Justar’s Dream

Group Reports

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.

Continue reading Justar’s Dream →

Samaritan Liliaba Working Group FIRST report

Group Reports

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 →

“What will you eat?”

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“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.

The postcard we made to give to our families as a memento of our visit

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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.)

Our ZOE families (who we are going meet)

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ZOE is a program of support and encouragement for people (children, really) who are trying to make their own way.  We give financial assistance to support them, which appears (at least in part) in the form of grants for them to get started, with things like crop seed or animals, if they choose the route of farming (so they can sell the produce of the crops they plant, or eggs or milk) or training, if they choose trades such as barbering or carpentry.

But also (and this is why we’re physically traveling to Africa), it is a ministry of social support.  We are traveling to meet our friends,to show them that we are interested in their progress, and to learn more about them so we can bring their stories back to our congregation.

(Here is a more eloquent version of the same thing: UnforgettableJourneys.pdf.)

These are the families we are traveling to meet. We have had their names on our refrigerator door for the last six months, praying for them, and wondering how they are.  Now we finally get to meet them.

David, 21 Timothy, 17 James, 20
Jackline, 21 Eric, 16
Fredrick, 21 Ireen, 18 Elias, 12
Rose, 20 Ken, 9
Antony, 22
Celestin, 16 Peter, 20 Jackson, 20
Dennis, 13 Nicholas, 18
Godfrey, 20
Martin, 19 Jerusha, 21
Glory, 15 Japhet
Charles, 20 Judy, 13 Grace, 18
Moses, 10 Fridah, 13
Japhet, 16 Roy, 9 Ann, 3
Stella, 13 Rosemary, 7
Onesmus, 9 Dairus, 17
Henry, 20 Joseph, 16
Douglas, 17 Catherine, 14 Jackson
Felister Antony, 11
Benard, 19 Phineas, 9 Miriam, 9
Nathan, 19 Rael, 20 Damaris, 20
Rezzy, 5 Stephen, 18
Juster, 21 Francis, 19
Evelyne, 18 Beatrice, 20
Antony, 16 Faith, 2 Nicholas, 17
Tony, 13
Eliud, 17 Pamela, 20
Bundi, 19 Eric, 20
Shadrack, 17 Dorris, 17
Pius, 6 Mutethia, 15 Moses, 21
Karendi, 12
Benson, 20 Winnie, 9 Patrick, 19
David, 8 Ken, 7
Joy, 17 Evans, 5 Luka (Mentor) 37
Purity, 7
Emma, 20 Jadiel, 5
Agnes, 19 George, 2
Julius, 17
Silas, 14
Janet, 12
Peter, 10