What a joyful, wonderful week! From Saturday, the 17th to Saturday the 24th, I had the real treat of shadowing the staff at a Compassion International project in Waithaka, a “suburb” of Nairobi (and when I use the word “suburb,” don’t picture anything like the suburbs in America).
The project, Jipe Moyo (Take Heart, in swahili) is located at a church in Waithaka and hosts 313 children through their programs. Through the week, I was exposed to the real nitty-gritty inner-workings of a Compassion child development centre. The four-person staff really took me in as one of their own and gladly introduced me to the multi-faceted field work of Compassion.
I first visited the project on a Saturday, when all the children came from 8am -5pm. I sat in on their worship and devotions, and part of their health lessons. I was allowed to take several of the update photos that are going to be sent to the children’s sponsors and briefly meet the teenager’s class.
Each morning was a one hour journey to reach Waithaka. A 20-minute walk to my bus stage, where I catch a matatu to Nakumatt. There, I head south on a different matatu, all the way to Waithaka. On Monday and Friday, the staff does morning devotions, which were very special to share in. Wednesday and Thursday gave me to opportunity to do ten home visits. Among the most notable was a home way up in the green farm fields where the sponsored child had just undergone tonsil surgery. His is happy and fully-recovered. Compassion covers full medical expenses for their sponsored children.
Another home visit was to a boy that recently lost his mother, leaving him an orphan. He now lives with his grandparents, in a small room with no adequate lighting or study space. He is 16 years old, and the project health worker took me on this visit to assess how they can best help this boy in his current situation. The last home belonged to a widower who has six children. His wife died suddenly eight years earlier, while he was doing night shift at his job. He has no job now, and struggles to earn money to support his family, which now includes four grandchildren. The father just graduated this weekend from a cookery class at the Compassion project. He now knows how to make multi-purpose soap, juice, shampoo and cakes, and he believes this will be a great asset to him as he tries to provide for his family. The health worker came here to look at the family’s garden and water supply, so that he can assist them in efficient farming which will hopefully give them surplus to sell.
Compassion offers a variety of courses for the sponsored children’s parents, including: sewing, cookery and beading and assistance in starting their own businesses.
I also went with the social worker to purchase some children’s birthday gifts, and sat in on a women’s HIV support group. I took a bookkeeping lesson from the project accountant and an overview of the health programs from the health worker there. And throughout the week I met many children and parents. It’s awesome how excited kids can be about meeting a muzungu. On Saturday, the last day of my involvement at the project, I briefly addressed an assembly of all the Compassion parents on the issue of sponsorship. And after that I rehearsed a poem with the teenagers – a poem we will present on World Aids Day next weekend, December 1st. Five Compassion projects are gathering at Jipe Moyo for a full day of events, and I am happy to have one last chance to see my Compassion friends!
I also met a British neighbor in Lisa’s apartment complex. We’ve enjoyed dinner and tea together three times, and she even gave me a lift to my bus stage a couple mornings. And now, the depressing news of the week … on Friday, while shopping for the birthday gifts at the Kawangware market, my digital camera was stolen out of my backpack. I took wonderful pictures this week that I was excited to use both to tell my stories and to further promote Compassion’s work (as well as the ministries at the Word Fellowship Centre) – but they’re all gone, never to be seen! I was, and still am, truly upset about that. Maybe the only plus about this experience is that it made me put my guard up again. It served as a reminder that this is not a safe city, and I need to be smart and aware of that.
But to end on a better note - I really learned a lot this past week. I am now in Kajiado - a town near the Tanzania border in Masai land, at a children's home. I hopped in a volvo/taxi and came down here yesterday. This is a definite change of pace from Nairobi, and I think it'll take some adjusting to get used to it. More coming soon!
Monday, November 26, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
... new experiences ...
* On Sunday I walked an hour and a half to Word Fellowship Centre in Kibera, in gum boots! Gum boots are what we call rain boots, and they are essential here as the mud is sooo sloppy and sticky after rain. However, it was not raining that morning. It's usually muddy in Kibera anyways, so that's why I wore them ... however, I will not do that again.
(Oh, and the reason I walked ... I didn't have any change for a matatu!)
