Feature: Kenyan duo restore hope to destitute children in a Nairobi slum

When the Kenyan duo of Dominic Senerwa and Joseph Mwangi acquired a disused building at the local police post in Mathare slums in Nairobi for philanthropic work, little did they know that their pet project would come to realization.

Senerwa, 21, and Mwangi, 23, embarked on their charitable mission to turn around the lives of children from rundown homes within the informal settlement, having grown up in the dust and grime of one of the cruelest neighborhoods in Kenya with high crime rate and depravity and having first experience of the problems that afflict children in the area.

"After we obtained permission to use the building that once served as a toilet, we literally scooped the filth and turned the structure into our nerve center to mentor young children on how to grow up to be responsible citizens," Senerwa told Xinhua during an interview in Nairobi.

Going by the nicknames of "Rooney" and "Sejo" respectively, the two soft-spoken form four school leavers swapped their personal advancements for charity work where they mentor and motivate a group of 150 boys and 100 girls between the ages of 3 years and 5 years from deprived backgrounds to rediscover hope in life.

"They say the wearer knows where the shoe pinches. Having grown up in the slums, we knew only too well what the rest of the children were going through hence our decision to extend a helping hand they best way we could," Senerwa said.

They cobbled the name "Sejorooney Youth Center", derived from a combination of their respective nicknames in order to give them an identity and proceeded to register their outfit with the authorities.

"We are a registered group that operates within the confines of the law and anything we do is legal and aboveboard," Mwangi said.

With no sponsors, the two dedicated lads undertake odd jobs in order to raise money to finance their various projects that include football, music and drama activities.

"These children have outrageous stories to tell. Some of them have drunkards in the name of parents who don't care what their children eat or wear because they are always drunk with the local illicit brew of chang'aa 24 hours. We try to give them something to cling to in life," Senerwa said.

At the center, the children are taught drama, rap music and taken through the paces of how to become skilled football players.

Seline Wanjiru, 10, who lives with her low wage-earning parents and three sisters in the slums, says sleeping on an empty stomach is more of a norm than the exception.

"My mother does laundry for the more affluent families outside the slums whereas my father is a fruit seller. Their combined income is barely enough to feed and clothe us. Sometimes we stay away from school for long periods when we are sent away from school owing to lack of school fees for long periods until the money becomes available," said Wanjiru.

She enrolled at the center in 2006 and attends modeling and rap sessions during the weekends and when schools close for holidays.

"I would like to shape other people's lives when I grow up the same way I am benefiting from mentorship from my benefactors," she remarked.

Nine-year old Clinton Omondi, who is being raised by a single mother, attends the center to learn dancing moves, which he hopes to carry along with him into adulthood as a career.

Football practice takes place on the nearby Philips Community Light Center field where they can play even after night falls because of the installed lighting system.

Senerwa says that in working with the children, they have learnt to "under-promise and "over-deliver" because slum kids are used to working hard and achieving minimal results.

At first it was difficult for some parents to entrust their children with young men like us. It took time for them to understand or accept what we were doing, but they now pass by to congratulate us telling us that their children nowadays have focus," he noted.

Mwangi said they find what they are doing exciting and enjoy it a lot even though it's not financially rewarding. Endit