LOOK at them today, and all you see is contentment. As Jennifer jokes with her sisters and plays with her boisterous little brother, they are a picture of happiness. But it wasn’t always so.

Jennifer (14), Dorcas (12), Helen (nine) and their brother Julius (three) have endured more than any children should have to. That they are in such a good place today is remarkable. That Julius is alive to enjoy it is something of a minor miracle.

In a few short years, the girls were neglected by their mother, orphaned, and then left in the care of a grandmother who tried to kill them. Life was volatile at best, and often terrifying.

Julius never even knew his mother. She died within a week of giving birth, having colluded with a friend to abandon him at the gates of the Kenwa Children’s Home in Muranga.

But there, over the past few years, the children’s lives have been turned around, hope finally triumphing over the horrific heartache.

It’s not easy for Jennifer to tell their story but she is keen to do so, to highlight the fantastic work done by Kenwa and to help protect other children.

“I feel safe here, because since the day when I was placed here, I have had everything,” she says. “We are taken good care of here; they provide everything for us.”

Such safety, care and provision are taken for granted by many, but not Jennifer. Today, she enjoys school, wants to become a doctor, dreams of helping other children and plans to pay her brother through school. But she and her siblings have seen first hand the harsher extremes of life.

Their troubles began in 2005, when their mother and Helen were diagnosed as HIV positive. In much of rural Kenya, such news is seen as a death sentence and, like many, their mother refused to accept her status or take medication.

She was regularly in and out of hospital though and, already a single parent, was unable to provide for the children.

“We could not even get anything to eat,” recalls Jennifer as she sits outside the children’s home. “We would go to neighbours to see if they could lend a hand.”

Their plight deepened further when their mother simply vanished one day, only returning several months later.

“She said she was going to look for some food, but she did not return,” says Jennifer. “We did not know where she had gone, and we stayed without anything to eat or drink.”

Kenwa (the Kenya Network of Women with Aids) provided food in the short-term but, more and more, Jennifer had to take charge.

“I was caring for my siblings. I was the one to wash the school uniforms, to cook for them, to clean the house and to clean the dishes.

“My mother’s sister was trying to help, but we could not pay the bills. There was nothing we could eat. We had empty stomachs, with nothing to eat or drink.”

Jennifer got basic work, harvesting for a neighbour, but the money was scarcely enough to feed the family – and she was wrought with guilt over her sister’s illness.

“I started saying to myself: ‘why does she have that disease, when I was the first born? I was the one who was supposed to have it.’”

Kenwa stepped in, trying to ensure the girls were fed and looked after. But their grandmother had other ideas. She felt their mother’s HIV brought shame on the family, wanted nothing to do with those who addressed it, and didn’t want the burden of looking after the children.

“Their grandmother almost killed them,” says Susan Ndung’u, who runs the home. “She went to dump them in a borehole but Jennifer was clever. She ran and shouted that the grandmother was trying to drive them into the pit.

“As she was trying to put them in, there was a struggle and Jennifer shouted to neighbours.”

Kenwa has cared for the children since, and the girls have gone from strength to strength – joined by brave little Julius, whose story is perhaps most amazing of all.

“It’s a miracle that when the mother gave birth, she was still alive,” says Susan. “But she did not survive long. The children had already been admitted to the home by that time and we never thought Julius would get well – but God worked miracles.”

Such miracles are in high demand in rural Kenya. And in the safety of the home, Jennifer hopes her story can be an inspiration to others waiting for their own second chance.

Gavin Aitchison travelled to Kenya with Christian Aid, to witness the charity's work with HIV victims and to meet those on the front-line in the fight against the virus.

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• Kenwa is supported by the Anglican Church of Kenya’s development services arm, which is part-funded by Christian Aid. This year, Christian Aid’s Christmas appeal is focused on HIV, marking the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the virus.

If you would like to donate to Christian Aid’s Christmas Appeal, or would like to find out more about its work on health and HIV, visit christianaid.org.uk/christmas or call 0845 7000 300.