IT'S hard not to be affected by the poor conditions facing the young Nanyuki inhabitants. For some, they're lucky to have a roof over their heads.

Nanyuki Children's Home is shelter to 96 children who are classed as needing special protection.

For six months of the year, it's showered with gifts and attention from visiting Army troops.

The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters are just one of the regiments to have made a difference to the home this year.

"Whenever they're here, they offer a lot of help," said Billy Mugo, a social worker at the children's home. "The difference is enormous to the children.

"We can't afford to take the children to the shops to buy clothes, so we really appreciate it. They're all so happy.

"When they see these people, they know they've come to help. They know things are going to be much better."

The home was set up in 1972 and has helped thousands of children through the years.

They're visited by the Army doctors and dentists and medical records are established - a luxury many of us take for granted. Even the playground has benefited from the Army.

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The home's already stretched, many children share beds and yet more children are being identified as needing its help.

"Most are children in need of special protection," said Mr Mugo. "We have a number of abandoned children. Some have been battered by their parents or guardians.

"There are also Aids orphans. The children are medically fit. We don't have the facilities for Aids children. We hope to improve, so we can cater for them.

"Street kids are brought in and we try to get them to change their ways. We also have child prostitutes."

The youngest of the children in the home's care is three-month-old Benjamin, who's being looked after temporarily while his mother receives treatment for depression.

"This isn't a long-term solution," said Mr Mugo. "We want to harmonise the situation back at home if we can."

The oldest is 19 and waiting to go to university.

The children's home has its own nursery school, while older children attend schools outside the grounds.

It employs 13 staff and takes on slum children to teach them new skills, such as dressmaking.

"Sometimes, you have a case which is heartbreaking, but we try to do the best we can," said Mr Mugo. "We try to make them feel at home.

"The job might not be well paid but, when you see them brought in from the start and becoming a changed person, you really feel you've helped."