# Glue Sniffing Escape
A chance meeting with a young orphan who had just joined his older brother in a gang of glue addicts
Last week outside the local supermarket I watched a group of about ten street boys as they hovered about, looking for people to beg from. Aged from 7yrs to 16yrs, they were calling out “some bread! …10 shillings! …a banana!” to every vehicle as it arrived to park, all the while hiding bottles of glue in their pockets, or under their arms.
I had sat down on a seat outside the supermarket to keep an eye on the vehicle while Kindfund staff were shopping. The boys spotted me and, growing bolder, started to draw close with their begging, still trying to conceal their glue-sniffing. One particular boy caught my attention—the youngest—no glue bottle and clear, bright eyes…a recent street boy, not yet corrupted. He sat beside me and began to chat, and it became clear that he was an orphan, though he then pointed to his older brother—a glue addict—who was also among the group.
I immediately came face-to-face with some hard questions: Can I do anything for this boy? Can I leave him to this? Can I bring him with me to our Kindfund home? I asked him, “Will you come with me to our home?”
After a moment’s hesitation he indicated he would. I got up to speak to some men at a nearby shop and by this time the rest of the group had grasped what I was saying to the boy. They chorused, “Yes, take him. Take him off the street!”
When the other Kindfund staff emerged from the supermarket I explained to them what I was contemplating. They agreed with me, so I started to explain to the men at the nearby shop that I would first take the boy to a police station…and just then a police car rounded the corner!
Sometime later, having officially recorded everything at the police station and got a ledger incident number, we all drove the 20kms to our children’s home, with ‘Moses’ beside me, taking a great interest in the driving.
A quick wash, a change of clothes and into supper where the children surrounded Moses, inquisitively firing off many questions and not waiting on answers. A few hours later…he was one of our boys.
Today we paid a further visit to the police and to the Child Officer (the local representative of the government Children’s Department). Together with the Child Officer we will continue to investigate young Moses’ circumstances to get a clearer picture of how he ended up on the street. Meanwhile, he seems to be slowly integrating into the home. The story is just beginning.
added on Mar 24Pray for the fulfillment of God's plan for Moses.
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