Joe is seven years old when he begins to beg on the streets. There is rarely food in his mother's house, and certainly no money for a school uniform, so he wanders the more prosperous Nairobi neighborhoods begging foreigners and business men for a few shillings.
One day he returns from the streets to the slum, but his shack is empty - his mother has vanished. So Joe runs to the only place he can - the streets. He sleeps with the other orphans in the empty lot next to the big hotel. He buys glue with the money he earns begging. Sniffing glue, out of discarded plastic bottles, allows him to forget that he is hungry and lonely.
Some days a young man named Daniel visits the street kids. When the boys see him they run to greet him. The other boys tell Joe that Daniel used to live on the streets but now has a big house called Emmanuel Center for other children to stay in so they can go to school. Daniel asks Joe if he would like to come to Emmanuel Center and Joe says yes.
At first Joe is thrilled to have a big plate of rice and vegetables to eat for lunch, and an even bigger plate of beans and maize for dinner. He has his own bed and Daniel promises that as soon as he learns to read he can go to school. But Joe discovers that glue isn't allowed, and there are rules to follow and chores to do. He struggles to read the lessons the teacher gives him and one of the big boys teases him. When frustrated, Joe fights the other children and then he gets in trouble.
Ashamed of having upset Daniel, Joe grabs a radio and runs back to the streets. He sells the radio and buys glue to sniff. He tries to forget that the other children at Emmanuel Center will be eating rice, beans and vegetables, while his stomach is empty.
The next day Daniel finds Joe on the streets. He is not angry, but he looks sad. He asks Joe if he wants to change and Joe looks at his bare feet. He nods.Daniel brings Joe back to Emmanuel Center. Joe runs back to the streets two more times. Each time Daniel finds him and brings him back.Eventually Joe begins to read, he makes friends with the other children and starts going to school. When he gets angry he does not fight to run away, but talks to Daniel and the other staff.
Joe has been at the center for three years now and will stay until he finishes high school and goes on to further training. Emmanuel Center is his home, his family and his future.
