Mully (2015) - full transcript

( car alarm chirps )

( quietly )
Oiyeh.

Oiyeh.

MULLY: I can start
at the beginning.

I remember that time
very well.

I lived in
a small hut,

together with my little brothers
and my mother and father.

My father had no job,

and he used to come home
every day totally drunk.

I was just a little boy.

I did not know
what was happening,



and what was going to happen.

He was so cruel
to my mother,

as she screamed for help,
and nobody was coming.

That was my life
when I was a young boy.

I... I woke up...

and there was nobody.

Everybody had gone.

I looked everywhere,
but I saw nothing.

And I realized that I was
completely alone, abandoned.

A child without parent.

You... you can't imagine it.

Me, I was that child.

I can remember, I went to
my uncle, was a drunkard.

And I was so hungry.



And my uncle said no.

And he said off you go.
You go.

Then I started walking around
the village, begging for food.

Pleading with people
to help me.

For about ten years,
I kept on begging.

I became a beggar.

Even sometimes taking things
that were not mine to survive.

And I became hard,
I became full of hatred.

I became a street boy.

And then I started
asking myself,

why I was really born,
why I was really living.

I hated my life.

And I thought I don't really
deserve to live

in this kind of life,

and I wanted
to take away my life,

because there was no meaning.

But a young man came.

He saw me in
a desperate situation.

He invite me to prayer
and fellowship,

and there was a preacher

who was speaking about
forgiveness of our sin.

I thought,
why should I trust this man?

The preacher prayed,
he said work hard,

and by faith, there is nothing
impossible before God.

This struck in my mind,

and a new hope
was planted in my heart.

The next morning, I walked

going to the center
of Nairobi

to get a new life.

I had no money, not even
a single cent in my pocket.

It took me about
three-and-a-half days.

I never finished school,

so I didn't know
what kind of a job

I would
be able to work.

I landed to Nairobi where there
are people with money,

those who have power,
those who have jobs,

but nobody was
ready to help me.

And then I was
just looking at everybody,

and they'd look at me,

and they said,
"What are you doing here?

You need to go
and look for a job,

you cannot beg, we cannot,
I cannot give you money."

I looked in one area
where there are rich people,

where they have big houses,

and there, I was knocking
everywhere.

And I happened to find a gate
somewhere in Nairobi.

And again, here I am,
going to a place

where I was not invited,

but I'm knocking that door.
I knocked.

The lady asked me,

"Why are you
disturbing us here?

You are knocking the gate, what
do you want me to do for you?"

When she said come in,
I was so happy to hear that.

It was really my day.

The lady gave me
some work to do every day,

cleaning the floor of
her house, washing dishes,

cutting grass outside,
the field of two acres.

There were no machine
those days.

And she also
gave me some food,

because there was food that
remained in the dishes,

and that is what I had
after I finished work.

So life become good
and better than ever before.

And so, after six months,
this Indian woman,

she spoke to her husband,

who was the CEO of
a very big farming company.

And I was promoted
to manager.

Delegate over 800 workers.

And I bought
a very nice shirt.

And I was able
to save some money.

Then I saw
a beautiful young lady,

and then I was like,
oh, well.

Something, you know,
touched my heart.

And you know,
I've never talked about it.

I was afraid about women.

I had no confidence in myself,
being able to be loved,

and now there's a smile,

I have courage
to talk to this young lady,

and that went so well.

And after some time,
voila, he got me.

I have eight
brothers and sisters.

Our first one
is called Miriam.

Then we have Janey.

She's more the tough
one, you know.

Then from Janey,
we have Grace.

Grace is the smart one.

And from Grace,
we have Ndondo.

Ndondo is more
the mama's baby.

From Ndondo, we have
Kaleli.

Kaleli is...
he's a big brother.

Then we have Mueni.

Mueni is the one who
listens to everybody.

She has a listening ear.

Then we have
my younger brother Dickson.

More of the politician,
I would say.

Then we have me,
the geek.

Actually, we're a full
football team, I think.

