This month, we are highlighting the story of Denis, one of our staff members at Harambee Arts.
“My name is Denis David Mkokelwa from Tanzania. I am 31 years old, and I am the eldest of two children in my family. I lost both of my parents when I was still very young, and at the age of ten, I found myself living on the streets, trying to survive each day without guidance, protection, or hope for the future.
After several difficult years, an orphan support organization took me in and gave me a place to stay. For the first time in a long while, I experienced safety and care. I returned to school and continued my studies, but when I reached Form Two, I made the painful decision to leave school so that my younger sibling could continue with education instead.
Even after leaving school, I continued working with children at the same center that had raised me. In 2014, I was given an opportunity to attend a training for caregivers and youth workers from different children’s centers. That opportunity changed my life forever.
It was during that training that I met Gloria from Harambee Arts. She was one of the facilitators, but to me she became much more than that. Gloria showed me kindness, compassion, and genuine love. She listened to my life story and cared deeply about my future.
One day, Gloria asked me a question I never expected to hear again: “Would you like to go back to school?”
I was overwhelmed with joy.
Gloria encouraged me to keep believing in myself. While studying, I continued working with children because helping children had already become part of who I am.
The last time Gloria and I met in Tanzania was in 2016. After that, we stayed connected mostly through phone calls. In 2024, I moved to Kenya for work, hoping for a better future, but life became extremely difficult. I went through many painful experiences and reached a point where I completely lost hope. I began thinking about ending my life.
At that same time, I was carrying deep pain from losing a close friend from the orphan center, Omary — someone I considered a brother — who had taken his own life because of life’s struggles. Those memories haunted me, and I felt trapped in darkness.
In 2025, I reached out to Gloria again, and by God’s grace, she was also in Kenya. We arranged to meet. Seeing her again brought me happiness, but inside, I was still broken. When I opened up to her about my thoughts and emotional struggles, she immediately helped me find counseling support. More importantly, she introduced me to the Harambee Arts family — a family that has now become my new home.
Once again, Gloria asked me another life-changing question: “If you had the chance to return to school, what would you want to study?”
Because of my passion for children, she encouraged me to study psychology and counseling.
The first day I visited a Harambee Arts children’s program in Kibera, something changed inside me. The pain, emptiness, and hopelessness I had carried for years began to lift. For the first time in a very long time, I felt alive again. It felt as though something had reopened inside my heart.
I began working with Harambee Arts while also pursuing my counseling studies. Those studies were not just education for me — they became part of my healing journey. They helped me understand my pain, release years of emotional wounds, and rediscover purpose in my life.
Today, I carry deep gratitude in my heart.
The education and healing I have received will not end with me. I want to use my knowledge and experience to support children, young people, and others who are going through emotional pain, trauma, and life challenges — especially those who feel forgotten, hopeless, or alone.
Because someone once reached out and changed my life. Now I hope to do the same for others.
Thank you to Harambee Arts for giving me a second chance at life when I could no longer believe in myself. And thank you to every supporter and donor who continues to stand with Harambee Arts and the children and young people whose lives are being transformed every day.”
