Monday, August 1, 2011
"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
Reflecting on the Past 6 Weeks
How do I begin to express the past 6 weeks? I have been to Upper Taita, Lower Taita, Kisii, Mombasa, Oldonyonokie, Kibera, Ngong, Bulbul, Maasai Mara, Nakuru, clinics and hospitals in Nairobi and Mombasa… I have spent days at the HEART compound, days away from the compound, days with little to no sleep, days upcountry, days on the road… It’s been fun, adventurous, never as planned, exhausting, and God-given. I hold sweet and sour memories from each of them.
Kisii was a much needed trip upcountry. Although brief, it is always good to get in to the field again. We spent one day building a house—from the bottom up—literally—mud ball by mud ball. Basically, when you build a house upcountry, you use wooden sticks, dirt, water, and nails. The community had pre-dug the holes in the ground, where wood poles are placed in to serve as the structure of the house. Once those are placed in the ground, giant sticks line the inner and outer perimeters of the house. Between the stick you place thick balls of mud to create walls. Wooden doors and windows as well as roofing are brought separately, and installed by construction workers in the community.
One of my favorite memories was watching one man of the community take off his shoes and in his ripped shorts jump in the mud. Of course, he was not doing it to have fun but to work hard. To me, it looked fun though… (Of course… I played in the mud as a kid…why not as a grown up?) Eager to break any cultural barriers, I took off my socks and shoes and jumped in to help mix the dirt and water to make a thick mud. I desperately wanted the community to know that I was there to serve—not as an American, but a fellow Kenyan. If that meant I had to be barefoot and covered in mud, so be it.
Additionally, when I saw a group of women fetching water and carrying it back on their heads… I got so excited… Pick me! Pick me! I want to help fetch water!... so with a mix of broken Swahili and English, I asked some of the women if I could join them in fetching water. They were surprised and thrilled. So we walked down to the location where they fetch water. The walk seemed quick, but I am pretty sure that was because I was so excited that I was fetching water in Kenya…just living alongside some locals. Kisii is in no shortage of water and it is lush and green. However, my friend Steve brought up a good point while I was there: Although it is wonderful that Kisii has a good supply of water, it is disappointing that they do not appear to be doing anything to harvest it. They are in good supply now, but what happens if a drought (such as the one that is happening in the horn of Africa) hits Kisii? All of the sudden, the supposed consistent life source is suffocated. (Anyway…water projects have definitely been weighing on my heart, especially with the travesty that is hitting northern Kenya and Somalia.)
After the women put a cloth on my head to help support the bucket, I placed the big yellow bucket on my head and headed back to where we were building the house. I must admit… carrying that water bucket—as fun as it was—was difficult. I was short on breath by the time I reached the top, but my return with the other women of the community was greeted by cheering (the African way, of course, with index finger waving high in the air). It was the best greeting I could have received. It was a good time to build friendships and help out as one of the young (Kenyan) women.
Before we knew it, the house was built. One day! It still surprises me. The young girl who received the home is a total orphan, who lives with her grandmother. Her grandmother was part of a polygamous marriage (her husband had two wives). The girl, now 15, got pregnant from another boy her age. The uncle of this girl, who is an alcoholic, came by their old home and set it on fire when he was drunk one evening. It killed four goats that the family had (very valuable to Kenyans). Thankfully, no person was killed or harmed. The whole story is quite honestly a mess and just an example of how broken of a world we live in. It breaks my heart. But now, the child of that girl, who is just about the cutest baby I have ever seen, will never have to experience what it is like to not have a home. And that to me makes it all worth it.
In addition to upcountry trips like Kisii, I have had the pleasure of revisiting the Kibera WEEP Center to work on files for the preschoolers. This was actually one of the intern’s projects but, unfortunately, since she was one of the two interns that had to leave early due to medical issues, I now have to complete her project. But as much work as it is, I don’t mind the excuse to get to go into Kibera time and time again.
I am also working on Ashlee’s project this week, which is coordinating a Youth Seminar titled “Kicking HIV out of the Community” in Bware, Migori. This youth seminar will partner soccer and HIV prevention teaching to appeal to the youth to cease the spread of HIV in their community through practical life skills.
So… that is what is going on right now and a quick update on events that have happened, but I never shared. The intern that got very ill had a serious infection (some sort of food poisoning) which lead to her vomiting a lot. An artery in a one-way valve that connects the esophagus and stomach burst due to the constant stretching of the one-way valve in the opposite direction. This burst caused her to cough blood after forceful vomiting. Because she was so sick, she also experienced severe dehydration which led to vertigo and weakness. This is all to say, she is back in the States now and on the road to recovery.
Today I took the day off to catch up on sleep, process my journey thus far, and try to figure out how to best help areas in desperate need of food and water in the midst of this severe drought.
1 Kings 8:56 is the verse that showed up on my phone today: “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise…”
Amen to that.