Back in the UK...

I've come home!

I've had a very special few months representing Mission Care International in Kenya and Uganda overseeing their projects. Being a volunteer in a completely different environment can be a real challenge, i've faced a fair few, but facing these situations enable you to grow. Being a part of a team that brings hope and justice to fight these challenges is a real privilege.

Being home gives me an opportunity to take stock on what i've experienced and prepare for Mission Care International's continued support and growth overseas. I will be returning to Kenya in October where I will continue to write blogs about the progress of each of Mission Care International's developments in East Africa.

Kannganda...

For the past week or so, Colin Bloom, the Mission Care Chief Executive, was visiting Kenya and Uganda to see the progress that we were able to make with our projects and initiate some new developments. The first part of the visit was to Uganda to see the Jack Fruit Project in Kannganda, where we are partnering with the World Trumpet Mission in Uganda, and Bromley Town Church in the UK, to bring transformation.

Most of the work so far has been to ensure that the planning and preparation has all been completed. Andrew Scott, Mission Care's architect, has designed the buildings, the land title deeds have been certified, and the Kannganda Development Program has been registered in Uganda. This week, however, has been very exciting as we have made the first transactio into the account to begin work of Phase 1 of the project.

This phase includes bringing sanitation to the village by building a block of pit latrines. This is a huge development for the villagers who currently have no toilet facilities. At the moment the waste disposal has a detrimental effect upon the environment and the health of the community, as water waste flows into the stream, where the community gathers water for drinking and cooking. The pit latrines will make a huge impact and something that we take very much for granted is something about which the villagers here can rejoice.

Phase 1 also includes the refurbishment of old school buildings into a church and community centre and a house for a pastoral support worker. This is a huge step forward in meeting the spiritual needs of the people in Kannganda. The pastor will initiate community care programmes, as well as seeing that the good news about Jesus is permeating every corner of the village. To share the message of hope, love and justice that we have is about far more than building a church however - it is about meeting the basic physical needs of the people. Zechariah 7:9-10 reads: Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor.

It is clear throughout the Bible that being a Christian is not just about being "good," going to church on a Sunday or singing some nice songs. It is not about praying long fancy prayers or undertaking rituals - it is about worship of God which then leads us to action (see Isaiah 58, Amos 5:23-24, Matthew 25, Luke 10:25-37 and James 1:27 for examples). The work of Mission Care is an act of worship - because we love and honour God, we are driven to bring justice, show mercy and care for the marginalised. So the message of hope and our faith in Jesus has a seamless connection to our desire to improve the welfare and health of people living in poverty.

When I visited the people of Kannganda this week I was given a reminder of the reasons that Mission Care International is working in this village. I met a widowed grandmother called Nalongo Doris, who cares for her seven grandchildren, who are all orphans. Her three daughters died of HIV/AIDS and her only son died in a car accident. She is desperately trying to look after the children, struggling to provide food each day. She explained to me that she can't meet their health needs, especially without a clinic nearby, and she can't afford their school fees. She is full of courage, but her problems seem insurmountable. True worship is about meeting the needs of women like this and following Jesus will often lead you to families like the Nalongos - moving you to administer justice, mercy and compassion in any way that you can.

If you would like to help us change the lives of families like the Nalongos, please do click here to find out more about invest in our work.

Jubilee Action...

Services available for people with disabilities in Kenya, in the most part, are well behind what we expect in the UK. Caring for those with physical disabilities is part of Mission Care's work in the Mission Care Homes in South East London. We want all people to receive the love, dignity and care that they deserve. Working with those with physical disabilities is an area of work we seek to replicate in our work here in East Africa.

The reality here is that there are so many people who are oppressed, vulnerable and in need, and so many voices crying out for help, that the most vulnerable cannot be heard at all. Everybody here is affected in some way - there is so much poverty that the average man would be seeking assistance from a government currently unable to provide it. The number of successful businessmen and businesswomen whose livelihoods were destroyed, whose homes and land were taken, who are now internally displaced reached at least 600,000. This is an additional 600,000 people in need on top of the commercial sex-workers, street boys, older people, orphans and people suffering from disease that you will find in every street of every town. Each people group has a varying ability to speak out and ask for the much-needed help, and now before them are the displaced educated people also seeking support. Those with the deepest needs are therefore often the last to be heard; those at the bottom of the pile are therefore often the most neglected.

I think that one of the most neglected people groups are those who are suffering from disability. We would anticipate this anyway, but here in East Africa there is also a deep lack of understanding and a cultural naivete around issues of disability. Within many tribes disability is still regarded as a curse. Therefore if a child is born with a physical disability, the parents will often hide or abandon the child. Neglect is always the first reaction. A child hidden away will often be abused, forgotten and traumatised.

In order to bring transformation, life and hope for the future to people with disabilities here in East Africa, there must be a change in mindsets.

