“I have known suffering all my life. My parents rejected and abandoned me when I was still a baby. My grandmother was left with me, and throughout my life, she has treated me as a burden. When I was 8 years old, I got lost. A stranger took me in, and I lived with her for nearly three years when they traced my grandmother. Life has been very difficult for me as everyone around me has always regarded me as useless, including my family.”

These were Roseline’s words when she came for assessment in October last year. After being at Neema for less than two months, she says that for the first time in her life, she is in an environment where she experiences real love. She wakes up in a house full of sisters—fellow girls who have gone through similar situations. At school, she is affirmed every hour. She hears in the morning that she is loved, she hears in the afternoon that she is worthy, and she hears in the evening that she is beautiful.

From the office, I spy Roseline playing Kenya rounders, an adaption of baseball. There is no bat, just a small round ball. There are two teams. One team attempts to hit the other as they run around the field. There are four loops. So long as the player is inside one of the loops, they are safe and cannot be hit. The team that goes around the field the most times wins. The game ends when all players have been hit by the ball.

Roseline is cackling like the other girls as she runs around the field. I remember when I first met her. She wore the saddest face I have ever seen. She didn’t make eye contact as we asked her a few questions about her background. When we made an impromptu visit to her grandmother’s to assess her vulnerability, we found her behind the house crying. Our hearts went out to her, and right there we unanimously agreed to accept her at Neema. Looking at her now, I have never been happier with our decision. You can see the change: from a gloomy, isolated girl with low self-esteem, to a cheerful, vibrant and confident girl. It gives us so much joy to witness such transformation.

In January, our counselors conducted a group counseling session for the guardians. The discussion was on a Heart-Based Approach to Parenting. They learned how to work on the source (their hearts) so as to parent from a place of healing. After the session, Roseline’s grandmother publicly declared that she loved her granddaughter. She confessed that she had never openly said that to Roseline, and that from then on, she would try to be a better parent to her. After the meeting, guardians were hanging out with their girls. Roseline’s grandmother chose to use that time to braid her granddaughter’s hair. Later that week, Roseline told me:

“I am so so happy right now. I am loved here, and now I know that I am also loved by my grandmother. I no longer feel rejected.”

Our work with Roseline is not done, but this is such a great beginning for us.