Imagine your fondest childhood moment. Maybe you were outside playing your favorite childhood game. The sun illuminates your skin, you feel pure joy as you round out the bases or throw a ball. Who were you with? Maybe it was your best friend or your brother or sister. You remember them fondly. The two of you were so innocent and everything always felt like it was going to turn out just fine.
Now imagine running into your old childhood friend many years later and suddenly not able to recognize their face. It feels as if your old happy memories and the person who stands before you are two separate thoughts. That’s just what happened to Wanja Mwaura of Nairobi, Kenya. One day she was just walking to the market in a nearby town. As she completed her normal routine she ran into a disruption that would set her world on an entirely new path.
Wanja had recently taken a break from her full time nursing job to maintain a freelance schedule. She would only take specific cases and treat people on a need basis. She saw firsthand the struggles with getting help for patients in Kenya. There are still stigmas against substance abuse victims and mental health issues and the government does not invest in nor provide treatment programs for their most vulnerable. So when she ran into her old childhood friend, Patrick “Hinga” Wanjiru, she knew she had to help him. Hinga was one of her closest childhood friends but here in front of her wasn’t the same boyish, sweet, clean boy that he used to be. His skin was blemished and his teeth were mostly missing. He told her that he spent his years since school homeless and addicted to illegal substances. His clothes were tattered and he hadn’t showered in some time. Wanja was heartbroken. She knew she had to do something her old friend.
This is the incredible story and transformation of Hinga. Wanja helped give her friend a new lease at life and the new Hinga is an incredible sight to behold. His transformation is so dramatic in fact that after the story went viral, many believed that the Hinga in the before pictures was a different man than his after pictures. His metamorphosis is truly an amazing one. Check out the incredible story of Hinga and Wanja, the devoted friend faithful to getting her friend cleaned up.
[post_page_title]Just a normal day[/post_page_title]
Wanja Mwaura was heading to the market near Nairobi in her home country of Kenya as she always does. It was just a normal trip for the usuals: bread, milk, eggs. She was a longtime nurse who specialized in rehabilitating patients who suffered from a number of substance abuse issues and mental health problems. Although she only works freelance for special cases, she is devoted to helping the most vulnerable in Kenya get back on their feet.
