The Forgotten Faces, The Unseen Struggles
Why I started Na Malkia.
I couldn’t ignore it anymore. The sadness in their eyes. The hunger in their faces. The hopelessness in their silence.
The streets of Pangani are filled with children who have been forgotten by society: orphans, runaways, school dropouts, and those who simply got lost and never found their way home. Some barefoot, some barely clothed, their faces etched with hunger, their eyes carrying a sadness so deep it’s almost unbearable to look at. But we do look, just long enough to recognize them before we turn away.
For years, I walked past them just like everyone else. But something in me refused to accept this as normal. Every day, I saw them. And every day, I wondered: How did we let it get this bad? Why were there so many? How did they end up here? And why was no one doing anything about it? Then it hit me. Society has its own struggles, its own battles to fight. It’s not that people don’t care, but survival comes first.
A Movement Rooted in Action
It started with food because hunger doesn’t wait. But we quickly realized that a meal is temporary, while the struggle is constant. These children weren’t just hungry; they had lost their sense of self. They had nowhere to shower, no clean clothes, no safe spaces. That’s when the sanitation initiative was born.
But it didn’t stop there
We asked deeper questions. Who were these children before they ended up on the streets? Some were once school-going kids who got lost and were never found. Others had escaped violence, poverty, or abuse. And the young girls? Their reality was even harsher—no protection, no access to menstrual products, no sense of safety.
“We walked past them for years, until one day, we chose to stop, to see, and to act. Ignoring suffering doesn’t make it disappear.”
- Sumeiya Ali
Founder, Na Malkia
Na Malkia is not just about handouts. It’s about transformation
Because every child deserves a future. Every woman deserves safety. Every community deserves hope.
Rescuing and rehabilitating
Lost and vulnerable children.
Providing legal aid
Helping reconnect children with safe homes.
Creating sustainable programs
Restoring dignity and empowering lives.
A Commitment to Change
At first, I thought I was alone in this. But as I started taking action, I met like-minded individuals, people who, like me, refused to accept these conditions as normal. Instead of looking away, we chose to act.