Collins on his first day of school with his house parent.

    Collins Kipkoech is 12 years old. He never knew his father. He ran away from his home because he was continuously abused. His mother would come to find him and bring him home where he would be severely abused again. His grandmother and uncle tried to help and support Collins but there was a great deal of interference from his mother. They both thought that Collins would do well in the home and that it would keep him from the negative influences of the street. Collins had been living on the street for over a year. Before this, he had been attending school in third grade. He wanted to return to school. Fortunately, Collins had kept himself away from the glue addiction that plagues so many of the street children. As a means to earn money for food, he often picked small pieces of left over charcoal from city fires to sell to slum dwellers. Collins is an intelligent, gentle child. He has been placed in third grade at his new school and he is doing very well.