She finds that her Childhood Friend has become a Homeless Addict & Helps Him Recover

Wanja Mwaura was walking to the market when she came across her childhood friend, Hinga Wanjiru.

Except Hinga wasn’t as she remembered him.

Hinga, with whom she attended primary school, was dressed in dirtied clothes, his face black with dirt, and his look emaciated.

The truth was, Hinga, who was very intelligent as a kid, was now homeless, and a drug addict.

She invited him for lunch, and while they talked over a meal of pork ribs and mashed potatoes – his favorite in childhood – she noticed he appeared distracted and was unable to finish sentences.

Wanja told BBC that she gave her childhood friend her number, and told him to call her whenever he needed anything.

And because over the next few days Hinga would borrow a phone to call her, she decided to help him.

She started a campaign on a crowdfunding page for her friend and was able to raise around 41,000 Kenyan shillings (£300), although the cost of 9 days rehabilitation at Chiromo Lane Medical Center in Nairobi was more than 100,000 Kenyan shillings.

She took him to the rehab center regardless, and a week later, Hinga’s improvement was obvious.

Wanja wrote on her Facebook:

A week ago Hinga and I couldn’t hold a normal conversation without me trying to hold his head up with my hand in order for him to concentrate. Today we can have a normal conversation with him confidently looking at me.
I however need your support to keep him in the rehab till he’s sober n back to life again.

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Wanja is still crowdfunding for her friend, looking to fund a longer stay at a rehab center, a 90-day program at The Retreat Rehabilitation Centre, where he is currently staying.

See photos of Wanja and Hinja below:

Photo Credit: Wanja Mwaura