MULLY: I was so happy.

I have a family,
I have a car.

I had a dream.

I want to do business
and make money and make money,

and I came to understand
there's a great need of matatu,

which is taxis.

He had some cassettes, CDs.

He used to play
music for me.

And also, he used
to sing for me.

He was singing
the Jim Reeves.

MULLY: Jim Reeves,
Skeeter Davis.

Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers,
Don Williams.

There are so many
rock and roll, you know.

So many good music,

and then, everybody
liked to go in my car.

♪ Walkin' on quicksand,
walk slow ♪

♪ Billy, billy bayou,
watch what you say ♪

♪ A pretty girl will get you
one of these days ♪

And then, everybody,
they knew me.

Mullyways.

Mully. Ways.

Mullyways was my trademark.

You know, he was
so proud of it.

♪

ISAAC: And he would drive
endless days without sleeping.

Working hard so he can
buy another one,

and he bought another one,
and another one after that.

He had a fleet of buses
that he was in charge of.

He did not need
to drive them anymore.

He had people driving for him,
making money for him.

In 1987, he formed
Mullyways Agencies Limited.

And then, he moved to
the next level of business

and was selling tires.

He had a welding company,
he had a car parts shop.

From there, he opened
his own insurance company.

From the insurance company,
he moved to real estate.

Mullyways real estate,

and out of this
the real estate,

you remain with
about 20%, 30%

that you put
it in your pocket.

You really feel good.

So with money,
I could buy anything.

I bought my own
Mercedes Benz from Germany.

I felt great.

We had a big living room,

I had my own bedroom.
and it was awesome.

I was one of the coolest
kids in the hood,

because we have a TV,
right?

We have a carpet
in the house,

so we can play, and it's
not cold on the floor.

Just simple things
like that.

NDONDO: Having servants
in the house, having,
you know, drivers.

And so many cars.

And Dad would change
his car every other...

Like, in a year, he would
have three or four cars.

He would sell them,
buy others.

Always used to go to Mombasa,

to Lake Makuru, to Boringo.

Sometimes we'd also go to

the dam or the falls
or picnics.

For me, it was not
the actual act of playing games,

but the fact that
we had time together.

We had time
just to laugh, you know.

Laugh at nothing but
the fact that life is good.

But it was becoming
more and more,

and the more I did, then
the more I also got profit,

and there is no end.

The more you get, then the more,
you want to have more.

That is
the nature of people.

JANEY:
We lived a life of riches,

because we were
on top of the class.

We had parties and dinners
all the time,

and had so many guests,
so many visitors

that used to come.

It was wonderful just to
be feeling so influential.

DICKSON: That's the class
of people we were.

My dad was
the Great Gatsby of Kenya.

♪

MULLY:
And it was really so good.

I got connected
to some of these people,

who are also rich,

and they owned
Total oil products,

and they were looking for
a prominent person to sell

and distribute
their products.

I really realized
the value of having money.

It's more than anything else
that you can think of.

It's having the power
in my hand.

ISAAC: And then my dad
had the monopoly

in oil and gas.

Really, it does not get
any better than that.

Where else do you
want to go from there?

MULLY: I traveled to Europe
for business,

traveling in different
parts of the world.

Traveled also to New York,

when they used to have
the twin towers.

I remember going up
almost to the top,

and then just
seeing the city.

I really felt like,
ah, it was my time.

Coming right from the bottom
to the highest point,

to become the supplier of oil,
gas in all of Western Kenya,

and always when
I remember that,

I see impossible
becoming possible.

So things were really
coming up so well.

I had so many workers by then,
business was good,

but one day, I got
the shock of my life.

My dad, um,
wrote me a letter,

and this letter,
when I read it, said,

"My son, it's a long time
since I last saw you.

And therefore,
I'd like you to come,

my firstborn son,
come home.

There are things
of great importance

that you need to come
and address here."

So my mind
was going around and around,

not knowing what to do.

I can remember very well,
when we were very young,

our brother,
elder brother, Charles,

we left him.

