Born in 1995, Benson (Ben) was first of three children born to a single mother in an upcountry village north of Nairobi. Within a few years, Ben’s grandmother died and the family moved to a village closer to Nairobi and D4K.

After the grandmother’s death, Ben’s mother was incapable of caring and providing for her three children. This eventually led her into another marriage in hopes of improving their situation. Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that Ben’s stepfather would not participate in helping to provide for Ben and his siblings. His attitude was deeply rooted in a cultural belief that frowned upon raising another man’s child.  This situation caused immense heartache and psychological suffering for the children. For a time, Ben’s aunt came to the aid of the children, but she eventually gave up on her efforts as neither parent would take on responsibility.

Basically abandoned by his family, Ben and his little brother came to live at D4K in February 2008. Today, Ben is enrolled in the Mutuini Primary School, a public day school, and is in 7^th grade.

Ben has a passion for local music and aspires to be a businessman in the future.