Last week I travelled by light aircraft to the north of Kenya. This is a desert area where it is a struggle for people to survive. The area is populated by nomadic tribes, hardly touched by Western influences. The place that I visited is called Korr and is occupied by the Rendille tribe. These people cannot grow any vegetables or keep cows, sheep or goats as elsewhere in Kenya. They rely on their camel herds, drinking their milk and blood. This does not sustain the 25,000 population of the tribe so the World Food Program also assist them.

Here, as in so many parts of Kenya, a person with disabilities has no use or value to the community. They are just another mouth to feed and a huge burden to their family. However, this is beginning to change thanks to the Jubilee Blind Project. Situated 70km from Korr, on the main road that passes into Ethiopia, is a settlement called Loglogo, where I visited the work of Jubilee Action, another UK charity working in this isolated area. Jubilee Action are running an orphanage for 17 boys and girls who are visually impaired. Each child is enrolled and integrated into a government-run primary school to enable them to learn to read and write. The children are growing every day into happy, free and rehabilitated young people.

Before moving into the Jubilee home, the children would just exist - maybe being fed a small amount when the family could afford to. Most of the children were rescued from their homes and villages. They had no concept of the outside world and the sounds they could hear and things that they could touch and encounter. They had no idea of what it is to be able to read or write. This amazing project has made living life possible and many of the children are excelling in school. Some children have even been able to go to Nairobi to receive operations to restore part of their sight.

The impact of such projects is far more than changing the lives of the disabled children however. Projects are influencing whole communities and transforming mindsets around disability. They demonstrate that a life with a disability is a life worth living; it can be a full life with achievement, success, enjoyment and the experience of love, hope and community. The Jubilee Blind Project is opening minds as to what can be done.

I was visiting to film the project to help Jubilee promote their work. It was a real privilege to see what was going on and to see the step towards justice for the 17 beautiful boys and girls who are accomplishing so much. At Mission Care we value the work of any organisation that cherishes and liberates vulnerable and oppressed people and Jubilee Action are one such organisation, changing lives, delivering people, and being a tool for long-term development by changing behaviour and mindsets.

Nyanza: part 2...

My time in Nyanza was an opportunity to see, to encounter and to listen. This province in Western Kenya has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the country - with nearly 1 in 4 people suffering from the virus. Statistics sometimes need to be further explored and grappled with to fully understand their impact on reality - envisioning what they mean in your head is difficult, let alone fully considering their implications. Sometimes you have to witness people living with this reality to comprehend the data. During my visit to Mutwala village, on the outskirts of Muhoroni I passed from one mud-house to another, and each visit further revealed the suffering caused by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

I met HIV positive widows looking after fatherless children, elderly widows who had lost of all their adult children to the disease, HIV positive mothers who had lost their babies and children who had lost both of their parents. Another house, another story - each one bearing the pain, hopelessness and destruction of broken families.

So many questions arise when we think about such a reality:
Why is it so prominent here?
Why here and not at home?
Why this part of Kenya in particular?
Why, although we have known for so long about the virus, do people still contract it due to ignorance?

Although I cannot answer all of these questions I was given some insight during my trip. The biggest factor for the spread of the virus here is the behaviour - often due to tribal traditions. In many parts of Kenya sexual promiscuity is seen as natural and men requiring sexual fulfilment where and when they please is socially accepted. My experience is that even though people do not glamourise this sort of behaviour, it is tolerated as the norm. I think that this is not only due to a moral void in many communities but also due to the lack of commitment given to building a loving, lasting and flourishing marriage.

In many situations, a husband will stay away from home for three months or so at a time to work. Getting a job is so difficult here that if you are able to find one, you take it - no matter how far you may have to travel. It is common for husbands and wives to see each other only four or five times a year. As you can imagine, there are many relational and family consequences to this practice, including the difficulties with raising children and the creation of sexual tension. We must not forget however that poverty affects decisions hugely. People here need to be working and employment is a lifeline to families - but the realities of living life apart can cause destruction to families before devastation such as HIV enters the picture.

The adhering to old tribal traditions only increases the spread of HIV. Polygamy, for example, is widely accepted in Kenya. Inheriting widows is a practice that is built upon the desire to care for and not abandon widows and children after the death of a husband and father - so a brother will inherit the responsibility and take the widow as another of his wives. But inheriting a wife after an HIV/AIDS-related death obviously has a terrible impact, continuing the spread of the disease. Yet this custom remains a part of many tribal institutions, especially in rural areas like Mutwala.

Behavioural changes are needed, but education is the only way to bring them about. The stigma of HIV/AIDS still holds back such communities as Mutwala, with people being very unwilling to admit to being infected. Fear of being branded an outcast is still a rational one to hold, but the failure to speak up and be honest continues to cause further harm and devastation to the community.

