“I’m very happy you’re here and you have come to see my work,” Bibi says, gesturing towards the garden behind her. “This is my employment and I’m very grateful.” She goes on to say that although she has worked in gardens before, this is the first time she’s had her own plot to grow vegetables.

Bibi lives with her three grandchildren, including 14-year-old Adin, who came to the attention of Railway Children’s outreach workers last year after spending two years on the streets. Adin and his siblings previously lived with their parents, but the pressures of poverty caused the family to breakdown. The father moved away, and the mother remarried. The children were sent to live with Bibi, their grandmother, who struggled to support them with the little money she had. It was then that Adin ran away to the streets.

When Railway Children reunified Adin with his family, they were overjoyed to see him again. “I didn’t know if he was still alive,” says Bibi. “When he returned it was as if he had some magic! He is helping at home and with my work in the garden.”

When Jenny and government social welfare officers were preparing for Adin to be reunified, it was decided the best place for him to live permanently was with his grandmother and siblings, although he remains in touch with both parents.

Kinship care from grandparents is common in Tanzania – around 30% of the children we reunify is with alternative caregivers rather than parents.

Bibi gently scolds Adin for looking down while he speaks, but her love and pride for him is clear. “Although he does not want to go to school like his siblings, Adin is motivated and is looking forward to the future. He says when he is successful, he will support me and his parents too,” Bibi tells us.

For children like Adin who have spent a long time on the streets, re-enrolment into school can be a challenge. The cost of equipment and school uniforms is an obstacle for low-income families, and the children often struggle to catch up with their classmates and eventually drop out.

In the absence of formal education, Adin is being supported by Railway Children to attend a mentorship programme so he can learn to be a mechanic.

When Jenny asks what Adin has been doing this morning, he says he’s been to the ferry port: “I saw a car that had sunk in the water, and I wanted to fix it. I am excited to learn how.”

Building a future together

As well as his interest in mechanics, Adin has a particular skill for budgeting. Bibi tells us how he helps her to save money every month, so they have enough to pay the rent for the garden and their home.

She recalls that when he was living on the streets, Adin buried money underground to keep safe so that when he had saved enough, he could take it home to his family.

“He is always thinking about how he can help us,” Bibi says. “When I received the grant to start my business, I took Adin, his brother and his sister with me to collect it because I wanted them to be involved and learn about money.”

Jenny congratulates Bibi on the progress she has made with Adin and her other grandchildren. “You are very hardworking, and many others wouldn’t have done the same,” Jenny says.

“Since I started working with you, I saw willingness and motivation to help your grandchildren and nurture their skills, and this is why you are doing so well. It’s why Adin is so happy to be at home with you. You are a superwoman.”

After Bibi takes us on a tour around the garden, Jenny does a final check-in with the emotional thermometer. “I’m green, green, green!” Bibi says joyfully, followed by Adin: “I’m feeling green too!”

We leave Bibi and Adin tending to the garden together, harvesting their fruitful crops.