* I love Kenyan food. I haven't had so much as a stomach ache since I've been here. I even feel better than I usually do in the States because of all the fresh vegetables (and perhaps lack of dairy and lots of meat) in the Kenyan diet. YUM. I honestly never knew veggies could be so delicious.
* My favorite swahili word = skumaweekee. It is this spinach-like plant that is super popular and was grown all over Waithaka.
* I learned my first day here that "kiswahili" is simply the word for swahili in kiswahili! Ok, I know I'm not the only one that was ignorant of this, because I asked many of you if you knew the difference between the two before I left! ;)
* Taking a shower/bath with just a bucket of water is kinda fun! Well, at least when the climate, and bucket of water, is warm. Some of you that did the slums track at Urbana may have had a more rustic experience.
* I am called muzungu wherever I go – usually by little children. On my way to the Kibera church on Sunday morning, 5 children literally flew out of their home and ran towards the street, jumping up and down and exclaiming, “Muzungu! Muzungu!” Very cute! haha. I'm glad I can add something interesting to their day without actually doing anything spectacular. :)
(Oh, and the reason I walked ... I didn't have any change for a matatu!)
* I love Kenyan food. I haven't had so much as a stomach ache since I've been here. I even feel better than I usually do in the States because of all the fresh vegetables (and perhaps lack of dairy and lots of meat) in the Kenyan diet. YUM. I honestly never knew veggies could be so delicious.
* My favorite swahili word = skumaweekee. It is this spinach-like plant that is super popular and was grown all over Waithaka.
* I learned my first day here that "kiswahili" is simply the word for swahili in kiswahili! Ok, I know I'm not the only one that was ignorant of this, because I asked many of you if you knew the difference between the two before I left! ;)
* Taking a shower/bath with just a bucket of water is kinda fun! Well, at least when the climate, and bucket of water, is warm. Some of you that did the slums track at Urbana may have had a more rustic experience.
* I am called muzungu wherever I go – usually by little children. On my way to the Kibera church on Sunday morning, 5 children literally flew out of their home and ran towards the street, jumping up and down and exclaiming, “Muzungu! Muzungu!” Very cute! haha. I'm glad I can add something interesting to their day without actually doing anything spectacular. :)
Monday, November 19, 2007
computer training program: kibera
Kibera, as I've mentioned before, is home to one million people - Kenyans from all over the country, seeking work and the sustenance that their home villages could no longer provide. Each day this week - after learning how to hop on and off the wild and dingy matatus - an escort from Word Fellowship Centre would meet me at Nakumatt Prestige, the shopping center near an entrance to Kibera.
It would never be wise for a muzungu like myself to venture into Kibera (or particularly Mathare - a smaller, yet reputably more dangerous slum in East Nairobi) alone. Besides, I would never know the way to Word Fellowship Centre without an escort, the windy dirty alleyways in Kibera are tricky to navigate!
This week, my days were filled with bright, new encounters. I taught some basics of Microsoft Word to a handful of students at Word Fellowship Centre's one-year-old computer training program. The church has five, pretty ancient computers tucked into a small room, with one small window, and a small glowing lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. It's a bit dim, and hot, as the metal roofs in Kibera soak in all the sunshine and start to cook the people inside!
Here I met Vincent, Wycliffe, Richard, Ruth, Peter and Daniel. Richard was my first student - a man of 28 years or so who is eager to learn all about computers in order to secure a steady job. He was most excited to change fonts, toy with different alignments, and splash his document with an exciting variety of colors. For his first practice document, he wrote something like this: (keep in mind that English is his third language)
"Katharine from U.S. has met Richard from Nairobi. They are currently enjoying Microsoft Word. Thereafter, they will go on a picnic. In the evening, Katharine and Richard will attend a prayer meeting with the pastor and bishop. Katharine will be asked to introduce herself, and she will comply."
