WOMAN GIVES HER NUMBER TO NOW HOMELESS EX-SCHOOLMATE AND A LIFE IS CHANGED

In school, there is always equity in everything we receive. Whether it is the education we get or the supplies, the school usually makes sure every student get the same things. It is how we use this later that determines how life is going to get for us. We all grow up and aspire to have a successful career in a field we are passionate about. Some of us get to achieve this while some of us do not. In this story, this lady meets her ex-classmate and does something to him that sent shock-waves all around.

Meeting By Chance

Life is ever unpredictable. You can never be too sure about anything. There are good days and bad days and some moments you experience can change your life forever. We never know what life is going to lay on the table. And so when Wanja Mwaura was just spending her day, she met an old classmate of hers, living on the streets with no home.

Helping Him?

She could immediately see that this was indeed her classmate back in school. It was such a shock to see that the person whom she had shared a classroom with was now without a home. She was extremely shocked to see what he had become, the pain in his eyes. She made up her mind then and there to help him. What was her plan and would it help him?

From Her Past

Where was she living? Well, this lady is a local who resides in Kiambu County in Kenya. Also, when did she meet this homeless man who was with her during her school days? This happened in October of 2017. Wanja was on her way to run errands in their local market. This was her plan before the time came for her to finish her shift at the local hospital.

A Busy Nurse

So Wanja helps a job as a nurse, so that meant she was always quite busy. She did not get to have shopping, so she was quite stoked to go to the market that day. It was an early morning, the only time she had, so Wanja rushed to get her much-needed essentials. She did not expect anything to happen that day, Wanja never thought this day would turn out to be so memorable.

Childhood Pals

And as the busy nurse was making her way to the market to buy what she needed, Wanja saw someone really familiar. However, she could not tell if this was the person she thought it was. But after a closer inspection, she had a realization that it was indeed her old classmate. His name was Patrick Wanjiru. She had a hard time telling if this was him or not at first.

Was It Patrick?

Patrick was actually from her school during her childhood days. And since he had a rough look, she could not tell right away if this was him or not. He was actually donning very shabby clothes. Because of what he was wearing, he was a little unrecognizable. But just then, Patrick re-introduced himself to Wanja who was startled to learn that it was really him.

Skilled Soccer Player

So it was a little shocking for her to find him this way because Patrick was never a dirty or untidy guy. In school, no one would have ever thought he would look like this one day“ Patrick, or Hinga as we called him, and I had met at primary school in 1992,” Wanja later revealed to interviewers, “Hinga used to be a great soccer player all throughout school. We nicknamed him ‘Pele.’”

Hard To Ignore

And now he looked a mess and she could tell that gone were his glory football days when everyone in her school used to look up to Patrick. It was such a sad realization for her to see her old pal this way. He had unfortunately fallen on hard times. His life was in shambled and he did not look the way he did when they last met. This was something Wanja could not ignore.

Initial Promise

Like we mentioned, if anyone of their old classmates or teachers saw how Patrick was doing that day, they would have had a hard time believing it too. This is because back when they were still in school, Patrick was quite the promising student. He showed a lot of potentials to have become a person of substance in his class and not end up this way.

Secondary School

He was not just excellent in sports, hew would always score very high grades during primary school. He was one of the brightest students whom all the teachers really liked. After this, Patrick then pursued his higher education at Uthiru High School. Sadly, his time during secondary school proved to be a little difficult for poor Patrick.

His Downfall

And so Wanja became really curious to know what had happened to Patrick. She could not wrap her head around the fact that this was her classmate who thrived in school. In a later interview, Patrick explained that his road to falling off track began after he started to smoke cigarettes. He then moved on to marijuana shortly which made everything go even worse.

Caught  And Expelled

So why exactly did this guy started smoking cigarettes and weed? Well, when he was asked this question, Patrick blamed everything he did on peer pressure. He did all this just to be accepted by his fellow students. It was sad and unfortunate for him because his activities were caught by the teachers of the school after which he was expelled shortly.

Leaving School

And then after he was expelled, Patrick was fortunately given another chance in another institute. What would have been the end for him ended up not being so. And soon Patrick got an acceptance to another high school. Though he should have taken this as a chance to better himself, his drug habit got the best of him and led to him wrecking his whole life and education.

A Growing Concern

Since school obviously do now condone such behavior and Patrick was so clearly hooked on these substances, he eventually chose to drop out of school. He made a foolish decision to then tend to his drug habit full-time. Since he was well on his way to complete self-destruction, his mother grew concerned. She wanted to admit him to the local hospital where he could be properly examined.

In A Psychiatric Facility

And soon, after his mom got involved, Patrick would receive some psychiatric evaluation. All because of his referral from his previous school, Patrick soon got his admission to join a psychiatric facility. This was a facility at Mathari Hospital. His mom knew that there must have been a remedy or a solution to stop her son from ruining his whole life.

Not As Planned

And soon, after the doctors there ran a number of tests, the doctors finally made a conclusion. They found out that the drugs that he had so heavily consumed were negatively taking a toll on his brain. They decided that it would be best if he was taken into the hospital as an inpatient. This seemed like the perfect plan but as life goes, something unexpected happened.

Running Off

Although it is something that everyone should not indulge in, getting addicted to drugs is something that is one of the hardest challenges one can face to get out of. And we know the withdrawal symptoms are unbearable at times. So yes, during his stay at the hospital, Patrick left quite a number of times. He could not bear being away from the drugs.

