First Few Days In Kenya

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I've arrived safely and everything is going smoothly. I'm enjoying the warm Kenyan hospitality and staying with Mama Margaret's wonderful family.

Yesterday, we visited the Riruta school location and got to see some familiar faces like Cathy Khulman, Everlyne Nyambura, and Nigel Vetto (pictured right).

We also escorted some of the older children who now are ready for the next level (3rd and 4th grade) to their new school, called Bensese Primary. These children are Faith Wambui, Alice Wanjiru, and Stephen Gichuki (pictured below). All three of these children fled Kibera during the post-election riots. They are adapting to their new environment and we are looking forward to seeing them grow at the next level of their educations.


Then Margaret and I sat down for a few hours and discussed all of the goals and tasks we need to accomplish during our visit. It's going to be a challenge, but we will do our best.

We also went downtown to get some supplies, and one thing I noticed is that it's about 50% farther to get to downtown from Riruta than from Kibera. While downtown, Margaret showed me at the market how much food prices have increased in the past year or two. It's clearly a struggle for families earning a dollar a day to afford staples like rice and beans.

Today (Tuesday), we visited the Kibera school and met some families. I got to see Edwin and his wife Christine, Teacher Karen, and saw familiar faces like Boaz and Winslet for the first time since my arrival.

We spent the afternoon visiting the guardians of Phelix, Wickliff, and Sharon Kwamboka. Each had their own story to tell, and each was tragic in its own way. Wickliff and Sharon are orphans, and Phelix's mother is a widow. Each of these families struggles to survive.

For instance, Sharon's guardians are her grandparents. Her grandfather is bedridden, and her grandmother washes clothes when she can find the work. She maybe can earn 500 shillings per week, about $8 US dollars. They have received assistance from the Tenderfeet orphans fund and Sharon's new sponsor, but even now they are 2 years behind on their rent and get threats from the landlord that they will be kicked out (the rent is about $15 per month). There are four children and two adults sleeping in a 10x10 ft room. Because of Tenderfeet and the child sponsorship program, there is hope for the future for Sharon.

Tomorrow, I am going with Boaz to his eye doctor appointment and running some other errands.

Going to Kenya

I'm leaving for Kenya today, to visit for two weeks. This is a self-funded trip, just as the last one was. No donations were used or will ever be used for any part of my expenses during the visit.

There are many reasons for going, as you can imagine. Here are a few...

• oversight and accountability: making sure funds are used properly and records are in order
• learning: to better serve the children, it is important to see their situations first-hand
• communication: 8,000 miles is a long way, even with internet and telephone; by talking face to face, we can make sure we are on the same page on all the aspects the project
• mutual discipleship: Lahash has a beautiful concept of partnerships based on two-way discipleship, which can take the form of encouragement, prayer, service, sharing ideas, and growing together in faith and love through Jesus Christ
  

Last time I went, I learned a lot, but feel that this time I need to dig much deeper. I will be staying at Mama Margaret's home, so that will help a lot. Last time, I was at a guest house (like a small hotel), and so had to leave the project site in the evenings. Now I will have the chance to talk so much more and discuss many important issues in greater detail.

Thank you to friends and family who have wished me well on this trip, it means a lot to me. I hope to take advantage of the opportunity to the best of my abilities. I'm also hoping to be able to update this blog from time to time if I can get access to the internet once in a while.

I would appreciate your prayers for my wife and two boys while I'm gone.

By the way, here's a slideshow of my last vist in 2007

Kibera: One Year After the Riots

An interesting article was published today about the rebuilding of Kibera one year after the riots following the Kenyan elections in December 2007. You can read the article here.

According to Margaret, tensions in Kibera still remain. She does not feel safe visiting certain parts of the slum because ethnic hostility is present and noticeable in these areas.

Nevertheless, it's remarkable that the situation didn't spiral out of control more than it did. Yes, it was terrible, but there was a fear one year ago that there was no end in sight. Fortunately, as the article points out, as soon as the two political leaders struck a power-sharing deal, peace returned to Kenya.

One Dollar A Day

Edwin Angote, the Lahash representative for East Africa, has a good post on the Lahash blog about the opening of Tenderfeet. Please read it here.

I came across a superb documentary from the BBC on what it means to live on a dollar a day in Kenya. The web page for the documentary is here, and the MP3 file is here. A related article is here. The documentary was made in 2005 -- but is still very relevant and timely.

Although the documentary focuses on a rural area in western Kenya, rather than the urban life in Nairobi where Tenderfeet kids live (see photo), it still gives tremendous insight into the real people facing extreme poverty.

As you listen, please notice how these victims of poverty are articulate, hard-working, and extremely concerned about the wellbeing of their families. This has also been my experience.

Regarding developmental programs and foreign aid, overall these things are a positive for people. Hospitals, schools, and public transportation are available that would not be without the investment of foreign aid. And poor people do sometimes go to the doctor, have kids that get educated, and are able to get back and forth to work.

However, all these things cost money, and often are such a financial burden that it can be an incredible struggle to eat three meals a day with the money left over.

In other words, foreign aid can and does improve life for the country as a whole, but the individual poor families often suffer as they fall in between the cracks.

What level of responsibility do these families have for the circumstances they find themselves in?

For instance, do I wish parents would choose to have fewer children so that they could better support the ones they have? Absolutely. Do I think every parent or guardian of a Tenderfeet child always makes good decisions for the long term? Of course not (although I would also ask -- what parent anywhere doesn't sometimes make bad decisions?).

About the role of adults in making decisions, two points can be made. First, the children are innocent of the decisions made by their parents. Second, the best way to ensure the children will make better decisions when they grow up is to educate them.

Finally, based on what I've seen and learned, I believe that for most people living in extreme poverty (at least in Kenya), no matter how hard they work or how clever they are, they are still essentially trapped. The opportunity to achieve one's dreams we see in the United States and other industrialized nations is just not there. The barriers are way too high for the vast majority.

But we still keep working to change all that at Tenderfeet, and education is a great place to focus in attacking the problem.