After a 9-hour trip on paved roads, including a rather spectacular lunch, we have arrived at a beautiful guest house in Maua. It is seemingly tucked away on a back street, although, probably, many of the streets in Maua will probably seem like back streets to my unaccustomed eye.
Arrived in Nairobi
July 2 (midnight, local time)
Well, we arrived in Nairobi, at what seems to be a nice hotel that is not a Holiday Inn (and definitely doesn’t have that corporate American hotel feel).
We’ve been traveling for 26 hours, including a 6-hour flight from Philadelphia to London, and an 8-hour flight from London to Nairobi.
Reegan (pronounced as if it were spelled “Reagan”), the director of the program here in Kenya, met us at the airport, along with two of his staff, Caroline and Perpetual. (Perpetual is his communications director.)
The weather here is in the 60s (and not particularly high 60s, either), a very welcome change from the heat of North Carolina.
Reegan told us of the honor that ZOE received just today, but I may have to type it up later.
Justar’s Dream
Here is another report from our social worker in Kenya, focusing on just one person, Justar.
Justar’s dream (with pictures! :) )
Text below:
Head of Household: Justar, 21
Siblings: Antony, 16; Evelyne, 18
With the death of both her parents, Justar became the caregiver and provider for her younger siblings. The parents had left few resources behind to support the children, so Justar did what she could working jobs for low pay, trying to grow some food to eat and seeking community assistance when necessary. But this survival mode of existence provided no money to cover the costs of medical care when her sisters became sick with malaria and a stomach parasite. The lack of money also meant the younger children were unable to attend school sometimes because they could not pay the fees or purchase school uniforms.
When ZOE invited Justar to join the Samaritan Liliaba Working Group, she and her family were finally provided with an opportunity to escape their barely subsistent life of poverty. And it started with a dream.
Samaritan Liliaba Working Group FIRST report
So, while we’re in the Philadelphia airport, I can add some stuff to the blog (maybe).
This is the very first report we got from our Working Group, which chose the name “Samaritan Liliaba” for itself.
Samaritan Liliaba first group report (has a couple of pictures)
Samaritan Liliaba Working Group, Kenya
Partnered with University UMC, 2014-2016
Focus On: Working Group Formation
Poverty often means a life lived in isolation, unconnected even from those who share the same struggles and challenges. A ZOE working group provides orphans and vulnerable children a community where they experience understanding, compassion and acceptance. Together, they begin their journey towards a better life.
To form a working group, ZOE social workers first contact community leaders and local officials to educate them about the empowerment approach and to ask for their help in identifying children. During the first meeting, the children and their young caregivers learn how they will change and improve their lives within three years. Then ZOE takes a step back.
Continue reading Samaritan Liliaba Working Group FIRST report
Maua is where we’re going
I was mistaken. (It’s pronounced “Ma-ooh-ah”, I think.)
“What will you eat?”
“What will you eat?” is a question I’ve fielded a few times now. I have no idea. We’ll be staying in a guest house in Meru (I think), and eating morning and evening meals there. It’s said to be very good, but I don’t know what it will be.
However, I did find this, in our documentation:
The staple diet of the Meru include rice, Ugali (white corn polenta), potatoes, beans and bananas. In the morning, most families will have tea with or without milk and sugar.
New feature: “follow by email”
I just added the ability to subscribe to email updates to the blog. Look over there, on the right ——->>
April 2015 report on our group
We periodically get reports on our group from the local social worker (remember the ratio: one social worker for 1,000 children).
Here is the April 2015 Group Report.
Click the “About” link
(I put a bunch of info on the About page.)
The postcard we made to give to our families as a memento of our visit
It’s natural to want to bring gifts when you visit friends, but we don’t do this on ZOE trips, for several reasons:
- If not everybody gets the same thing, it can cause strains in the community.
- If not every visiting ZOE group gives the same thing, it can cause disappointment.
- The obligation to reciprocate might be a burden.
- We don’t really do the kind of ministry where we give people things (the seed grants notwithstanding).
- The ZOE families are proud of their ability to host us, and if we come in with some big gift that overshadows what they have to offer us, it’s kind of raining on their parade.
However… it’s perfectly okay to bring small (tiny) mementos of our visit, and we’ve made a postcard to give our families, so they can have something tangible.
Here is what it looks like: The postcard. (I particularly like the Bible verse.)