During my visit I met one woman who had lost a six month old baby only a few months earlier. It was only following her child's death that she and husband decided to go and get tested, to find out that they too were HIV positive. Upon discovering this, the mother decided to take a stand and she has begun to talk, to speak up and speak out. She is being heard and noticed and hopes that out of such pain she can become a voice for truth, honesty and change. She is an inspiration.

Another sign of hope and change came from a group of youths who were using the town meeting place to hold a week-long seminar. They were learning all about HIV and its consequences, and were being trained to share this knowledge with contacts in the village. I was privileged to spend some time with them and encouraged to see young people who are determined not to be held captive by the disease.

Paul and Erin, about whom I have shared before, are another story of hope, and their work in the village goes much further. With the input of Paul's father, who is a local pastor, they are setting up a project using goats. I was even able to assist them by going to buy a male goat in a neighbouring town and transporting it back to them using the Mission Care International vehicle. This project can have a huge impact in the daily battle to prevent infection and care for HIV sufferers.

Firstly, a child born to an HIV positive mother must not be breast-fed as this increases the risk of contracting the virus. The recommended formula milk is an unrealistic option for most families as it is just too expensive. Goats' milk however provides a nutritious alternative. This can help to break the cycle of infection and help to put the babies out of risk. The milk can also help to improve the health of an HIV sufferer, providing nutrients that families living in poverty struggle to find in their diet on a daily basis. Secondly, the goats also have an economic value. The milk can be sold and offspring can be sold to support the family. This is a powerful tool to support families when the main breadwinner is becoming weaker and weaker due to the effects of HIV.

To look after the goats properly so that they are able to fulfil this dual function, they have to kept differently to how goats are usually kept in Kenya. They require particular housing and must be 100% non-grazing. They must also only be bred with certain other breeds. Education around their care has therefore been essential. With extra funds raised, the Mutwala project also identifies needy recipients to provide training and assistance to build housing. Although the project has only just begun, it is a fanstastic way of bringing change and hope to a place that could have so easily succumbed to the darkness and pain of such enormous loss.

Nyanza...

I returned last week from a stay in the Western part of Kenya called Nyanza. I was visiting a couple I had met in Mombasa, Paul and Erin, who had returned to Nyanza to begin a ministry working in two villages called Muhoroni and Beta.

Paul and Erin are beginning this work following a number of experiences over the past year. They met while working for Youth with a Mission (YWAM) in Mombasa. Paul is Kenyan and Erin is Canadian. The married a little over a year ago and decided to remain in Kenya. News then came to them that Paul's elder brother was sick, and they returned home together to care for him. He was suffering from AIDS, and in just two months Paul and Erin watched him deteriorate daily, until he sadly passed away. He left behind a wife, who was at that time pregnant with twins, and three other children. Unfortunately his wife had also contracted the virus, and there were deep concerns over the health of the twins that she was carrying.

Paul and Erin knew that 66% of babies born with the virus die before the age of three, and without the right drugs and a safe hospitalised birth, this becomes increasingly likely. Children then require more drugs soon after birth and must not be breast-fed by their infected mother to give them a better chance of survival. Having watched the painful and undignified death of a close family member, Paul and Erin decided to do all that they could to prevent the children from being born having contracted HIV.

The babies were born and Paul and Erin supported their mother as closely as they could, although she was evidently struggling to look after all five children given her weak state due to her illness. Paul and Erin offered to assist her by adopting the twins, and they began to raise them as their own when they were two weeks old. They have fed them with approved formula and made sure that they have the appropriate care and medical attention to help protect them from HIV. The twins are now happy and thriving at nearly 10 months.

Having heard this story I was keen to visit them and meet their family. On my visit I received a real insight into the AIDS epidemic in this part of the world, and saw first-hand how poverty, lack of education and tribal traditions only seem to intensify the crisis. But I also found a family who are beginning to take action in their small village, and bring hope to the many families suffering as a result of HIV and AIDS.

Fuhomi...

Fuhomi has been making some real progress with its schools' programme in the last few weeks. They have been attending three different schools and tackling the first topic on the syllabus, which is sex education. They have been working with groups of 15-20 students.

Over time, the students are becoming less intimidated about asking questions and they are learning to be more honest and vulnerable in talking through some of the issues. This is great to see, since many young people are can be very inhibited when talking about sex. The Fuhomi schools' programme provides a forum where the young people are accepted as they are, whichever background they come from and the trainees are working hard to create an environment where the students can be themselves and develop.

The team recently received a letter from one student asking for help about a particular home situation. This is real testimoney of the growing trust between the team and the students and the Fuhomi team hope to continue to be a safe place for students to come and seek advice.