Then I met Vincent. Vincent is 21 years old. He is a super bright boy who hails from a town nearly 8 hours away, close to Kisumu. Vincent goes to church every day of the week, whether for youth group or drama club or prayer meetings. His love for God shines through. When I asked Vincent where he would choose to live - anywhere else besides the slums of Kibera - his reply was this, "I dream of going back to my home village and bringing the word of God to them, to especially the youth there. We may have a hard time here in Kibera, but at least we know Jesus here. People in my home village don't know Jesus like we do here in Kibera." His village is poor, and ministering there for life would bring him no money, no renown, but Vincent's heart is truly burdened for the youth near Kisumu. WOW. His parent's are not believers, and so they do not know of his deep passions to be in full-time ministry. He knows they would not approve of his desire to study theology at university, but I can't help wondering if their minds would change, were he to receive a scholarship from some theological institution either in Kenya or the U.S. His faith would also bless whichever Christian university accepted him.
Wycliffe had never used a keyboard before. The space bar, return key and delete button were all fascinating and sometimes discouraging frontiers for him. I think he enjoyed the opportunity to type whatever he wished on a fresh Word document. Here is what he wrote:
"I like worshipping God. My father is Karoli Shivachi and he is a small scale farmer. How can a young man make his way pure? It is by doing according to the word of God. During my free time I like visiting the sick also helping my grandmother do her work.
Daniel is the computer teacher for the several boys here. He was my escort most days from Nakumatt to the interior of the slums. And Ruth is a college student who attends Word Fellowship Centre. She embraced me as a friend from the first time we met. She also lives in Kibera and is so grounded. Like all the students I've met here, their raw, firm faith in God and Jesus Christ astounds me and teaches me too about God's unshakeable faithfulness.
The words with which Richard ended his practice document are true: ”Katharine was amazed at the strong faith of those in Kibera, despite their small amount of resources.”
It would never be wise for a muzungu like myself to venture into Kibera (or particularly Mathare - a smaller, yet reputably more dangerous slum in East Nairobi) alone. Besides, I would never know the way to Word Fellowship Centre without an escort, the windy dirty alleyways in Kibera are tricky to navigate!
This week, my days were filled with bright, new encounters. I taught some basics of Microsoft Word to a handful of students at Word Fellowship Centre's one-year-old computer training program. The church has five, pretty ancient computers tucked into a small room, with one small window, and a small glowing lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. It's a bit dim, and hot, as the metal roofs in Kibera soak in all the sunshine and start to cook the people inside!
Here I met Vincent, Wycliffe, Richard, Ruth, Peter and Daniel. Richard was my first student - a man of 28 years or so who is eager to learn all about computers in order to secure a steady job. He was most excited to change fonts, toy with different alignments, and splash his document with an exciting variety of colors. For his first practice document, he wrote something like this: (keep in mind that English is his third language)
"Katharine from U.S. has met Richard from Nairobi. They are currently enjoying Microsoft Word. Thereafter, they will go on a picnic. In the evening, Katharine and Richard will attend a prayer meeting with the pastor and bishop. Katharine will be asked to introduce herself, and she will comply."
Then I met Vincent. Vincent is 21 years old. He is a super bright boy who hails from a town nearly 8 hours away, close to Kisumu. Vincent goes to church every day of the week, whether for youth group or drama club or prayer meetings. His love for God shines through. When I asked Vincent where he would choose to live - anywhere else besides the slums of Kibera - his reply was this, "I dream of going back to my home village and bringing the word of God to them, to especially the youth there. We may have a hard time here in Kibera, but at least we know Jesus here. People in my home village don't know Jesus like we do here in Kibera." His village is poor, and ministering there for life would bring him no money, no renown, but Vincent's heart is truly burdened for the youth near Kisumu. WOW. His parent's are not believers, and so they do not know of his deep passions to be in full-time ministry. He knows they would not approve of his desire to study theology at university, but I can't help wondering if their minds would change, were he to receive a scholarship from some theological institution either in Kenya or the U.S. His faith would also bless whichever Christian university accepted him.
Wycliffe had never used a keyboard before. The space bar, return key and delete button were all fascinating and sometimes discouraging frontiers for him. I think he enjoyed the opportunity to type whatever he wished on a fresh Word document. Here is what he wrote:
"I like worshipping God. My father is Karoli Shivachi and he is a small scale farmer. How can a young man make his way pure? It is by doing according to the word of God. During my free time I like visiting the sick also helping my grandmother do her work.
