On December 2, Cary got word that Agnes abruptly told the older children, as they headed to their extended relatives/friends for Christmas:
"Take your belongings and do not come back. You no longer have a home at Nagolie".
Consequently, the 15 children who left, did so in tears and confusion. Since this time, I have had numerous conversations with Tony and Denis over this fiasco. Instead of intervening with the DCO (District Children's Officer) at this time (my suggestion), they both opted to wait until the children were scheduled to return, on January 4. Their thinking was Agnes was simply blowing steam, making idle threats and forgetting she made them. Being her usual ornery and odious self. After all, it has been established that Nagolie is the children's home until they reach 18 years old, provided their residency is renewed every 3 years. However, even though renewing residency is a simple matter, Agnes does not bother with such mundane matters. She is above the law. No one is there to follow through, until I arrive.
I can only speculate why Agnes would have made such an offensive move, but suspect her reasoning centers around my return to Kenya on Wednesday. Caring about the children's welfare is no longer in her realm of consciousness. Agnes knows my return sheds a microscope on her operation. She knows I understand the law. The children share every morsel of information with me and she is entirely resentful of this fact; she is hyper focused on removing anyone who 'talks' and exposes her further. The law? Children's protection services? Who cares. Removing the older children in early December would give her enough time to let things settle down. By the time I returned, it would be too late to recover the children. They would already be placed in other homes and enrolled in new schools. Wrong.
Cary and I had given the older boys cellphones for communicative purposes, a move which proved to be prophetic. Emmanuel called Cary immediately, then Patrick and Kanai. Because of this, we knew what was going on, pretty much on a daily basis. Tony, Cary and I instructed the children to return to the home, despite Agnes' directive, by January 4. Agnes was breaking the law, we told them. Nagolie is your home, she cannot "chase you away" as they put it.
Some of the children flatly refused to return to the home until I arrive. They were, naturally, terrified that Agnes would repeat this scenario as soon as she got wind of their arrival, and knew they would need protection. All of them were left defenseless and helpless about their fate at the home, at school and with one another. Where would they go? Being ousted from Nagolie meant being placed back in the abusive situations they had been taken from. This, above all, made me wild.
Emmanuel was the first to return, only to be chased away immediately. Then Kanai, Alex and Grace. Patrick had already been directed to get back to grazing his uncle's herd of cows. Again, I was wild. I spoke with him and told him to get back to the home immediately, as Tony and Denis had filed a complaint with the children's welfare officer in Kajiado and with Vivian, the DCO in Ngong. I have met with Vivian before, and don't trust her. She and Agnes are friends. I have also waited in the queue at the DCO twice; both times it took hours, and follow through was not forthcoming. Denis, however, is the right person to take charge here, which he did. He took two of the children with him for this meeting, where it was confirmed that Agnes was clearly breaking the law. She was ordered to take all the children back, which she did, until two days later. Alex and Kanai were immediately ousted upon their arrival. Tony came to get them so that they could stay with him, and the whole process started again. This time, Agnes, Denis, Tony, the affected children and several members of the board were summoned to Ngong to meet with Vivian, the DCO the next day. Later that evening, Denis called me to tell me he had waited 6 hours and no one showed. He never got the chance to meet, only knew that everyone was going back to the home. I will not find out what transpired between Vivian and Agnes until I return.
If Agnes is going to surrender the home, it is time. These children cannot go through this kind of ordeal again. It is entirely too traumatic, disruptive, abusive and bad for their souls. The current lack of stability needs resolution now, not 6 months from now. The idea that my kids could disappear to places unknown is unthinkable to me. Thus, I will be looking at different homes to rent on this trip, as an alternative to taking the current home over. Anything and everything could change between now and next week, but there must be a plan.
Tony has found this 5 bedroom property to rent:
Cary and I had given the older boys cellphones for communicative purposes, a move which proved to be prophetic. Emmanuel called Cary immediately, then Patrick and Kanai. Because of this, we knew what was going on, pretty much on a daily basis. Tony, Cary and I instructed the children to return to the home, despite Agnes' directive, by January 4. Agnes was breaking the law, we told them. Nagolie is your home, she cannot "chase you away" as they put it.
Some of the children flatly refused to return to the home until I arrive. They were, naturally, terrified that Agnes would repeat this scenario as soon as she got wind of their arrival, and knew they would need protection. All of them were left defenseless and helpless about their fate at the home, at school and with one another. Where would they go? Being ousted from Nagolie meant being placed back in the abusive situations they had been taken from. This, above all, made me wild.
Emmanuel was the first to return, only to be chased away immediately. Then Kanai, Alex and Grace. Patrick had already been directed to get back to grazing his uncle's herd of cows. Again, I was wild. I spoke with him and told him to get back to the home immediately, as Tony and Denis had filed a complaint with the children's welfare officer in Kajiado and with Vivian, the DCO in Ngong. I have met with Vivian before, and don't trust her. She and Agnes are friends. I have also waited in the queue at the DCO twice; both times it took hours, and follow through was not forthcoming. Denis, however, is the right person to take charge here, which he did. He took two of the children with him for this meeting, where it was confirmed that Agnes was clearly breaking the law. She was ordered to take all the children back, which she did, until two days later. Alex and Kanai were immediately ousted upon their arrival. Tony came to get them so that they could stay with him, and the whole process started again. This time, Agnes, Denis, Tony, the affected children and several members of the board were summoned to Ngong to meet with Vivian, the DCO the next day. Later that evening, Denis called me to tell me he had waited 6 hours and no one showed. He never got the chance to meet, only knew that everyone was going back to the home. I will not find out what transpired between Vivian and Agnes until I return.
If Agnes is going to surrender the home, it is time. These children cannot go through this kind of ordeal again. It is entirely too traumatic, disruptive, abusive and bad for their souls. The current lack of stability needs resolution now, not 6 months from now. The idea that my kids could disappear to places unknown is unthinkable to me. Thus, I will be looking at different homes to rent on this trip, as an alternative to taking the current home over. Anything and everything could change between now and next week, but there must be a plan.
Tony has found this 5 bedroom property to rent:
The fence you see is the very type I have been insisting Agnes install at Nagolie for years. It's the norm at rescue centers.
As of today, most of the children are back. Grace and Gideon have decided to stay with their distant Aunt in Kiserian. I'm not sure if this is permanent or if Grace has done what she said she would do: wait for me to come back. Moses and Simon arrive tomorrow. Margaret and Lydia came to pick up their belongings after being chased out and have left. I have no idea if they are going to return to the home.
It's all so sad. While this fiasco tore Tony, Denis, my family and me apart, the children are survivors. I have talked to some of them and when asked how they are doing, the first response is: "Hi Auntie Simmie! I am fine, I am very fine!! I love you and miss you. We can't wait to see you!".
There is much work to do on this trip coming up. One thing is for sure, however: these children never cease to amaze me. As always, I continue to learn from them, their tolerance and resilience. Their genuine love of one another, their love for me and their hope for a peaceful life keeps the fire going inside.
See you all from Kenya, in a week.
Lots of love,
Simmie, Moreen and Grace
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