The other area of mission with which the Fuhomi team are currently involved is working with local commercial sex-workers. It is tough at the moment, because we don't have the infrastructure or resources to take the girls off the streets. We cannot yet save them from the daily injustices or offer them a safe living environment. While we continue to pray that one day we will have these resources available to us, this does not stop the team working tirelessly to bring the change that they can to the lives of these teenage girls.

The Fuhomi office in the centre of Naivasha town is slowly becoming a sanctuary where the commercial sex-workeres feel that they can come and find advice and friendship. It is so hard for the girls to trust peopel, having been exploited in so many ways throughout their short lives, but we are encouraged that the team has already established the foundation for lasting relationships with eight girls, and they are now seeking to develop further friendships.

While my sister Aimee and my friend Leonie were here, we invited some of the girls to join the team in the office and spend time together, just enjoying each other's company and having a good time. It is very hard sometimes knowing that on that very evening the girls will be back on the streets, selling their bodies for next to nothing just to survive. Sometimes just showing that you care enough to give somebody two hours being a "normal" teenager can make a huge difference. We employed a woman to come and paint the girls' finger nails and toe nails. It was something small, but something that reminds them that they are special, that they deserve so much more than they have at the moment, and that they deserve to be the women they were made to be.

Tony Campolo, a Christian Sociologist from the US, told a similar story of street girls in Haiti who approached him, hoping that he would have sex with them. He and his ministry workers took them to a hotel room and ordered as much ice cream as they could and rented every Disney film in the hotel. They gave the girls a night where they could be the fourteen and fifteen year old girls that they really were. Sometimes it is impossible to change the lives of every child and adult who suffer from desperate poverty - but if we can give them a glimpse of the love and joy of Jesus, then we should always strive to do so.

All move...

At the moment there are sixty boys who attend primary school who live at Sunshine. Currently, they are spread over two sites - the old Sunshine Home and the new centre which Mission Care International has been building.

The great news from here in Naivasha is that with the painting of the dormitory, as shown in this picture, all sixty boys will be moving to the new Sunshine Centre next week! This means that they will now all be living in a warmer, safer, cleaner and more comfortable living environment and this is largely thanks to the funding and project management provided by Mission Care International - and therefore thanks to our brilliant supporters. So many thanks to everyone who has helped this dream to become a reality.

The boys will now be living next door to me, which is very exciting. They are extremely pleased with their new home and love their bedrooms. The next item on the building agenda for Mission Care International here at the Sunshine Centre is the kitchen, as the boys will have to continue to return to the old site to eat for a while until this is completed. Please continue to pray for and invest in the work here at the Sunshine Centre, and take time to visit the Mission Care website to read some of the boys' stories to understand the full impact of how their lives have been dramatically transformed by this valuable work.

Fuhomi...

This past week was a groundbreaking one for the Fuhomi Project, one of the projects with which Mission Care International is involved here in Naivasha. I haven't written very much about Fuhomi on my blog, but it's time I did - so let me fill you in!

You can find out more about the Fuhomi Project on the new Mission Care website, but the basics are that Fuhomi is a project for young people in and around the town of Naivasha. Much like anywhere else in the world, teenagers here are questioning their identity, trying to find where the fit, and often society, culture, the media and their churches and schools only make this process more difficult. Given the current circumstances, with the tribal clashes and ethnic cleansing taking place across the Rift Valley, young Kenyans (many of whom were involved in the violence) seem even more lost, hopeless and directionless, and many have a false sense of identity.

Fuhomi seeks to empower these young people to believe in themselves, to take pride in themselves and to enable them to encounter hope for a brighter future. Fuhomi seeks to impact the community through visiting secondary schools - educating, encouraging and equipping students before they make decisions that impact the course of their lives. The project also seeks to build relationships with young people who find themselves separated from normal society, who are broken, suffering and lacking support and guidance.

Currently, the main focus for the work with the second group of young people, are the young sex workers in Naivasha. While the Sunshine Centre works with boys who need support, there are also many girls who have been orphaned or who have no other choice but to go to the streets - and the girls too are segregated from the world. I cannot begin to describe every day life for these girls, but the suffering that they encounter on a daily basis is not only injust, but also inhuman. Fuhomi seeks to offer hope to these young girls and young women. During the past month eight of the young commerical sex workers, all in their teens, have been meeting with our four volunteers - the girls who are doing a gap-year working with the project. We praise God for the opportunities that this is bringing us to bring hope to these broken lives.

The groundbreaking step for Fuhomi this week was our first school visits. We are sending teams to spend time with a select group of students - boys and girls - who will both understand our message of hope, and also help to spread this message to their friends. The educational programme that we are using focuses on areas such as sexuality, HIV/AIDS, drugs, peer development, human rights and career choices. The teams are visiting each school for one year. The aim is that the young people will feel important, accepted, cared for and empowered to value, respect and love themselves.