We were forced to go
to look for a piece of land.

We left him behind.

This was very hard for me.

The letter I got pleaded with me
to come and intervene.

I thought about it,
and I shared with my wife.

Then I decided to go there.

And I found my father was
in so much, so much trouble.

He owed money
to the village,

but he could not
pay anything.

So the people in the village
have a big meeting.

My father was put down
on the ground.

Then I was asked by the chief,
what do you want us to do?

And then I said,
"Do what you want."

During that time,
these people were furious.

They were saying beat him,
punish him.

He has done
some bad dishonor.

But the way my father
was crying down there,

that made me upset.

Then I looked at the chief,
I said, please, I say stop.

I said I'm ready.

I am ready
to pay what they needed

so that my father
could be saved.

This is how we used to survive
on the street in some instances.

We used to help people
park their car.

We'll guide them
as they're parking.

In exchange,
they have to give us money.

I can't count
the number of times

I've stabbed
other boys and women

when we want to steal from them
and they are resisting.

And this is a man
who is rich by all standards.

I can say
he was a millionaire.

And because I lived a life
full of hatred and anger

from my home in the slum,

every time
I used to hurt somebody,

for me,
it was like a revenge.

I used to feel good because
people used to hurt me,

and I hated to do so
to these people.

And when he comes out,
his car is gone.

So what can he do?

He goes and reports it
to the police station.

My car is stolen,

and that evening, he has to go
back, public transportation,

probably in one of his buses.

Going by bus, all I thought
was about the boys.

Why didn't I give
these young people money?

I am not feeling well.

I became sick.

I saw faces of me
inside them.

I saw myself.

I was really disturbed,

but something
was building in my heart.

I was really tormented
by these boys in the street.

And I could not
work anymore,

and then,
I told my secretary,

I told her
that I was going home.

I drove from my office,

and kept on
driving and driving.

I did not know
where I was going.

I found myself far away.

And there, I stopped my car,

and then, I started
crying in the car.

I cried, questioning God.

Why have You
done this to me?

With all the wealth
that I had,

why is it that God want
to take me back again

to the poverty?

Four hours in the car,
I struggled with God.

And then, after four hours,
He took me down.

I said, yes, God, use me.

And the moment I said,
yes, God,

I got the greatest
joy in my heart.

JANEY:
I remember him coming home,

and then he comes in,
and he sits down,

and I notice something
is different about him.

Every evening, we had dinner
together as a family,

and the night
that Dad told us,

we were sitting as always.

NDONDO: Dad asked us
how was your day,

and everybody
would say, one by one,

how your day was,
how was school.

And then finally, Dad says,

I have been thinking and praying
about something for so long,

and I'm wondering, hmm.

So is it another holiday?
This is exciting.

The words that followed
just completely shocked me.

MULLY: I will never, ever
do business again.

I told them I will
never, ever work for money.

My face turned on to Mom,
and Mom looked perplexed.

She looked like
they had talked about it,

but they had not
really talked about it.

He went on to elaborate
that God had actually shown him

that he needed
to sell everything,

and start helping
the poor in the society,

the children who ere abandoned,
the street children,

and I was there like I could not
fathom no more income coming in.

It was too much
for me, you know,

how you feel as though
the world has collapsed

beneath your feet?

That is how
it felt at that time.

After that, dinner
was finished quite quickly.

On plain language,
that's called total madness.

That's what it is.

MULLY: In the street,
you are not sure

whether you're gonna
wake up the next morning.

DAVID: To come to the street in
the middle of the night,

it was really, really dangerous
for him and for his life.

By then, we had already
smoked marijuana,

had taken some heroin,
and we were cutting, knives,

and we were sniffing gasoline,
and so any slight mistake then,

that could have been
the end of his life.

Oiyeh.

ISAAC:
What my mom went through,

I don't think any mom
should go through that.

You marry into
a secure family,

whereby your kids
will be provided for,

until your husband goes
and decides to sell everything.

