Melbourne nurse Victoria Johnson has become a lifeline for hundreds of vulnerable children born in the slums of East Africa.
For 12 years, she has been the driving force behind Little Ray of Hope – a preschool that keeps children off the dangerous streets of Nairobi and provides them with hot food, clean water and an education.
Victoria sends $700 a month to help fund rent, electricity, teachers, a cook, uniforms, school supplies and transport to get the children to and from preschool safely.
It’s an extraordinary commitment for a young woman who was only 22 when she first visited the struggling preschool in the Kawangware slum in 2013.
Victoria was fresh out of university and doing a six-month stint as a volunteer at medical clinics in Kenya when she was invited to visit the children.
It was love at first sight and triggered her determination to keep the preschool open and ensure the children were not only surviving but thriving.
“Education is obviously important, but safety is equally important,” Victoria said.
“This gets children off the streets because otherwise they’d be forced to sit on the side of the road to sell peanuts or individual pieces of chewing gum while their guardian is out looking for daily work.
“The reason that’s so unsafe is not only because you don’t want a 3-year-old on the side of the road without supervision, but vulnerable children are at risk of being abducted, raped and sometimes murdered.
“I can’t keep every child safe who’s in this slum, but we can try our best to keep as many safe as possible and that’s why we push to have these kids at school.”
Victoria, who is a clinical nurse educator on the neurosurgery ward at the Alfred Hospital, has returned to visit Little Ray of Hope once or twice a year, except during the peak of Covid.
On her most recent visit in October, she was reunited with some of the children she first met in 2013 who are now in high school thanks to generous sponsors.
As well as helping to fund Little Ray of Hope, Victoria aims to find ongoing sponsorship for the children once they’re old enough to start school, which costs about $800 a year.
She’s thankful to have a strong support network of family, friends and colleagues who help her raise the money needed to keep Little Ray of Hope running.
“It’s extremely humbling to see how generous people have been over the 12 years I’ve been doing this,” she said.
“When we were last there, not one child was malnourished, not one child was failing to thrive. It sounds terrible to use this term, but they were in such good condition, with good skin and teeth, and I was so proud to see that what we’re doing is working and making a difference.”
Little Ray of Hope is able to take in between 30 and 50 children a year, usually aged 4 and 5. It operates out of two rooms in an apartment building and the cook lives on site.
Every child gets a pot of porridge for breakfast and a hot meal for lunch, and it’s open six days a week so that there’s only one day when the children might not eat.
As well as managing their education, the staff monitor the children’s growth to make sure they’re healthy and gaining weight.
“Our kids are also learning and they’re so clever,” Victoria said. “At the age of 5, they’ll speak three languages – English and Swahili, which are the two national languages, and their tribal language.
“They’ve got to practice their handwriting and do their homework and bring back their books in the morning and get them signed. They’re still kids, but they’re actively learning every day.”
Victoria’s commitment to the children is even more impressive when you learn that she is not a registered charity. All the money she donates and fundraises is gifted to the children without any taxation benefit.
Early attempts to create a charity were thwarted by red tape, so she simply got to work to keep the preschool open.
Victoria also has the support of her volunteering friend, Anna Aroy, who worked at the Norwegian embassy for many years and jumped at the opportunity to join her in rebuilding Little Ray of Hope.
Together they worked hard to substantially improve the preschool and create an online presence with a website and social media.
To this day, they are the main financial contributors, along with the progressive Glides Memorial Church in the United States.
“I feel so strongly about helping these beautiful kids. It’s only through sheer circumstance that they were born into a situation that any of us could have been born into and it just wasn’t our luck of the draw,” Victoria said.
“Someone told me this quote years ago when I was first volunteering. She said, ‘The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you realise why’. I think this is my why. Everyone deserves a chance.
“And I love Kenya and I love Kenyan people. I love their generosity and their playfulness. That’s what keeps me going back. It’s just so special.”
For more information on Little Ray of Hope and how to contribute visit Little Ray of Hope School
For account details to make a one-off or ongoing donation, email littlerayofhopeschool@gmail.com