Our first visits were inspiring and most importantly, the young people were all excited by what they will be taught and are looking forward to taking up the challenge of being ambassadors in their schools. It is very early days, but we are hopeful that we can inspire a generation of teenagers who can change their communities.

Hoping...

I have much to report after an inspirational visit from Andrew Scott, Mission Care's Group Architect. Andrew joined me for the last two weeks of May and during his time we visited each of the projects that Mission Care International is working with here in East Africa. As things continue to progress with these projects I will be posting new updates on each one so please visit back soon.


During the past month it is becoming clear to me that there is an increasing need for hope. Not just here in Africa, but everywhere. We all need hope. Without hope, what are we living for? What are we working for each day? And why would we go to bed planning to get up again the next day? I think it is because we all have a hope for a brighter tomorrow. Deep down inside we believe that we will experience joy, love and peace in the future. I don't know what is driving your life at present, but I do think that if you didn't have any hope, you would probably give up.


I am full of hope because I believe that in every situation lives can be improved. This is in spite of the fact that some of the things that I see on a daily basis and some of the lives that I encounter every day seem, at first glance, to be without hope. It could be easy to feel hopeless when speaking with people who have experienced loss, brokenness and devastation, or with children who have never received love from their families.


But I am full of hope, because I believe that God hasn't given up on this world, and doesn't plan to. My work here would be in vain without the hope to which I have been called and the belief that people can be made whole, can receive new life and can be changed. I am driven by the conviction that the unexpected can happen and that what the world may say is impossible, can be possible.


Resurrection is something that the "world" would declare is impossible. I don't think so. Resurrection gives me hope.


There are times when I find myself becoming cynical. I know that talking about hope and resurrection when we can see evidence of such suffering makes some people feel very cynical. Sometimes I wonder where the world is headed - will we see the world being healed of its brokenness and pain? My convictions and beliefs say "yes" but sometimes my thoughts and feelings say "no."


When thinking about the example of Kenya, the land in which I am living, we now see a country that has been battling since January with tribal violence, on the edge of civil war, and is currently, in my opinion, being run by men overly concerned with their own glory, power and wealth, rather than the needs of the people. Can the lives of the Kenyan people be changed? In another two years there will be re-elections - will people react by repeating a violent response if again their vote counts for nothing? My head may struggle to see hope, but my convictions disagree. I am convinced of the fact that real, pure, naked and fragile hope for a brighter tomorrow is a better way to live and this is the way that I have chosen to live.


Last week I visited an older people's nursing home in Mombasa that helped me to put this hope into reality.


Since there are six Mission Care Homes in the UK for older people, I was interested to see how older people are cared for here in Kenya. Having been to hospitals in Kenya and other developing nations I was apprehensive as to what I might see on this visit. Knowing that those who cannot act for themselves, such as children and older people, are often the most oppressed in any society, I will admit to having a moment of cynicism when preparing for this visit. But what I was to see was undeniable hope for those who in other circumstances would be alone, living in suffering, or even passed away.


The Sisters of the Poor Nursing Home cares for over fifty residents from impoverished backgrounds, who do not have families to care for them. The residents are cared for regardless of faith or tribal backgrounds. The staff strive for excellence in providing care that breaks social and cultural boundaries, in a country where older people in particular are often just forgotten. Mission Care knows the difficult situations faced by older people in the UK, and does its best to serve men and women in the final years of the lives to give them a quality of life beyond usual expectations. I was pleased to see that the Sisters of the Poor Home here in Kenya was built on the same principles and values as the Mission Care Homes in the UK. Considering the vast difference in resources, the Kenyan home is doing a wonderful job.


Looking at the bigger picture however, it is clear that care for the elderly in Kenya is grim. The Sisters of the Poor home is the only care home for older people in the whole of Mombasa, which is the second largest city in Kenya. Deep within my soul I hope for a brighter tomorrow for the thousands of other older men and women who require the sort of care that the home provides...

To know more about having hope in resurrection, listen to "Boasting will abound" by Rob Bell, a podcast from Mars Hill Bible Church downloadable for free from itunes.

Back in Naivasha...

I'm beginning to settle back into life here in Kenya. I seem to get a culture shock in both directions - it's a bit of a wake up call really. It's funny - it's when I'm in the UK that I feel more detached from reality and purpose and I feel bombarded with things that are unimportant and have no eternal significance. Although having said that it was really good to be back home, and I do miss it.

Some of the Sunshine Boys were asking me how my time was back at home. My response was that it was great to see my family for some time. It suddenly hit me in a new way that many of these boys have no families - I knew this of course, but it is easy to forget it. It was a moment when I realised how blessed I am, and how different our lives in the UK really are. What they boys do have though, thanks to the work of Footsteps, Mission Care and the Sunshine staff, is a new home that is being built around them and staff who act as father figures - caring for them and making sure that they get an education. These boys are blessed boys here in Kenya.