You know, how, how...

how do you let go
of what you hold dearly?

And how do you decide when,
when to share your love?

That must have been hard
for her to do that.

Somewhere in the back of
her head, she must have gone,

"What am I going to do
when the money runs out?"

But she did it anyways.

MUENI: Mom had to cook for
the children, and she had to,

she was the nurse and taking
care of everything

you can think of,
everything.

ESTHER: I was the one who was
taking care for the children.

I would wash their clothes
and cook for them,

give them the medicine
when they were sick.

This is very hard work,
but I didn't get tired,

because I loved
the family,

and I loved my husband.

Initially, we had
three children, four children,

and the number
kept on growing.

And now our family was suddenly
bigger, from nowhere.

I went to the street.

Then I brought them,
every day.

There was no one day that
we said it is enough.

I had never said there
was no space for a child

who was suffering.

NDONDO: As the days progressed,
I was praying in my heart

that this would not be true,
that Dad was just joking,

and he would
continue working.

I thought, he will not
shut everything down.

ISAAC: People give donations.
Why can't you do that?

Why can't you just
sponsor a kid?

That would be awesome.

You can work,
sponsor a kid, perfect.

We still live our life,
everyone is comfortable.

But he actually stopped
all the businesses,

he started selling stuff,

he started closing shop,
and people called him crazy.

Even others as close as me
could not understand.

Do you close a business
in order to save street kids?

Do you... can you do that?

That seems
a little bit strange.

He didn't tell us he was
bringing the children

in our house
to share with us.

I think that was really,
really rude of him.

They smelled so bad.

They had flies on them,

tattered clothes,
and no shoes.

They broke the toilet, how
that happened, I do not know.

I think they were just
stepping on the toilet,
and they broke it.

I despised them because Mom,
suddenly, was taking time

to go and bathe them.

They were given one of
the rooms in our house.

MUENI: There was no time
for much after that,

in terms of the family,
the nuclear family.

There was
no privacy anymore.

I couldn't understand
why, why, why,

and I kept blaming
those children again.

( children shouting )

And theirs was just to laugh
and just have fun in our house.

ISAAC: After then, it was,

"Mom, this is happening,
Mom, this is happening, Mom."

NDONDO: And they were
playing with stones,

and playing with all sorts of
things and breaking our windows.

MUENI: They were swinging
on curtains, they were
climbing on the walls.

That was unheard of
before they came.

The house was meticulously
clean every day.

NDONDO:
It was really rough,

and the children
became now hundreds suddenly,

and we had to share
some of the rooms with them.

Because the kids
were so many,

I went to the street,
brought more.

JANEY: Of course,
he brought more children,

and more children
and more children.

And now, he had
to extend the house,

so that they had enough space
for the children.

The compound was small.

The garden
had to be thrown out,

our playground
had to be removed,

our swings had to remove,
the lawn had to be removed,

and my dad put
these wooden structures,

which were
pretty much ugly to me,

and everything
had to be cemented,

just so he could set up
a school for the kids.

I remember I had a favorite
dress, it was yellow in color.

( singing )

And I needed to give out
my favorite dress,

along with other things,
clothes and shoes and toys.

ISAAC: It wasn't really
working well, you know.

It was like us
against the kids.

JANEY: They were rough, they
would fight between themselves,

and want to fight with us.

MULLY: It was not good.

I don't remember one day

that my own children
were happy at all.

And it got to a point

that we could not settle
in very well with the kids,

and we had to go
to boarding school.

MULLY:
They had no choice.

I took five of them,

my own biological children,
to boarding school,

so that we could have
enough time to care

and to love these children.

We had to do that
to sacrifice.

Grade 1, grade 2, grade 3,
I was in boarding school.

I remember the whole time,

my dad came once
for a board meeting.

And my parents came to
visit me with my siblings.

And she had on
my yellow dress.

( singing )

I felt that
he had kicked us out,

he had abandoned us,

so he could spend time
with his other kids,

who did not even
belong to him.

