When David* looks back at his teenage years in Bangladesh, Mombasa, he admits he was on a dangerous path. “In the neighborhood, I was considered a nuisance, always stubborn, making noise, and even experimenting with drugs,” he recalls.

His turning point came when Florence Oduor, a Community Health Promoter (CHP), noticed his struggle and referred him to the Linda Mtoto project. The project, implemented by the International Centre for Reproductive Health-Kenya (ICRHK) since 2020 with support from Kindernothilfe e.V (KNH), works to protect children at risk of or affected by commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and sexual abuse. It does so by identifying vulnerable children, offering psychosocial support, engaging families, and strengthening community structures to respond to and prevent abuse.

With his parents’ consent, David*l joined a Linda Mtoto support group and began attending counseling sessions. “I went for six sessions,” he recalls. “Slowly, I began to change.” His parents were also brought on board through the project’s parenting and economic empowerment trainings. These sessions taught them positive parenting, improved communication at home, and equipped them with business skills to better manage their household.

As David* grew more consistent, attending meetings, sharing openly, and participating actively, his confidence blossomed. Eventually, he was chosen to become a peer educator. Today, he is a trusted role model in his community, mentoring children and working hand in hand with parents who now willingly release their children to join project activities, knowing they are safe.

“Linda Mtoto even supported me with school fees,” David* says. “My parents never thought I would complete high school, but I did.”

David* story mirrors the broader impact of the project. By working closely with Child Protection Volunteers (CPVs) and CHPs under Kenya’s Community Health Strategy, Linda Mtoto has strengthened community capacity to prevent abuse, educated parents and caregivers, and helped many children remain in school. Harmful behaviors that once plagued the community have been replaced with mentorship, responsibility, and peace.

For David*, the change has been deeply personal: from being the boy everyone dismissed as a nuisance to becoming a community role model whose name now carries respect. And for the wider community, Linda Mtoto has left behind a legacy of empowered children, stronger families, and safer spaces.