This reminded me of the week before I returned to England. During April I spent time organising for a group of professional and ex-professional Kenyan footballers to visit Sunshine and coach the boys. They represented an international NGO called Ambassadors in Sport. They work across the world using football as a tool to bring hope and empowerment to people from many backgrounds. These were some of the most inspiring men I have ever met. Not only were they awesome footballers (something that excites me) but they wre really genuine - meeting each of the Sunshine Boys at their level and loving them.

The footballers gave the boys an incredible couple of days where they not only had a fantastic time playing sport, but also received insight as to what it is to be a man - and a good man. Kenya is full of men who are poor role models and most of the Sunshine Boys have firsthand experince of fathers who were drunkards, abusive, unloving and disrespectflu to women (including their mothers). Whose footsteps can these boys follow in that case?

For two days there were men to look up to, men to follow and men to be inspired by. It was a really special time. I was delighted to have been able to organise it. As part of the new building of the Sunshine Centre, Mission Care International are including an international sized football pitch - I know that it will be well used by the football-loving boys.

A pencil: a sign of hope...

I visited the IDP camp in Naivasha today taking with me gifts from Bickley Primary School.

The teachers and children were both so grateful. These small tokens of interest were much more than writing implements. Although the pencils and pens and paper sent by Bickley Primary will make a real practical difference in the "classroom" - the tent used for schooling - they also mean something more to the displaced people here...

For these children and teachers, without a school building, without a house to go home to, many miles from their hometowns, having fled in fear for their lives, a pencil is a sign of hope. These pencils show that people care, that people outside of Kenya are aware of the situation in which they find themselves, that people want to help.

A big thank you to the children and parents at Bickley Primary for helping Mission Care International to bring hope to the camp today.

Back to MoiNdabi...

Last week I went back to MoiNdabi. You may remember that just two weeks ago it was in the middle of a flood, a seasonal problem that threatens the lives of the community and their livestock and that destorys homes and fields. It had rained a lot since my previous visit so I was anxious to go back and see how the people were while continuing Mission Care International's work to assess the water project and try to improve the filtration of the water.

The startling thing about the floods in this area is that it hardly rains here at all. The village is situated in a great valley and the rain normally comes down on the other side of the mountain. So the people find themselves battling with dry, dusty plains that prove highly difficult to grow and cultivate crops and the livestock find little to feed on. But then all of a sudden the rains that fall elsewhere cause an almighty torrent of muddy water to rush through the area, causing havoc. The previous two days before I arrived it hadn't actually rained, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but the riverbed had dried up completely. The water had gone and all that was left was the carving in the earth of the route that it had taken, the ravaged fields that had been being cultivated and the boulders scattered around that had been brought down from the mountain with the surge of water.

The consequences of the floods are devastating, particularly bearing in mind the ongoing struggle to grow food in this barren land. Immediately after the floods green grass springs up, but I am assured that this won't last more than a week. The other thing that I struggle to believe is that some of the ramshackle houses are still standing. This time the flood wasn't violent enough to reach the dwellings, but I came across a house with five children inside, all under the age of ten, which was directly in line with the course of the flood. If the floods came unexpectedly during the night, the lives of these small children woudl be dramatically at risk.

There was some good news in as much that there has been progress with the filtration systems that we are hoping to refurbish. We are hoping that the system will be working within the next month. The Catholic Diocese of Nakuru provide a water quality programme, whereby they help communities, remote areas and individual households by providing filters. It is believed that the amount of fluoride in the water in MoiNdabi is three times the permissible level. As fluoride is absorbed into the skeleton and teeth of people drinking the water it leads to fluorosis, a lifelong and painful disease causing the browning and chipping of teeth and disturbed growth of the skeleton. Fluorosis is incurable, but needs very simple intervention to prevent it.

Together, we are putting in filtration systems in MoiNdabi. With a basic education programme this will compliment the work already done by Mission Care to make significant changes in this troubled and poverty stricken area of Kenya.

Mfangano Island...

Over the Easter weekend I had an unforgettable experience visiting Mfangano Island. The island is situated on the Kenyan side of Lake Victoria, to the far left of this map of Western Kenya. It is home to the Suba people, a population of about 30,000. I travelled there with Moses Otieno, who I met in Mombasa earlier this year. He was born on the island and many of his extended family still live there. Together with Footsteps International, Moses has been working with residents on the island to help improve their livelihoods. Most residents are fishermen and subsistence farmers and many live near the water to make fishing and collecting water easier.

By boat it took an hour and a half to travel from the mainland - and I even got the chance to drive the boat. It is such an untouched area that the first car to ever drive on the island's soil took place on 2nd February 2007. It was only driven 500m, since the road which will eventually circle the island has not been finished. There is also no mains electricity on the island - it was a really interesting experience for me to see how people live without technology and so many of the household items we are used to - and without showers or toilets as we would know them.