GRACE: I felt angry.

I really felt angry
because I was wondering,

who are
these children anyway?

Why can't their parents
give them the things

they are taking from me?

My mother was a prostitute,

and at that time,
I was seven years,

and my mother
would come home drunk,

and she could bring
some men in the house,

maybe two men,

one for her, and she would
bring one for me,

and when I refused,
she would start beating me.

They told me that your mother
was a prostitute,

so she died because of AIDS,

and they told me that's why we
think you have the same disease.

( sobbing )

They brought me to Eldoret
where the other kids were.

They would come to me.

They did not care if
I was doing prostitution.

They decided to take me in.

I was amazed to see
all the kids.

There were so many kids
calling Dad their dad.

So I was wondering, which kind
of a family is this?

First time I met Charles,

one of the first things that
stood out was just his smile.

He was welcoming.

He would look at you straight
in the eye and say, "Oiyeh."

It's a sign of peace, and to see
that he's come to bring good.

And then,
he took us to his home.

He came and welcomed me,
he smiled big smile.

It was so broad,
it was so warm,

and you see that he's
a father looking down.

He said, "Welcome,
this is your family now.

These are all your brothers
and sisters."

DAVID K.: It was a moment
that I cannot explain.

I had never lived in
a nice house, given nice food.

I've never met my biological
dad, yet here is a man

saying that he was
going to take care of us.

The street children were
considered as bad people.

You can't bring them
to a holy place.

I was a young boy
in the Sunday school classes.

I still remember to this day
how sad that looked.

And one of the elders
asked them to go out,

because those are bad people,
and we are good people.

MULLY: I was given all kinds of
names, but I made the covenant,

and I knew
whom I was saving.

I said I would really
rather die than to stop.

It was unimaginable
that they would say

you choose the children
or choose to be in the church.

Mom's friends were telling her
she needs to leave Dad,

she needs to divorce Dad,

because how is this possible?

They told her that
Dad is crazy,

that she should take him
to hospital for a check-up.

And they would ask her
how could she take this.

Why can't she leave
this crazy man?

And my mom,
I'm sure, as a woman,

probably she
thought about it.

But Mom stood by him,

and she supported him
unconditionally.

And not because she had to,
but because she chose to.

I think losing those friends
brought us closer as a family,

because then we needed
to rely on each other.

We were each others' friends,
we were all we had.

( all singing )

And life moved on,
and the children became more,

and the finances
became minimal.

It was going down in the bank,

down and down
every year, every year.

Me and my younger brother
had to come and study

with the rest of the kids,
and it didn't make much sense.

My wife came one evening
and said,

"My dear, our stores
are running out of food."

And then I said,
why are you asking me

about where we are
going to get food?

Don't you remember I said
you ask God, pray?

It was no point of return.

I thought, what are
we going to do now?

And from nowhere, we heard
the bell on the gate ringing,

and someone
went to check,

and there was a lady
we did not know,

and she came with
a truck full of food.

I was speechless that this lady
said, "Here, this is for you."

A donation
for the first time.

SAMMY: And even for us
that were watching him,

and listening to him,
we were all amazed,

but we watched, and with
the passing of the day,

these children became
more and more responsive,

more and more obedient,
more like family.

They respected him,
each of them

calling him Dad,
calling Mrs. Mully Mom,

and we saw a very significant
change in their lives.

And he began to train
those kids to be responsible.

For example, teaching
metal work and woodwork,

tailoring both adult
and children's clothes,

even gardening
to bring up some vegetables

right on the compound.

That's why I think now
I can say Mully children,

not just home, but family,

and in family,
you teach everything.

It got to a point where
there was no more room

for more kids
in the compound.

Everyone was brushing
shoulders with each other.

And so, kids got on the bus,
and boom, the move started.

MULLY:
Mully Children's Family.

We started our journey.

We drove all
the way via Nairobi,

and then to Ndalani.

DICKSON: And this is moving from
a very big house in Eldoret

to a place that is made
of earth and soil,

and iron sheet roofing,
and there's nothing.

