A Woman Encountered Her Childhood Friend On The Street, Now Being A Drug Addict, And Decided To Transform Him

Kenyans have been touched by the story of Patrick Hinga, a man who was entirely lost, homeless and drug-addicted, until a meeting with a former classmate, Wanja Mwaura, kicked off a significant transformation and turned his life around.

Patrick has endured major problems with addiction for years, beginning with expulsion from school for smoking cigarettes and marijuana. This started a downward spiral, with his mother at her wit's end trying to help him, taking him to a mental hospital in the attempt to curb his habit. He became well known at that hospital, running away and being re-admitted many times.

While he was at the mental hospital, his drug habit took a turn for the worse; he found a drug called Attain. As Patrick was showing no signs of recovery, he finally ran away once and for all and started to roam the streets of Nairobi, disheveled and out of control, getting drugs wherever he could. His mm still tried to help him by bringing him food.

Then one day, in the little corner on the street he had claimed for himself, Patrick met his old schoolmate Wanja. She started talking to Patrick, that expressed his desire to get off the streets and begin a new life. Wanja promptly checked him into a rehab center and found support and donations for Patrick’s treatment through social media. She also gave Patrick something to focus on after his recovery, helping him begin his own business, a shop called ‘Hinga’s Store.’

Patrick’s transformation, after he detoxed from drugs at the rehab center and cleaning himself up, is incredible. He's grateful for the second opportunity at life that Wanja has helped him find. “I feel like I am a new man,” he said. “I pray daily, asking God to deliver me so that I am not pulled back to that life of drugs.”