Living in such a secluded place seemed to have many positives. It was a beautiful and freeing experience - it was simple and staying there made me count every blessing, acknowledging every little bit of goodness that the earth bestows. I really enjoyed the liberation of being away from modern civilization. The people welcomed me very freely and although I attempted to join in living as the residents of the island do on a daily basis, I was still unbelievably pampered by them.

Despite the natural beauty, it was very obvious that day-to-day life on the island is a real struggle for most people. Healthcare is available but without roads it is inaccessible for many, especially at night. Fish is the main diet and some food is produced, but most staple foods need to be imported and are therefore very expensive. The main problem is that earning money on the island is almost impossible - most people are fishermen, and this is arduous and painstaking work. Most men and women work through the night on fishing boats, which is dangerous as wind and currents can drag them a long way from the shore and the storms can be very strong. A full night's work will earn around 50 Kenyan Shillings, less than 40p - and sometimes if nothing is caught, nothing is earnt. When you need to import your food, surviving here is really difficult.

HIV Aids is prevalent here and other diseases, such as malaria and other poverty-related illnesses, mean that many people die very young. There are huge numbers of orphans and families grow very large as nieces, nephews and grandchildren are taken in following death in the family.

The programmes with which Moses and his supporters are involved include providing new shelters, helping with some school fees, and food programmes. I met some of the beneficiaries of Moses' work, and some who he hopes to help in the future. The lady in this picture is Pilda Awuor, a very immobile and frail widow who forgets her age but is believed to be around eighty years old. She had seven children, all of whom have passed away, and she now lives with five grandchildren and one daughter-in-law. Her family was provided with a new a home and is part of the food programme. The daughter-in-law attempts to look after all the children and Pilda by fishing through the night, but the help that they have received has radically transformed their lives and the relief provided gives the children sustenance and hope for the future.

This is Peris Juma, who is about sixty. Since her husband and two of her children died, Peris is the breadwinner for her own teenage child and the five grandchildren who live with her. She fishes through the night and attempts to grow produce in a garden, but has very poor equipment with which to tend the crops. She also contends with an abusive alcoholic brother-in-law. Her story is a sad one - she is yet to be helped by Moses has indicated that when the financial resources are available he will begin to support the family through the food programme.

I also had the privilege of meeting Opeia, shown here with Moses. Opeia is homesless and has some mental and physical disabilities. When I first met him his t-shirt was shredded and he had no shoes, which meant that walking was extremely difficult for him given his physical disabilities and the rocky terrain on the island. Moses' relationship with Opeia was amazing - Opeia was so overjoyed to see him. Opeia is only twenty-four years old and he survives thanks to the kindness of his community, with people providing a meal or a place to stay for the night. While I was with him I helped in the small way that I could by giving him new clothes and a pair of sandals, as you can see in this second picture. He was ecstatic although a little embarrassed. But Moses' wife, Lilian, said that he had jumped about and danced for joy in front of the women to show them his new outfit - I wish I had seen that.

The fish that I ate on the island was so fresh it was amazing and I joined in by trying my hand in the kitchen. My new friends slaughtered a goat the night before we left - I helped to skin it, which was a little gruesome but a good skill to learn. Unperturbed I then slaughtered and plucked a chicken - they were so impressed that they gave me a live chicken to bring home with me, which I will be preparing next week.

My time on Mfangano Island was truly amazing.

Ongoing work...

I visited Moi-ndabi last week during what was a busy week. Moi-ndabi houses a displaced people from decades ago that have remained upon a flood plain, without being resettled by the government, living in houses built of sticks and mud that look hardly able to withstand a light downpour. Mission Care International helped the area significantly through the refurbishment of a bore hold that had been stagnant for ten years or so. It was opened and in operation in January 2007 and continues to provide water to an area where the nearest other water source involved walking 20km a day.

I watched as the pump was being used - water is such an important source of life that we don't even think twice about. We do have some work to continue in Moi-ndabi though - we need to help develop a more effective filtration system since currently the water carries too much fluoride that is detrimental to dental health. While I was there I experienced first hand the dangers of living in such an area. The floods came, in fact, while I was visiting the local Chief. We became cut off from the road home as torrents of muddy water flushed through a gully which could have swept away homes and livestock had the banks been broken. People's lives are at risk in a serious way. The amazing thing is that it hadn't rained locally - it was dry - but the water comes from nearby mountains with complete unpredictability. When it happens at night I am sure that it is terribly frightening. I contacted the Chief's Assistant the next day to see how things were - this time the flood did not persist.

Another piece of good news this week was that the building work at the new Sunshine Centre was able to continue to progress thanks to the generosity of Mission Care International supporters. By mid-April all of the Sunshine Boys will have moved into their new home - the remaining work will include the dining hall, workers accommodation and, of course, the football pitch!

