Sometimes a single sentence says more than an entire report. "I'm an orphan," Clinton Kamau says when I ask him who he is. And during my stay in Kenya, I found myself sitting in the van one afternoon, lost for words, after visiting a grandmother and two grandchildren who live in a room the size of my pantry.

In this newsletter I share two stories that have stayed with me. Clinton speaks openly about growing up without parents, about anger and forgiveness, and about what he would say to his mother if he met her today. After that, I take you to Ian, Yvonne and their grandmother. My appeal on LinkedIn raised more than I had dared to hope, and the job turned out to be far more complicated than simply building a wall.

Life at The Ark didn't stand still this summer either. Firewood was running low, almost all the children spent a few weeks with family, and several of them took an important step in their education. A group of boys at The Ark are also starting their own gift shop, selling handmade jewellery, drawings and bags with The Ark's logo. I gave them some starting capital and one assignment: make it grow. And in our series Meet the board, Martijn introduces himself. He is a board member of Mwanzo and has been my friend for more than fifty years, ever since kindergarten.

They are very different stories, but they share one common thread: what it means when someone comes and stands beside you.

It has been a while since you last received a newsletter from us. Combining the writing of a newsletter with our busy jobs has proved difficult. We are still looking for someone to help us manage our social media and newsletters. We will of course keep you up to date, but until we have found someone, we aim to send one newsletter every two months.

Thank you for your support, and happy reading and watching,

Martijn, Lente and Clements