Daniel is the computer teacher for the several boys here. He was my escort most days from Nakumatt to the interior of the slums. And Ruth is a college student who attends Word Fellowship Centre. She embraced me as a friend from the first time we met. She also lives in Kibera and is so grounded. Like all the students I've met here, their raw, firm faith in God and Jesus Christ astounds me and teaches me too about God's unshakeable faithfulness.
The words with which Richard ended his practice document are true: ”Katharine was amazed at the strong faith of those in Kibera, despite their small amount of resources.”
Monday, November 12, 2007
Karibu Kenya!
I ... am ... in ... Africa!! Can you believe it? I can't quite. I've been here for almost a week now, but it still doesn't sink in all the time. I stepped onto Africa soil just last Thursday morning, received a taxi ride from a funny man named Paul, and was welcomed to apartment 16 at Kolobot Gardens by Virginia, Lisa and her three-year-old daughter Bella.
Lisa lives in a lovely, green part of Nairobi, just down the street from the President's residence. We are also just up the street from University of Nairobi and the YMCA (which has good internet service, yay!)
It's only been 6 days, but I want to share with you what those days have contained. I have done a lot of walking ... :)
After that first Thursday of rest and a walk in the nearby Arboretum (just like Davis!) I visited a home for abandoned babies in Nairobi called New Life Charity Trust. The home houses about 45 babies at the moment, and most of them are taken for adoption - praise the Lord! Many of the babies enter the home severely malnourished or abused, some in need of surgery. Several are also HIV+. They have round the clock caretakers that look after the children, but they take drop-in volunteers all the time to hold and feed the infants and play with the toddlers out on the lawn. They are SO precious and beautiful. It's amazing to hold them and know that God's hand is working in their lives and, I pray, preparing a promising future for them.
I also visited Lisa's work at the Save the Children South Sudan office. Lisa actually works for S.T.C. USA, but uses the South Sudan division's office space.
The weekend was great, visiting Lisa's church called Mamlaka Hill Chapel, which is part of Nairobi Chapel. What's neat about this, is that the original pastor of Nairobi Chapel (Pastor Oscar) gave one of the most striking addresses at Urbana 2007 - one of those speeches that no one in the audience likely forgot! Church was amazingly good - super inspiring and uplifting worship and a teaching that I really needed to hear. I went back to New Life after church.
And this week I have had the pleasure of meeting Pastor Josphat, a man who works at Nairobi Chapel and has planted a church of his own in the Kibera slums. Yesterday and today I visited the Kibera church, which is called Word Fellowship Centre. They have asked my help in organizing a plan for them to fund raise for a new building. It would be difficult to describe the current building to you here. It is typical of all housing in Kibera ... mud and plaster walls, metal roofing, no real wiring, but they have one luxory - toilets! And by "toilets" I mean two deep holes in the ground and a bit of toilet paper. Many in Kibera do not have that luxory; they simply relieve themselves on the muddy road.
I could not imagine a filthier place. One million people live in Kibera, which is government-owned land. The largest slum in Africa, the people there are literally living in trash. I have only spent two blocks of time there, so I'm not qualified to say much more - but it is also there that I have met people with the most shining, extraordinary faith. People my age, who declare praises to God and cite scripture in their normal conversation.
Yesterday, a 13-year old girl named Maureen walked up to me in Kibera with a huge smile. She greeted me, and we chatted, and then she proceeded to share her favorite verse, John 3:16 with me. Wow, I was not so strong in my faith at just thirteen.
Now, if I were to unpack all my thought processes thus far in this blog entry, it would surely go on forever, and people might not want to go on reading. Perhaps I will get better at being concise as these entries continue!
I will share that I've had rough moments in the past 6 days. I've struggled with feeling very lonely and insecure and giving in to doubts. Notes from friends back home were super encouraging to me. I'm feeling much better now, but I need to continue to set my eyes on the beauty of God, which is far greater than my own deficiencies. In fact, those do not matter anymore but should draw me closer to Christ.
Prayer requests are as follows:
* For me to feel confident of who I am in Christ - that I would turn to Him alone for strength and affirmation.
