Lilly’s story

Lillian Mwila, known by many in Streetlife as Mayo-Mayo –  or “mother of many” – tells her story of how she came to found Streetlife in 2003.

In 2003 I was going to a prayer meeting and I met two street children who were lying down by a tree. 

At first sight I thought they had died, but when I approached them I realised they were very weak and hungry. They said to me that they wanted some food. I took them to the house of one of my friends where we were having a prayer meeting.

After the meeting I gave them some bread and some juice and that was the birth of Streetlife. From two children, the next week there were four of them and before I knew it, 85 children from the streets were following me every Tuesday to come and have a bread roll and some juice.

Most of these children’s parents had died as a result of HIV and AIDS. In Zambia, HIV and AIDS has been an epidemic, leaving children vulnerable, many of them sniffing glue or with all sorts of vices.

Many of them were looking after themselves or being looked after by grandparents who were weak and who didn’t have the means to look after them.

Going into the compounds we were able to start working with some of those families. We were able to bring the 10 we got at the beginning to the Grace Centre.

My passion started with street children on the streets of Kitwe but since then, with the generosity of our supporters and the grace of God, Streetlife has grown way beyond its small beginnings. Now we have two orphanages, an educational programme which currently helps 250 children from all over Zambia and a street-feeding programme which goes out to Luangwa and Kapoto every week.

We are aiming to show the children God’s love, that He loves all the children, across the board. 

We are aiming to put smiles back on children’s faces and it is amazing to see so many of the children to get back into school, become happy and confident again, and have a hope that there is something for them for the future.

Lilly with some of the children at Kapoto