Taking A Toll

Besides his suffering from addiction, Patrick had another reason why he would escape and run away so many times. His major complaint was that he was treated as if he was a mental patient. The doctors there would force-feed Patrick his medication so many times. He was not a mentally ill patient so the treatment started to affect his emotional and physical well being.

His Addiction

So since he was not comfortable in the hospital that supposedly for him to get better, he eventually left it against their will. And it was unfortunate because Patrick’s behavior when he left the hospital was what led him to have more problems. Nothing seemed to have helped him get over his addiction. And even his mother started feeling hopeless.

Another Addiction

When she was asked how Patrick was dealing with himself when he escaped the facility, she revealed, “When he was out of the hospital, he would walk around the neighborhood completely naked or he would rummage through garbage.” And you would think things could not go worse from here on, but it did. Patrick soon got another addiction. He was hooked on the drug Attain.

Living On The Streets

And so in the end, after all that effort, Patrick’s case did not improve. In fact, things seemed like they were getting worse than before,  nothing seemed to be going as planned. His condition was growing worse despite the fact that Patrick had been admitted to the hospital to rid himself of his addiction. And soon, he fled the facility and decided to live on the streets rather than going home.

All Time Low

So after he made the conscious decision to stay in the streets after feeling like the hospital did nothing but make him feel worse, Patrick was going through a terrible time. He had already spent about ten years all on his own. One thing that left him feeling worthless was the fact that his family had basically abandoned him in his time of crisis.

Feeling Abandoned

So what was the part that was the most difficult for poor Patrick then? Well, his depression grew severe because of how his family behaved during this time. “What pained me the most was that my siblings were at home with my mother, safe and sound, yet I was on the streets,” he admitted, “That was really depressing for me.”

An Unexpected Encounter

Patrick was in such a slump. He had no job, no family member to go to for help. He was still addicted to the drugs he consumed which made it impossible for him to shape up. But then all thanks to someone unexpected, Patrick’s situation would soon flip. This happened soon after his encounter with his old schoolmate, nurse Wanja.

Staying In Touch

Meeting his old pal Wanja became something the homeless guy needed for a long time. She grew extremely worried about his health and mental well being after seeing him that way. So, Wanja decided to buy Patrick lunch and urged him to keep in touch. Something about him told her that she needed to help out and try to get him out of his messy lifestyle.

Not Alone

So after Wanja treated him to a meal for lunch. she decided to also give Patrick her phone number. She did this in the hopes that he would maybe feel comfortable reaching out to her soon. After listening to his story and struggles to stay clean and being abandoned by his near and dear ones, Wanja wanted to assure him that he was not alone.

A Change Long Overdue

So since Patrick could see that Wanja was not kidding about helping him, he started building some trust. He had been waiting for someone like her to see that there was still hope, that he was still worthy of starting over. And in the days that followed, Patrick was communicating back and forth with Wanja. There was something about her that told him that she could help.

Making A Choice

And soon after getting more comfortable with one another, the two shared their life experiences and what was going on in both their personal lives. Patrick was touched by how kind Wanja was and so he soon made the choice to change and stop with his nonsense. However, to say this may be easy but to actually make it happen with his actions was the challenge.

Using Social Media

And when interviewers asked Wanja later, she revealed that the price for drug rehab was quite costly in Kenya. Since there was such a high fee to get Patrick into a decent rehabilitation center, Wanja knew that she needed helping in raising the funds. This was not something she could achieve herself. Therefore, Wanja had to make use of social media…

Not Raising Enough

Wanja was absolutely determined to help change Patrick, the boy who was so bright back in school. She could not bear the sight of him living this way. And so after making use of social media, Wanja decided to create a crowdfunding page aiming to raise $975. This would be sufficient for the first nine days of his treatment. They ended up raising only $400 during that time.

Entering Rehab

Even though the funding was not the ideal amount, Wanja did not want to lose hope. She pulled in all the string she could from her resources in order for him to get into the rehab facility. Patrick was so grateful and he told himself that he would do Wanja proud. During the initial nine days, Patrick detoxed and soon gained weight.

Growing Hope

In just a matter of weeks, Patrick showed so much progress. On a Facebook post, Wanja stated “A week ago, Patrick and I couldn’t hold a normal conversation without me trying to hold his head up with my hand in order for him to concentrate. Today we can have a normal conversation with him confidently looking at me.”

Treatment Continuing

Wanja wanted to share the amazing upgrade of her friend who had battled his addiction for so long with her social media friends. And her post regarding Patrick’s progress drew inspiration in some many people. On Twitter, her post was retweeted 50,000 times and soon, helped poured in, enabling him to be able to stay there full time until he recovered.

A Changed Man

While he was there at the rehabilitation center, Patrick soon made a transformation in terms of mental and physical health. And so when he was 35 years of age, Patrick was now a brand new man. After holding control of his life once again, Patrick could not wait to live his life and be productive for a change.

A New Business

All the funds from generous donors, the money was enough for him to start his own business. Patrick named it “Hinga’s Store” which was his nickname back in their high school days. Since he was still in rehab, his mom took care of the store. “People say I changed his life, but he changed mine too,” Wanja explained, “I realize now that a small act can change a person’s life.”