MUENI: There was no water,
there was no electricity.

We used to use
kerosene lamps back then.

But makeshift buildings
were put in place.

Children came in,
and we started living there.

KALELI: At that time in 1995,
the place was very hot.

It was 105 and 110
at times in a year,

and it was very difficult
to work the land.

NDONDO: But he would say

that this place
would be full of fruits,

it would be
full of vegetables.

And I would ask, what?

It's so dry.

WILSON: And he would tell us
about these things,

and sometimes
we wouldn't understand it,

and sometimes,
we'd think he's crazy,

because he was
dreaming about us

having a dormitory
built with stones,

and at that time, we were
staying in a tin shed.

MULLY: And I felt really
a lot of pressure.

You have all these children
who want to eat,

others crying, and others, they
need to be taken to hospital,

and in some of
the cases, HIV.

And they started complaining.

They said, "No, Dad, we don't
want to stay here.

There are no people here."

We are in the desert, you know,
and they wanted to run away.

JANEY: So some children
left Ndelani

to go sniff glue
in the streets.

DICKSON: Cocaine, heroin, glue,
alcohol, (indistinct).

ESTHER: You know, the kids are
kids forever in the world.

And when we see the children

going back to the street,
we are not happy,

because we know we lose them,
and they are going back,

and maybe they're
going to die there,

because in the street,
there is no love.

There is no people
who love them.

MULLY: I always go back along
the street in the slums,

everywhere,
looking for them.

When I find them,
they always say,

we cannot believe it.

This must be a dream.

I tell them, please,
this is your home.

We built that place
by hand,

step by step,
brick by brick.

We built every building,

every foundation
that was laid there.

I learned about construction
with the rest of the children.

I learned how to put
brick on mortar,

how to make the ratios
of cement and sand,

balanced and all that,

and right now, I have so many
skills that I learned

as I grew up that even now,

I can use them in
my day-to-day life.

And we continued to do that,
training the boys how to build

not only building
houses, but a bridge.

The bridge back here
we have started

over the last two weeks now,

and in order
to beat the time,

we do not know exactly
when the rain will come.

We do not know.

But even though,
it's quite unfortunate that

the whole area is affected
by this fear of drought.

We are taking this advantage
of building such a bridge,

so that even when
it rains then,

it's just like Noah's Ark.

When people ask you
why are you building this,

but the reality is that,
one day, the rain will come.

ISAAC: During the drought,
we did not have any water

that we could boil
from the river,

so he had to drive four hours
every day to Nairobi

to get water so that the kids
here could have water to drink.

It was really a hard time
for this country as a whole.

They took water
four days ago.

That's when they had
water last.

Those people were really
dying by drinking bad water

that they were trying to take
along the riverside,

when there was no water
flowing, and they were dying.

I remember a young boy, his name
was Oscar Kipurange.

Um, he got sick, and it was
because of the water.

DICKSON: He was very low
during that time.

He was trying to figure out,

God, you didn't give me
these kids here

for them to die in my hands.

I remember Dad and Mom
praying about it,

and Dad crying,
praying, saying

he was begging for water,

and then,
one night, he woke up,

he woke Mom up,
and they went outside.

NDONDO: And they walked
from the house where
they were staying.

DICKSON:
And he felt a voice

telling him to walk up,
straight, turn,

and that's the place
where water will come.

NDONDO: They prayed, and they
felt that this is the place

where they needed to dig.

MUENI: He believed that there
was water there,

and they prayed,

and the work started
the next day.

NDONDO: It was hard
to believe him.

Very hard.

DICKSON: Most of the workers
did not believe it,

so they did not want
to start digging.

They refused actually
to be part of it,

and us, the kids who came,

and we started
digging and digging.

NDONDO: My brother
Dickson and Isaac,

they dug for the water.

Now this is after
trying to dig

a couple bowl-holes
with machines,

going a couple hundred
feet down to get water,

and we do not have
any water,

and this guy goes
like, you know,

we need to grab a couple of
mattocks and start digging.

