My name is Samson, and I am so very happy to be on the board here in Kenya. I am a qualified accountant and I love my job, but I wonder if my bigger qualification is the life experiences I bring to this amazing project.

I was born into a difficult situation, where my father made a decision that he would not stay with my mother and married someone else. My brother and I lived the first part of our lives with my beautiful Mama who sadly died when I was young. I was taken to live with my father and his wife, and the joy left my life.

Life became unbearably tough. I was like a slave in my home and whatever I did was not good enough. My stepmother was cruel and vicious and would ensure that I was beaten severely at least every day by my father. I was scared and exhausted and at the age of 12 I ran away to the town near where I was being tortured.

I don’t know if you can imagine having no home. No bed? No clothes? No love and no guidance? That was my life. I lived both in fear and became one who was frightening to other boys from different groups to us. There is a hierarchy on the streets, it’s almost like being in a company where you have immediate supervisors and then bigger, more important bosses. The difference being that in town the punishment, if you step out of line, was extreme violence. It became part of me, and it was how I lived. You were beaten and you became the one that beat others.

I believe, even in those days I was protected by God. I was given a place to sleep at night in the house of a night watchman while he was working. I had some protection but please don’t imagine that made life easy. So very far from it.

There were many steps to me leaving the street life. I was taken to children’s home where life was very tough, but I was given the chance to learn. A chance I took. My path was bumpy and there were many times I tripped and fell, until one day I fell into the path of Pastor Sasi who gave me the strength and the tools to change my life forever.

I am now determined to support and give back to those who need a hand that will reach out in their darkness; a hand that will steady them as they find their footing to go forward; a hand that will comfort them through their nightmares and a hand that will steady them as we walk together until they can stand alone.

Through my beliefs and experience I know that if you choose kindness, you chose peace and love. I now have become a Pastor and it is my life’s experiences that give me a voice that I give to others. I look forward to being part of this beautiful project and thank you for welcoming me into your family