In Honor of my Friend, my Sister, my Daughter – Rahab Njoki

Today I received news that Rahab is dead.

Rahab had the most terrible life from the beginning. She had no father, her mother was a drunk and used to beat her regularly with a big stick. She had 8 siblings and at the age of two years old (yes, two) she ran away to the streets to find food because there was none at home. Rahab moved in to the slums and went from hut to hut looking for shelter, food and maybe even love. The “big girls” took her under their wing at the age of three, but they beat her up and mistreated her daily.

When Rahab had just turned nine a group of boys grabbed her and raped her. She went home to find her mother to tell them and get help, but her mother beat her badly and sent her away. Her mother told her now that she was damaged goods, she was of no value because she would never be able to get a dowry for Rahab if she married. At that moment Rahab became a “street girl” – a soft expression used to not make us “westerners” uncomfortable in saying that a nine year old girl is a prostitute. Rahab was just that.

In 1993 when Rahab was 12 years old she was rescued by the Mully Children’s Family (MCF) home in Eldoret where she struggled to get clean from the life she had been living. Her addiction to drugs, sex and freedom caused her to run back to the streets three times over the next many years. In 1999 she ran away to Mombassa and lived on the street where she got malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS. Emaciated, dying and alone this young woman made her way back to Eldoret in 2003 to beg her Aunt or her brothers to let her live with them. They said no.

Terrified with no where to turn this 80 pound skeleton crawled up to the big iron gate at MCF not sure if she would be welcomed. But of course she was. The prodigal was home again and welcomed with open arms, and loved. Rahab’s AIDS then was full blown, she had tuberculosis and it did not appear hopeful that she would live.

It was at this point that I first met Rahab.

In April 2003 we had to help carry her to her chair as she was too weak to walk. She was on anti-retro virals to keep her alive, had a special diet that “Daddy” provided her and was living in isolation from the other children for a time, because of the contagious nature of TB. But her smile … I will never forget Rahab’s wonderful smile when she spoke of the love that the Mully’s showed her. She was their daughter and all was forgiven. She rededicated her life to God and was a soldier who waved His banner high for all to see.

Rahab rallied and became strong. In fact, so strong that when we rescued Lillian from the Kipsongo slum in October 2003, Rahab went and slept in the hospital with Lillian to reassure her and make her feel safe.

In 2004 Rahab decided to marry a young man named James, with the blessing of the Mully’s. Both Rahab and James were HIV positive. In 2005 Rahab gave birth to a baby, but the infant died only days after birth. Pneumonia combined with poor hospital care were blamed.

On December 12th 2006 Rahab gave birth to a baby girl by caesarean, but became sick due to complications and died on December 30th, 2006. Rahab was buried in Eldoret and the baby is under the care and protection of MCF. I await further details as to her health and future.

Rahab will not be mourned by her natural family, in fact she has been dead to them for a long time. The Mully’s will mourn the loss of their daughter and she will be missed by them all. And I will mourn Rahab because she was my friend, my sister, my daughter. No one deserves a life of such pain and sorrow.

Rahab, I will always remember you and will continue to scream from the mountain tops your name and the name of so many other children who are being starved and beaten and raped every day because no one cares about them. This is not okay with me.

God bless your rest Rahab.

Thank you Mully family for being the arms of Christ.

From the heart of Janine Maxwell