That is total craziness.

Most of us not believing.

We started digging for
a couple of days,

and we dug, we dug,
and we got to this hard rock.

It's a volcanic rock,

and you know,
we called my dad,

and told him we've dug
your vision,

and this is
where it's taken us.

We have a rock,
and there's no water,

so what should we do?

My dad says,
"I was shown water here,

and just keep on digging."

So during that time,

it was the time for
my younger brother's class

to go and dig,

so he got in there,
and he was digging,

and he takes this mattock
and just hits on the rock.

And all of a sudden,
water got out!

ISAAC: I remember
my brother yelling,

"Hey, Dad, Mom,
we got water!"

and my dad's like, what?

And water, it just came out
pouring from the ground,

and there was a lot
of commotion and everything,

because it was
unheard of.

GRACE: And you know,
they started shouting.

They're shouting,
"Majee, majee!"

Majee means water.

They're shouting,
"Water, water,"

because it was
actually coming.

ISAAC: When I finally got to
understand why he was doing it,

I regained trust
in my dad,

and from then, I started
supporting him.

MUENI: And after that,
we had water in Ndelani,

in an area where it is
not known to have any well.

There are no wells
in this area.

It is unheard of,
but we do have water,

and the children
stopped getting as sick

as they were getting sick,
so that's, that is a miracle.

KALELI: A water purification
system was set up,

and from that,

there was a water tower
that was constructed,

and this was able to supply
water not only to the children,

but also, we got water
also for use in the farm,

and that's where it began.

Over a period of time,
the number of children grew

all the way to more than
a couple of hundred,

to 1,000, and the need to feed
the children was very high.

And Dad was thinking on
how to be self-sustaining,

and that's where
the farming part

really took
a different turn.

The idea of us being able
to be self-reliant

was a very paramount aspect

of how my father was viewing
the entire project.

You know, people in
Africa, in Kenya,

they all, even the government,
they depend on donation

from the western world,

and then I always feel like
what can we do as Africans

to change that attitude.

KALELI: My father noticed that,
and started to think through

how he could
do something differently

to be able to complement
the donations we were having.

Because I used to beg,
you know.

A beggar has got no choice.

That's something I hated,
and for that reason,

I said I will never beg,

and then I kept on thinking
how can we build a project

that would be
self-sustaining.

KALELI: As we began, we had
(indistinct) with oxen,

now to 500 acres
using a tractor.

Right now,
as we're sitting here,

we're looking at crops
that are growing so well,

the production
is so many times

the conventional
outdoor production.

We're able to sell excess

that we produce from here
in the European market,

so that we can have
some income

to sustain
Mully Children's Family.

Then in 2003,

we got to design
a hydroponics system,

which is a greenhouse

covering about
600,000 square feet,

so the water
will collect as rainwater

on top of the greenhouses,

and it's conveyed through
a piping system into reservoirs.

That water will be used
to carry out fish farming.

This is a new venture.

We are trying
to put up some fishes.

Here on my right is 2000.
A small pond here.

This is something
that we want to do.

Train people how to fish,

train people how to eat
after getting the fishes,

so that is
what I mean, yeah.

So you see,

little fishes have grown
into big fish like these.

Yeah.

KALELI: After harvesting water
from the top of our greenhouses,

which is almost
a billion liters,

then we use that water
to irrigate the trees.

We can do something
with our own hands

We do not have to wait
for the government

to tell us what to do,
because this is our Kenya.

This is our future.

To plant trees, so that we can
attract water to this place,

because, as you can see,
it's very dry.

We hope to come here
over and over again,

until we turn this yard
into a forest.

Since 2004, we've planted
over 1.5 million trees

in this property alone.

The water goes up
and forms the clouds,

and from forming the clouds,
we have rainfall.

With trees being
planted annually,

we have been able
to create a microclimate,

and therefore, we have
more regular rainfall.

This is real.

When I bought
this piece of land,

there was nothing.

