Ross Kemp and his BAFTA winning documentary team return to Eldoret to ask how Sky1 viewers and Save the Children can make a difference to the street children of Kenya.
Monday 22 September 2008
Whilst filming Ross Kemp: A Kenya Special (TX: Mon 22nd September, 9pm, Sky1 and Sky1 HD) Ross visited the town of Eldoret, the scene of some of the most vicious fighting in the post election violence that rocked Kenya in early 2008. It was here Ross witnessed scenes of unimaginable poverty and brutal violence and where he received his biggest shock when making the film. Ross discovered a community of children orphaned by the violence who are forced to scratch a living on a rubbish dump. These are the forgotten victims, forced to live a life of constant danger and hunger, dulled only by solvent abuse.
Ross Kemp comments, "Those rubbish dumps will stay in my mind for the rest of my life. When a woman drops her child on its head, picks it up and puts a glue bottle in its mouth, those are the things that stay with you, to see that loss, that desperation. Viewers will definitely be disturbed seeing little kids sniffing glue which has been given to them by their mothers.” “Little Alex who I spoke to was 10, but looked about five because he was constantly sucking on a glue bottle the whole time I was talking to him. Sky1 is asking viewers of both films to donate to Save the Children projects that protect street children like Alex.”
Returning to Eldoret, the team discover more about the plight of these children and find out how the outside world can help. These children struggle to find enough food to eat, clean water to drink or a decent roof over their heads. Many are now separated from their families and have no way of making a living. A significant number also face the threat of daily beatings by the police, sexual exploitation and struggle for survival in a squalid and hostile environment.
Jasmine Whitbread, Chief Executive of Save the Children said: "The number of children living on the streets of Kenya has doubled since violence broke out in December last year. These children are extremely vulnerable. Unable to go to school and separated from their parents - they are at risk of being exploited and abused. That is why it is so important for Save the Children to have this appeal with Sky1. The money donated by Sky1 viewers will help us to give these street children something decent to eat, get them back into education and get them back together with their families. It will give them back hope for their future."
The team meet Ex-Street, a group of former street children who are working with Save the Children to lift innocent children out of poverty, help ease their trauma and give them back a semblance of normal life by establishing programmes designed to address their immediate and long-term needs: food, shelter, clothes and schooling. A tiny amount of money can make a real difference, and this appeal shows how viewers can play their part in giving a future to the silent victims of Kenya's bloody conflict.
You can help by donating to Save the Children and Sky1’s Kenya Street Children appeal. Your generous donation could help re-unite a street child with their parents, giving them a secure and hopeful future.
To donate to Save the Children projects protecting street children in Kenya please call 0800 8148148 or visit www.savethechildren.org.uk/sky
Gangs II, published by Michael Joseph, is available Thursday 25th September, priced £16.99