Brian Ongoro

For children in the justice system, the concept of “home” can often feel like a distant memory or a fractured promise.

Under the theme “Reuniting Families and Strengthening Bonds,” the 3rd edition of the Okiri Festival transformed a detention facility into a place of connection.

For children and young people navigating difficult circumstances, managing strong emotions can be one of the toughest challenges they face. At the Kisumu Children’s Remand Home, the Okiri program is working to ensure that every young person has the right to develop essential life skills, providing a pathway to resilience and a brighter future. During

Raise your hand if you have ever compared yourself to somebody else and felt you were not good enough.” The session began with this simple question. In the quiet that followed, nearly every hand of the individuals at the session went up. That shared moment of vulnerability was the foundation for a powerful conversation about

At the Second Okiri Festival, held at the Kisumu Children’s Remand Home, we set out to challenge that narrative through art, empathy, and human connection. The theme, “Art as a Path of Belonging and Becoming,” underscored the power of creative expression to help young people reclaim agency over their identities and stories. A Day of

In spaces where routine can often feel heavy, movement becomes something more than physical. It becomes a way to connect, to release, and to remember what it feels like to simply be a child again. Under the theme “Together We Play, Together We Grow,” we led a movement based activity session that invited children to

Every week at Kisumu Children’s Remand Home, we create spaces where the young individuals can reflect, express themselves, and take a break from routine. These sessions are not only about learning; they are also about feeling seen, safe, and free. This week, dancer and wellness facilitator Flevia Vivian joined us for a physical development session.

“It feels like my life is windy… like everything is being blown away,” one child shared during a psychosocial session at the Kisumu Children’s Remand Home. His drawing showed gusts of wind sweeping through a dark sky. For him, this was not just art; it was his way of explaining the storm inside. Many of

Stigma often builds walls, isolating young individuals who seek a second chance. The First Okiri Festival, themed “Walking in Their Shoes,” set out to break down these walls by fostering understanding, inclusion, and support for the youth at Kisumu Children’s Remand Home. This festival was a journey into the realities these young people face and

Every young person at Kisumu Children’s Remand Home carries a past filled with moments that shaped them; stories of struggle, resilience, and the hope for a second chance. But too often, these stories remain unheard, buried under stigma and misunderstanding. In our latest session, we took a pre-written script, based on real life experiences of