* For safety, continued divine appointments, and for friends
* For the babies at New Life - that they would have abundant and hope-filled futures. (Some names are: Dwight, Harrison, Helen, Nakia, David, Kathleen, Andrew)
* That God would give me clarity about my role at the church in Kibera and bless my involvement there.
* That God would do great things during this time in Nairobi.
* For the financial support I need for my Word Made Flesh team to come in
Love you all!
Ph: (254) 726 767 537. I am 11 hours ahead of PST right now.
Lisa lives in a lovely, green part of Nairobi, just down the street from the President's residence. We are also just up the street from University of Nairobi and the YMCA (which has good internet service, yay!)
It's only been 6 days, but I want to share with you what those days have contained. I have done a lot of walking ... :)
After that first Thursday of rest and a walk in the nearby Arboretum (just like Davis!) I visited a home for abandoned babies in Nairobi called New Life Charity Trust. The home houses about 45 babies at the moment, and most of them are taken for adoption - praise the Lord! Many of the babies enter the home severely malnourished or abused, some in need of surgery. Several are also HIV+. They have round the clock caretakers that look after the children, but they take drop-in volunteers all the time to hold and feed the infants and play with the toddlers out on the lawn. They are SO precious and beautiful. It's amazing to hold them and know that God's hand is working in their lives and, I pray, preparing a promising future for them.
I also visited Lisa's work at the Save the Children South Sudan office. Lisa actually works for S.T.C. USA, but uses the South Sudan division's office space.
The weekend was great, visiting Lisa's church called Mamlaka Hill Chapel, which is part of Nairobi Chapel. What's neat about this, is that the original pastor of Nairobi Chapel (Pastor Oscar) gave one of the most striking addresses at Urbana 2007 - one of those speeches that no one in the audience likely forgot! Church was amazingly good - super inspiring and uplifting worship and a teaching that I really needed to hear. I went back to New Life after church.
And this week I have had the pleasure of meeting Pastor Josphat, a man who works at Nairobi Chapel and has planted a church of his own in the Kibera slums. Yesterday and today I visited the Kibera church, which is called Word Fellowship Centre. They have asked my help in organizing a plan for them to fund raise for a new building. It would be difficult to describe the current building to you here. It is typical of all housing in Kibera ... mud and plaster walls, metal roofing, no real wiring, but they have one luxory - toilets! And by "toilets" I mean two deep holes in the ground and a bit of toilet paper. Many in Kibera do not have that luxory; they simply relieve themselves on the muddy road.
I could not imagine a filthier place. One million people live in Kibera, which is government-owned land. The largest slum in Africa, the people there are literally living in trash. I have only spent two blocks of time there, so I'm not qualified to say much more - but it is also there that I have met people with the most shining, extraordinary faith. People my age, who declare praises to God and cite scripture in their normal conversation.
Yesterday, a 13-year old girl named Maureen walked up to me in Kibera with a huge smile. She greeted me, and we chatted, and then she proceeded to share her favorite verse, John 3:16 with me. Wow, I was not so strong in my faith at just thirteen.
Now, if I were to unpack all my thought processes thus far in this blog entry, it would surely go on forever, and people might not want to go on reading. Perhaps I will get better at being concise as these entries continue!
I will share that I've had rough moments in the past 6 days. I've struggled with feeling very lonely and insecure and giving in to doubts. Notes from friends back home were super encouraging to me. I'm feeling much better now, but I need to continue to set my eyes on the beauty of God, which is far greater than my own deficiencies. In fact, those do not matter anymore but should draw me closer to Christ.
Prayer requests are as follows:
* For me to feel confident of who I am in Christ - that I would turn to Him alone for strength and affirmation.
* For safety, continued divine appointments, and for friends
* For the babies at New Life - that they would have abundant and hope-filled futures. (Some names are: Dwight, Harrison, Helen, Nakia, David, Kathleen, Andrew)
* That God would give me clarity about my role at the church in Kibera and bless my involvement there.
* That God would do great things during this time in Nairobi.
* For the financial support I need for my Word Made Flesh team to come in
Love you all!
Ph: (254) 726 767 537. I am 11 hours ahead of PST right now.
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