"If you cannot feed one hundred people, then feed just one." -Mother Teresa

As some of you may be aware, there is a severe drought that has affected the horn of Africa.

Turkana (in northern Kenya) is undergoing the worst of the drought right now, as people are literally dying of hunger. I read heart-wrenching stories in the newspaper of an elderly woman, who was reported to be hungry months ago...and because help did not come in time...she died a few days ago. And her picture was in the paper.... Another woman was trekking southward (from Somalia to Kenya) to find water when she went into labor. She gave birth to her baby, for which she had no water to clean, so the women with her used the dirty cloth they were wearing to clean off the baby. Then the women traded carrying the woman who just gave birth to continue in search for food and water.

The situation is horrific. I talked to Vickie, and she has said she has received requests for help with food/water from areas in the Rift Valley and Meru (both places I have been). I am not a fan of a quick fix, but I would rather help supply water and food for a day than nothing at all.

It has been weighing heavy on my heart ever since I saw pictures of a tiny starving baby in the paper (the Standard). I am in Kenya for a reason....and right now....all I am thinking is "Here I am, Lord! Send me!!!"

Today I met with some of the leaders of the Magadi area (which includes Oldonyonokie in the Rift Valley), who shared that they are looking for ways to provide the people of their community with food. Though the drought has hit northern Kenya the hardest, many in the Rift Valley and other areas of rural Kenya (including Meru) are suffering greatly.

Maasai men have left the homes with their herds (cattle and/or goats) in search for grazing areas, leaving women and children behind—with no food or water. The river bed is dried up (which I have seen firsthand), and the water source they normally rely on is sparse. In a certain area in Magadi near the main roads, where trucks and men with money pass through, women are selling their bodies in exchange for water for themselves and their children. HIV prevalence in that area is partnered with the desperate need for water.

Although the Maasai have always struggled with a water source in the Rift Valley, times have become especially hard now with a drought that has been called “the worst since 1950” (according to the Meteorological Department in Kenya). Would you partner with me in helping provide food and water for those in need?

Many organizations are helping the worst of the situation in northern Kenya and Somalia, but many people across Kenya are still unreached and in need of your help. With your support, I can help bring water and food to families in remote areas. Not only will this bring relief for a day, but it will help establish relationships that will last a lifetime—relationships that can be used to invest in long-term solutions to such a grave need.

Checks can be made out to HEART with Drought Relief under the memo line. Please mail checks to:

HEART
PO Box 631964
Highlands Ranch, CO 80163-1964

Milele Shukrani! Mungu akubariki. (Forever grateful! God bless you.)

“Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.”

-Isaiah 58:6-11