Juma was 11 years old when he first left his home — home was a tiny room, 2.5 meters by 2.5 meters in terrible condition where his mother, his sister Mary and two half sisters lived.

His mother tried to make a living on selling a handful of vegetables and ground nuts. When Juma was 11, his mother had another child from a man called China who worked at the brewery.

China came every night to sleep with his mother in the room where they all had to sleep. Juma would tell China there wasn’t enough room for him and his ways — China would react by beating him.

Juma left home for the streets of Mwanza. Streetwise met him and just started to get to know him when he disappeared from the streets again.

We later discovered that his uncle came to find him on the streets and took him on as a house servant. A year later, when he was 13 years old he came back to Streetwise. And our work with him began…