Embrace a Street Child exists to reach Kenyan street children with the Gospel. These children are exposed to all types of abuse at home and on the streets. Various reasons which force children to leave home include rejection by their families, poverty, broken families, horrible home situations and peer pressure.
Living on the streets, they experience occasional hunger, violence and oftentimes end up addicted to drugs such as industrial glue and jet fuel. They survive by hustling for food and money, begging and stealing.
We build relationships with them, invite them to our rescue center in Nairobi where they begin the process of spiritual and physical rehabilitation through counselling, Biblical education and discipleship, remedial academic lessons, introduction to life skills and a variety of games, sports, crafts and developmental activities.
Through this, we want to show them that they are not forgotten, that God loves them and cares for them deeply and that they too can have the freedom that only Christ can give.
During the process of rehabilitation, we begin learning about the child’s family background and tracing their home. This consists of several home visits to determine why the child ran away and if reunification with immediate family is possible. In some cases, we continue tracing extended family members until we find the best environment for the child. Once the child and family are well prepared, the child is reunited with the family by means of home placement. Through ongoing follow ups, we empower them with the physical, spiritual and emotional tools they need to ensure long term success.
Alex Krupin
Embrace Director and Founder, Canada
Alex Krupin travelled to Kenya in 2014 and after encountering street children in Kitale, the Lord put it on his heart to start a ministry that would serve the needs of street children. That same year a vision was born to start a center for street children in Kitale that would be accessible to all children living on the streets and that would share the love of God with them in both word and deed. Alex partnered with the local missionaries in Kitale to open up the center for street children in 2015 and registered an organization in Canada that would support this work. After Palina joined the Embrace ministry, together with Alex they started to develop plans to open Embrace center in Nairobi. Alex continues to be involved in providing the direction for the organization together with the other directors.
Email me: info@embraceastreetchild.ca
Greg Tovmassian
Embrace Director, USA
Since becoming a born again Christian at Bryte Church (California, USA) in 2001, Greg has been committed to various ministries to kids, teens, and young adults. Over the years, this passion for serving the Lord by serving people, has led Greg to being on the Missions Committee at Bryte Church, which God used to introduce him to Alex Krupin (Founder of Embrace a Street Child). Shortly after meeting Alex and learning about the Embrace mission, Greg engaged in the ministry as one of the directors and Bryte Church’s coordinator/representative. To further learn about and contribute to the Embrace ministry, Greg joined Alex on a trip to Nairobi (Kenya) in Feb 2020, where he was fortunate to meet Palina and the rest of the team. Greg considers it a huge blessing, honor, and pleasure to be able to support the ministry remotely in any way possible.
Email me: gregtovmassian@gmail.com
John and Palina Sterenchuk
Embrace Director and Center Managers, Kenya
Originally from Ukraine, John has been serving with the Embrace team in Nairobi since March 2020. He came for two weeks to help in the early stages of construction of Embrace. Through some God-ordained circumstances, John met his wife Palina. They were married in February 2020 and are currently serving full time as a family, overseeing the Embrace ministry. John is also responsible for construction and maintenance around the Center.
Palina discovered her burden for street children in Kitale, where she served with Embrace for over 2 years. In 2019, God called Palina and Alex Krupin to open an Embrace Center in Kenya’s capital city which has been a journey of faith and witnessing God do the impossible. It was in Nairobi that Palina met her husband, John. They were married in February 2020 and are currently serving full time as a family, overseeing the Embrace ministry.
Email me: embracemission@gmail.com
Embrace a Street Child 