The tree of hope

When four siblings came to the SOS Children's Village in Meru, Kenya, their lives changed for the better. The children marked this by planting a tree that will always remind them of when they moved into the Village.

Initially it was difficult to know where to put the four siblings (three boys and one girl) when they arrived at the Village from Tigania. But eventually, a perfect SOS family was found. They were given into the care of an SOS mother who understood their culture and who could help them settle quickly. Despite this, it was not easy for the family. The oldest boy was not used to attending school. He confessed that he used to earn about 300 shillings (about $3.5) a day working as a labourer.

The children's parents were tragically killed when a huge tree fell on their house one stormy night. Since then they had been living with their grandmother who struggled to care for them until a government social worker applied to SOS Children's Villages asking for long term care for the children. After several visits to their home, the Village Director decided to accept the children who needed more care than their grandmother could provide. They joined six other SOS siblings in their new house which immediately reached its maximum capacity of ten children.

During the first few days integration into the Village was difficult as the children could only speak their local language and knew very little Kiswahili and English. A few months after the children came to the Village, their grandmother visited. The youngest child now could speak Kiswahili and was starting to grasp a little English too. He was very excited and he approached his grandmothers and said "I thank God so much…now I know how to speak Kiswahili and English and I don't only speak Kimeru..."

During the last Madaraka Day (a public holiday on 12 December), while the scout troupe was planting trees to mark the day, one of the siblings, the girl, approached the Village Director and said that she wished to plant a tree to always remind her of her arrival at the SOS Children's Village Meru. The other siblings joined her in planting the tree, which to them was like a tree of hope.

A few months later the Village Director went back to the children's former home to visit the family. He found that one of their uncles, who had been helping the children's grandmother to support them, had managed to build a little shack for himself. Though it had no roof yet, the Village Director deduced that the four children had been a heavy burden on the family, but now that they were living at the Children's Village, their extended family was managing to meet some of their basic needs. It is often said that children should not be separated from their extended family (for very good reasons) and SOS Children's Villages does all possible to prevent this, but in the case of these four young children it was evident that the extended family could not afford to care for them, and that by taking them into the village, SOS Children's Villages has ensured that the whole family, especially the children, are living better lives. And of course, the children will always maintain their contacts with their biological family through regular visits.

Meanwhile the four children have made their own mark on SOS Children's Village Meru, by planting a young tree which will grow as they grow, from insecure roots that need tending and special care, into strong, confident and loved individuals with a future full of hope.