Meet Lawrence and Leolida

Leolida is 12. His baby brother, Lawrence, is 18 months old. They play non-stop.

Leolida looks after Lawrence when their mum, Jennifer*, is cooking or cleaning. He even shares his food with him. And he often goes to bed hungry as a result.

"Lawrence is my little brother that I love very much, and I would do anything to help him," says Leolida. "I help my mummy to fetch water and sweep the house,” says Leolida. “I help her by bathing Lawrence, dressing him up in clean clothes and washing his clothes."

For Jennifer, every day is a struggle to make sure her children get enough food. She raises them alone in the remote village in Turkana County, Kenya, where she sought refuge after her divorce.

Now she crafts smalls brooms and sells them for 50 Kenyan shillings (about 40p) in a market a day’s walk away. It’s not enough to feed her boys.

Lawrence was half the weight of a healthy child his age when our health workers diagnosed him with malnutrition. We gave him antibiotics and highly nutritious food that saved his life, and now he gets regular check-ups.

Before we deployed health workers in the village, Jennifer had to walk two hours to the nearest clinic. But now Lawrence is getting better, and his big brother can look to the future.

"I want to become a doctor,” says Leolida, “so I can help other young children like my brother Lawrence."

Lawrence and Leolida’s bond is very special. There is nothing Leolida wouldn’t do for his little brother.

He feeds Lawrence, bathes him, dresses him and washes his clothes – he even gets work when he is not in school to buy him food for the baby. But most importantly, they’re always playing together.

In fact, the only time Lawrence smiles or laughs is when his big brother gets home from school, scoops him up in his arms and kisses him.

"I hold him up, sometimes I carry him up and when I see he is happy, I put him down, then I clap my hands and he does the same. Those are really good games."