspired by God’s words in Genesis 50:19–21, which says, “But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’” Through His Word, I have learned not to be scared or afraid of anything. I have learned to trust in Him because He is a giver and saviour of lives. Through the example of Joseph in these verses, God manifested His love for humankind.

This explains why our success story at MCF has hinged on giving and doing something with all our heart without doubt, hesitation or complaining. It is important that when you do something, you do it with all your heart and with love. We should love others as if our lives depended on it. We should love like we may never love again, and we should always be ready to help and comfort the needy at all times. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry and a bed to the homeless. Be quick to show love to desperate and hurting souls. Be generous with the different things that God has given you. That way, God’s cheerful presence will be evident in you.

This is summed up in 1 Peter 4:9 –11:

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.

Furthermore, the Bible says in Deuteronomy 28:8–12,

The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to…The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.

These are some of the great Bible verses that have guided me since I embarked on helping the needy and vulnerable children in Kenya and across East Africa. Having witnessed the great power of God, I chose to be a man of deep faith. When others were full of worries and on the verge of giving up, I trusted in God to provide for all our needs.

Despite being located in a semi-arid region, MCF is one of the leading agricultural centres in Kenya. God has blessed the work of our hands, and we have been able to grow a lot of food to feed our children, sell some of it for sustainability, and share the rest with the hungry community. We receive hardly any meaningful rainfall throughout the year, the temperatures are usually high, and yet we are able to irrigate our farms to yield a significant produce. We grow maize, tomatoes and French beans among other farm produce for the sustainability of the centre. Our barns are full of harvests, and our children have never lacked food. This is a manifestation of God’s love for His people.

Finally, our anniversary celebration was a testimony of the joy that God has brought to everyone at MCF for 25 years. The Lord has gifted the MCF children with the exceptional blessing of being able to smile and play regardless of all the misfortunes they faced earlier in life. I often listen to the sounds of joy that come from the children at MCF. I hear nothing that mirrors the horrifying past that they endured. Despite being orphaned, abandoned or abused before being rescued by MCF, these children are now some of the happiest people in Kenya. They talk with each other, crack jokes and are full of happiness. The levels of love and interaction are encouraging.

Through our guidance the MCF children have learned to take life as it comes and are only focused on creating a better future for themselves. This is a result of constantly encouraging them to forget the past and walk with Jesus Christ into the future. I often tell them that if they focus on their past misfortunes they will only end up pitying themselves and will eventually miss seeing the good things God has planned for them.

But, as they fix their eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of their faith, they are transformed with a genuine and true radiance. They become the people they were designed to be. And it is the immense joy experienced by my children that has formed the basis of my happiness as I help them rebuild their lives.

Since I embarked on this ministry in 1989 my life has totally changed. I am happier than I used to be. I get more excited, especially when I see a child who was once abandoned in the streets, left for dead, rejected and even abused, but who is now able to run around joyfully, feeling part of a loving family, pursuing education and being able to achieve his or her dreams without limitations or segregation.

Furthermore, I get a lot of joy from seeing MCF children surrender their lives to Christ and embrace His righteousness. This restoration of souls for Christ gives me extreme joy.

Happiness is the greatest blessing that God has given to the children of MCF, and that’s what we endeavour to sustain. The truth of this blessing made a strong impact on me in July 2013 when I listened to a very emotional testimony from a medical doctor who decided to help us.

This doctor came to us with a team of professionals and other volunteers. The team set up a free medical camp in MCF Ndalani to attend various patients, especially those from the community around MCF who were unable to access medical care. This doctor struggled with the realization that he was coming to meet and help needy and suffering children in Africa. He had never been to Africa before. But he had heard of it as a place full of suffering and sadness. And so he had prepared himself to offer both medical and, as a counsellor on family matters, psychosocial services.

The doctor admitted to me that before he boarded the plane to Nairobi, he had in his mind a picture of suffering, crying, sad and very sick people who needed a lot of material and moral support. He came to Kenya thinking that he was going to meet a very dejected and suffering population.

But when he arrived in Ndalani, he was surprised that the so-called needy and suffering children were instead very happy, making a lot of noise while playing with each other in the field and running all over the compound. These children lined up to sing and welcome the Canadian team. And when the children went for devotional services, they sang melodious songs and danced with joy.

The doctor did not meet depressed and miserable faces as he had expected. He was taken aback. He wondered how children with a sad past, no parents, no proper clothing and no shoes were able to be so happy. He even contrasted the MCF scenario with the well-to-do society of the Western world where he said children were given virtually every material thing that they desired in life—good shoes, food, cars, housing, a good education, luxurious holidays—but they were habitually unhappy. He said that as a psychologist and motivational speaker, this scenario had been bothering him for many years.

He revealed to me as we chatted outside the MCF Ndalani Medical Clinic, “I thought I was coming here to help alleviate the suffering of these children and other community members, but I have instead ended up being helped by them. I have realized that happiness has nothing to do with material possessions. It has nothing to do with social class. It’s all about accepting God and allowing Him to dwell in you in spite of the circumstances you are in. I now know that one can be happy, regardless of what they own or do not own.”

The doctor and the other volunteers, in conjunction with the MCF medical team, helped to treat hundreds of Yatta sub-county residents. The 10-day exercise took place from July 2 to 12, 2014. It saw over 2,000 people from the Ndalani, Yatta, Kithimani, Sofia and Matuu areas given specialized diagnoses and the treatment of various ailments such as malaria, typhoid, fever, body pains, common cold and arthritic related complications, among other diseases. Specialist doctors were also on hand to handle issues related to dental and eye problems.

Their team leader, Annie, said they were in Kenya to use their medical skills to give back to the society. She said, “We thank God for the various skills and knowledge that He has given us, and we want to be useful to the suffering people of God.”

All of this caused me to reflect on what God has accomplished in my life. As a child, I would never have predicted my life would have turned out the way it has. Who could possibly have imagined that all this could happen? And yet, when I think of the greatness of God—how awesome, powerful and loving He is—I see how His faithfulness has made everything possible.