There was no trees,
nothing, no water.

And through planting trees,
through water conservation,

I've seen that really working.

One bigger dream that I have

is to transfer the knowledge
to the young generation,

so that we change Africa,
we change our country Kenya.

WOMAN REPORTER: This is what's
been unleashed in Kenya.

Ethnic warfare at its
most basic and most brutal.

A man being murdered because he
belongs to a different tribe.

I remember sitting watching TV,
and Kenya was burning.

And we were sitting there,

and I remember my dad
called us and he said,

"We can't let this happen,
we have to do something."

The government, they were
overwhelmed completely,

and the children
didn't have food.

Dad had said
if we don't step in,

children are going to die.

By then, there were internally
displaced persons camps

that had been set up
by the government,

the biggest being
in Eldoret.

So when Dad said that,
it was traumatic for us.

Okay, work.

Let's go and work.

DICKSON: I remember very well
that day in the bus.

Buses had been burnt
on the side of the road,

dead bodies everywhere.

We were all so scared.
What if we get killed ourselves?

NDONDO:
The authorities there

did not want Dad
to actually come in,

because they felt
that they had control,

but Dad, he said,

even if you refuse me to bring
food, I'll still bring food.

That is how we started.

And the children would come out
of the tents and follow the bus,

because they knew
MCF brought them food.

For a whole year,
the year 2008,

we gave out food
to these children...

over 2,400 children
every single day.

MUENI: We ended up working
with the Red Cross.

And we got some of
the children from the IDP camps,

and some of them came to MCF,
where they now have a family.

MULLY:
We are one family.

We are one Kenya.

Regardless of the tribe
they come from, we take them.

In Africa,
we can only move forward

only when
we trust each other.

Girls and boys,
should we clap

for your own brothers,
your own sisters?

Should we clap for them?

ISAAC:
MCF never stops growing.

Every time we have
disasters happen,

we have (indistinct).

We have parents
that end up dying,

they leave kids, you know,
without any parents.

We take them.

And I think that's part of
what the world is today,

and I don't think
there is one day, we will say,

"enough is enough."

It's not
the kind of business

or way like, we wanna do this
for one year and we're done.

This is a lifetime thing.

After high school,

Dr. Charles Mully
took me to university.

After graduating,

I went back and did
a Masters in psychology,

and now I'm working with
NGO based in Atlanta,
Georgia, in Marietta,

and I realize
Dr. Charles Mully's dream

and prophecies
are coming to pass.

They're becoming doctors,
they're becoming teachers,

they're becoming managers,
they're bankers.

It's amazing.

Not counting the 84

who are currently in the Kenyan
universities and colleges.

One day,
the Lord may take me home,

the eternal home.

Then they could be able to
manage this place,

but I don't have
one particular person,

not even my own son
or my own daughters,

because this is not my doing,

this is not my property,
this is not my work.

He chose me
like He did to Moses,

to be able to do
this work faithfully.

That's why, over the years now,
I'm no longer worried.

I cannot tell the world
who are those people

who really would take over
when I am not alive.

Twenty-five years from now,

I know MCF will be a place

where the people will come
from all over the world

to see what is going on,

and I know the kids who
went through in our program,

I know they will be big people
in the society,

and also in Kenya,
and also in Africa,

and maybe in the world.

I know there's no limit
in MCF.

For you to be here,

for you to be alive today,
it's a miracle.

For you to be the way you are,
it is God's miracle.

Let me tell you,
I worked 25 years,

and I worked because I know
everything is possible.

I'm telling you,

let's remain focused
in our studies,

and in everything that we do,
let us remain focused.

Let us work hard, so that
we change the world.

DICKSON: At night, Dad ties
his shoes up, puts on a coat,

gets in a car,

and he drives and drives,
not somewhere specific,

but looks until
he sees an orphan,

sleeping alone in a street.

And the first thing
he says...

Oiyeh.

Oiyeh.

Oiyeh.

( children singing
in African dialect )

♪

♪

♪