In reality, Tone La Maji is a rehabilitation centre run by the Koinonia Community, a Christian community founded in Kenya in the 1990s by Italian Comboni missionary Father Kizito. Its mission is to rehabilitate, care for and educate vulnerable children, before reintegrating them into their families or communities of origin.

The centre currently hosts 45 boys, all minors, with diverse backgrounds and ages. Life at Tone La Maji follows a structured routine: the day begins at dawn with prayer, followed by breakfast and school, with some attending primary education and others higher levels. Staff strive to recreate a typical African family environment, where each child feels welcomed and experiences the warmth of family life.

“A child belongs to the community,” states an ancient African proverb. This principle underpins the entire project: the belief that no child should grow up alone, but within a shared journey where adults take responsibility for guidance, protection and opportunity.

Tone La Maji was established precisely as a sign of hope for children in hardship, particularly those living on the streets.

The harsh reality of street children

In Kenya, an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 children are “connected to the street”. In Nairobi alone, around 3,000 boys and girls sleep on the streets at night, while up to 60,000 others live and work on the streets during the day [Dati Rescue Data Center].

The causes are multiple: poverty, families unable to meet basic needs, and dysfunctional households often marked by abuse, domestic violence and neglect. According to UNICEF, 45% of minors in Kenya—around 9.5 million under 18—live in poverty.

Poverty, and with it hunger, becomes the greatest enemy, forcing children to turn to the streets as a survival strategy. Lack of regular access to food and water drives them to seek any means to ease hunger and exhaustion. In such extreme conditions, substances such as glue, bhang or other light drugs become their only “companions”.

Glue, particularly shoe glue, is widely abused. It is inhaled to induce a temporary high. Known locally as kamusina, it is supplied by local cobblers, themselves living in poverty, fuelling a cycle of exploitation that benefits a few at the expense of vulnerable children.

The primary function of such substances is to forget. Even briefly, users escape hunger, cold and daily violence. “When I sniff glue, for a few hours I don’t feel pain, hunger or fear. It’s the only way to survive,” said one street child in Nairobi.

In the short term, inhaling kamusina causes intoxication-like effects. However, in the long term it has devastating consequences: depression, loss of concentration and impaired coordination. These children are often referred to as “zombie children”, wandering aimlessly with plastic or glass bottles, sold for less than 25 cents along the roadside.

This search for immediate relief carries severe risks: addiction, brain damage, lung impairment and even overdose.

It also fuels criminal networks exploiting children’s vulnerability. To obtain these substances, minors are often forced to steal or comply with demands from adults or criminal groups. Street life thus becomes a relentless cycle of hunger, abuse and dependency, where daily survival overrides all other rights.

A story of rebirth

Among these children, two now live at Tone La Maji: Baraka and Daniel, aged 11 and 13, who once survived on Nairobi’s streets by sniffing glue.

Through sustained outreach and trust-building, staff welcomed them into the centre. They underwent a symbolic ritual of burning their clothes, marking the break from their past life, before gradually rebuilding their lives in Kajiado.

Rehabilitation goes far beyond removing children from the streets: it requires safety, trust, education and social reintegration. The first step is always contact and trust-building, approached with respect and without judgement, often offering food, water or simply attention.

At Tone La Maji, the boys are slowly reclaiming their childhood, security and the chance to grow without fear. Beyond schooling, they rediscover themselves through sport, spiritual support, leisure and community life.

Today, Baraka and Daniel are no longer invisible children. Day by day, they regain confidence and belief in their abilities. Tone La Maji has helped mend their broken childhoods, restoring dignity, care and hope.

“Koinonia”, from the Greek meaning “communion”, reflects this mission: a place where the vulnerable belong.

See, Kenya: la colla e i bambini di strada