: July 2009

Schools for Hope

Schools for hope aims to step into the lives of children like Simon and Mary by providing a high school education that meets them where they are...in the heart of Kibera the 2nd largest slum in the world. [read more]

Breaking the cycle

In Kenya, without a high school education there are few job opportunities outside of construction and child prostitution. Providing a Christian education from pre-school through high school will give children like Simeon both hope and a way to break the depravity cycle. [read more]

Kids long for education

Grace is one of the many children in need of education in Kenya. [read more]

Lifted from the Dust

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Dancing. Laughter. Drum Beating. Swahili songs of worship. All at once the entire Jakazi IDP camp, 840 people, celebrated God's outrageous love with all their might. Why? After tribal wars destroyed their families these survivors banned together to make a new home, and today marked the one year anniversary of living on this new land.

These people were a riddle. They had nothing, but were filled with joy. Experience had showed them how crewel life can be, yet their lives were filled with hope. As we picked up hammers and nails we joined the Jakazi residents in building new homes for those who had spent the year sleeping on the ground in outdated tents.

As we worked their stories of faith filled our ears. "God has lifted us from the dust," one woman proclaimed. She was right. This year they had watched as God provided food and water for the entire community even without a single person being able to work in the local ostracizing town. Today, on their one year anniversary, God made it possible for the community to obtain the supplies necessary to build the last 52 homes needed.

Jakazi is a nothing short of a modern day Israel. God was with them when their lives were ripped from them, and he leading the charge to bring about a new life. The small woman was right when she proclaimed that God has lifted them from the dust. "He has put his dwelling place among them, he is walking with them, and he is their God who has broken the bars of their yoke and enabled them to walk with heads held high (Lev. 26:11 paraphrase).

Today was a day of celebration. It was a day of worship.

Tribal Warfare- IDP Camp

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Our hearts broke. Can you imagine? As a result of last years Presidential election in Kenya tribal warfare broke out across the nation. Homes were burned, family members were murdered, and 10,000 of the tribe’s people were forced to flee for safety.

And here we were…talking to the very people who were trying desperately to piece their lives back together. They had experienced such pain, but as we sat around their homes talking they acted so normal.

Where did they flee? Most came to a small plot of land in central Kenya that the government provided for the people to squat on. These people are called Internally Displaced People (IDP).

As we sat under a tin roofed hut this community of survivors explained to us their story. This IDP camp had broken off from the 10,000 other refugees, and they were certainly unique. When the government gave each family $125 to compensate for their struggles, instead of carelessly spending the money, this group of 840 entrepreneurs decided to join together as a community and purchase land. Now they are able to grow crops as they work towards building homes, finding food, water, and education for their children.

Looking around the camp felt like glancing around an unfinished construction site. While roughly fifty mud walled homes had been erected another fifty-two homes were yet to be built. For the past year these families have been living out of leaky tents waiting for the community to be able to afford to build more homes.

As our conversations continued we found ourselves shocked to hear the fate of their young teenagers. Daily the high school students walk down a major highway 3 miles to a little town where they can attend school. Seeing children in need the truckers have started taking advantage of the desperate girls. Knowing the children go days between meals the truckers offer to give money in exchange for the only thing the girls can offer, Sex. What began as children walking to school has now become a popular child prostitution location.

It was difficult to hear the fate of these people. There are so many needs. Where do we begin? Next week we will join Global Connections as they help build 52 homes, and to temporarily provide food and water until their crops can grow.

The biggest immediate problem left is what will happen to these high school girls. How can we help? There is no temporary solution to this problem. What steps must we take to eliminate this problem?

Once again the cry of this communities desperation showed us how necessary it is to provide Christian education. They need a high school. They need hope.

Fingers in the Dirt

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Hanging on the edge of the 1,000 foot Rift Valley cliff wall is one of the most popular tourist stops in Central Kenya. Over Christmas we joined the hundreds of tourist who daily stop to buy over priced Maasai weapons, sheep skins, and cold cokes. What we did not realize was that within view stood three mud shacks that 400 children call their school.

Just imagine... at the base of the massive Rift Valley wall three teachers use every means possible to educate the children of their Maasai community. They have no chalkboards, desks, or books. What they do have they use well...dirt. To learn to read and write these children cram into a small mud-walled room and imitate their teacher as she carves letters into the dirt. While their education can only go so far with such few resources they come to school daily to learn their next lesson.

Within seconds of arriving we found ourselves surrounded by laughing children who wanted to touch the white people. Can you imagine? All we could see were hands and smiles. All we could hear were peals of laughter.

We only spent an hour at the school, but during that time we played soccer with a ball made from trash-bags, chased the children around in an endless game of tag, and sang songs until the dust filled the air in their one roomed church.

Even though this school is only 2 kilometers from the main road, daily tourist, like us, go about their time in Kenya without ever seeing the need that is so close. The only reason we found the school is that we stumbled across it as we searched for land to purchase down a long dirt road.

Once again God is showing us the dramatic need that there is to change the lives of these children by giving them a Christian education.

Its all about relationships

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Q: How do you build a school in a third world country? A: You first build relationships.

Whether we were looking for contractors, talking to existing schools, or working with the Kenyan government at the Ministry of Education, we have learned that nothing moves forward in this country without first forming relationships.

Ministry of Education:

It was nothing more than a two room shack overflowing with clunky desks, chairs, and filing cabinets. Yet somehow in this tin hut, the Ministry of Education office, we were supposed to learn all the regulations that the Kenyan government requires for its schools. As we struggled to maneuver into a comfortable position between our chairs and the furniture, getting down to business would not take place until we were able to take the necessary time needed to get to know the director we were speaking with. Once the relationship was established we then were able to move forward.

While the Ministry could not offer any official documents to show what the government requires for their schools they did offer the advice, help in understanding the necessary process of registering a school, and the willingness to walk along side the school, once built, to ensure all is being done to their "standard".

Schools for Hope

Breaking the cycle

Kids long for education

Hope for Children

Join the fight

Lifted from the Dust

Tribal Warfare- IDP Camp

Fingers in the Dirt

Its all about relationships

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