Internally Displaced People...

During the past week, I visited a numbing place. I am finding that sometimes I am shocked to the extent that temporarily my ability to feel or think disappears and I just have to try to take everything in. This happened when I visited the Internally Displaced People (IDP) Camps here in Naivasha. There are still at least half a million people living in these camps across Kenya, having had homes and businesses destroyed and feeling for their lives. Many families lost loved ones in the process.

I have always quite enjoyed camping - but this is something entirely different. Many people have lost everything, other than what they could carry on their backs as they escaped. People are crammed into tents for as far the eye can see. I visited the temporary health centre, which is fortunately coping magnificently without many resources. They told me that last week a woman gave birth in the tent there. In fact, the Red Cross workers and those living in the camps demonstrated a real sense of resilience in order to cope with unworkable situations and keep fighting on.

I met lots of smiling children and saw the school within the campus, again in tents. They have few teachers and classes of hundreds with no desk, a lack of exercise books and writing implements - but the education co-ordinator said that they will keep persevering. I admire everything that they are doing. There is primary education on site, and some secondary school children have been placed in schools locally here, but there is a huge number of teenagers that might have been involved with vocational studies but now cannot afford it, cannot access it, and remain futile - stuck within a giant camp site without anything to do to occupy their time. There are available institutions nearby, but the fees, despite being small by our Western standards, make this positive step impossible.

Introducing Harriet Kibichi...

I've become much more acquainted with my surroundings here in Naivasha, but still every day I see someone who lives in an impossible situation and requires much needed help. I find it very frustrating that it is not always possible to help in a significant way. Although the work of the Sunshine Rehabilitation Centre does an amazing job, giving hope, education and opportunities to some eighty boys, there are still so many boys on the streets, who I see every day that I go into Naivasha Town.

In fact, with the recent troubles in Kenya, and the subsequent financial pinch affecting most families, more and more boys are going to the streets to survive. Last week, I went to visit them, in order to buy a dog. Selling dogs is one of the few businesses with which the boys can be inovlved. I thought that buying a dog from the boys would be a good way to start bridging the gap and building relationships - or at least get myself known by them and gain some notoriety. Seeing where the boys are living - the rubbish, the constant solvent abuse, the malnutrition and dirt covered faces - continues to take my breath away. Although they boys were a little surprised to see me, they are quite friendly. So I bought a dog - a female German Shepherd puppy - and named her Harriet Kibichi. Kibichi is "green" in Swahili and also means "cabbage." Harriet Cabbage is settling in well and I helped build a kennel for her. She will grow up to be a sturdy guard dog, I'm sure.

Gifts...

Together with the delivery of the Land Rover two weeks ago, some other important equipment and gifts also arrived in Kenya. During the past two weeks I had the opportunity to be involved in the process of handing them out, and I wanted to take this time to thank the relevant people who gave, gathered and boxed everything that was sent over in December - people are now seeing the benefits.

In Mombasa, I visited the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya's (APDK) Rehabilitation Clinic in Port Reitz. Here, Footsteps International has had some involvement in donating and assisting particular children. The clinic mostly works with children who need orthopaedic surgery to correct physical disabilities in their limbs, but they also undertake life-altering neurosurgery. They perform the surgery and provide rehabilitation; sometimes the patients stay for many months and receive in-house schooling and tuition.

The container that Mission Care International organised carried toys, books and gifts. I was there when Martin and Mary Print of Footsteps handed these out to the children. Some of the children had suffered so much trauma, but through the work of the APDK Rehabilitation Clinic they have found not only life-changing surgery, but also the hope that when they return home they will be integrated into and accepted by their communities. Their response to the gifts was beautiful - they sang, clapped and enjoyed their first playtime. It was fantastic!

Amongst the many other items that were delivered with the container were computers donated by Bickley Primary School. The pupils of both Bishop Wambari Secondary School and the AIC Polytechnic College are now receiving much needed computer training thanks to the generosity of Bickley Primary. I spent time watching as the students had a computer class last week and they are a huge benefit to the operations of both institutions.

Finally, this week, I was with the Sunshine Boys. The boys were sent a bag of gifts (similar to the shoeboxes that many organisations send at Christmas time). Although these arrived late for Christmas, due to the troubles slowing the transport in Kenya, it didn't affect the excitment of the ex-street boys who received the gifts. I need to particularly thank Alison Evelyn-Rahr and her whole family, who organised, gathered and packed the gifts. Giving the boys their bags was a huge success and a very moving experience for me. It is often said that we take so many things for granted in the UK, but the sheer delight expressed by the boys as they received a bouncy ball or cuddly toy was quite magnificent. We have so much - what a privilege it was to bring such joy to these boys who have had a difficult start to life. With the work of Footsteps and Mission Care International, their future is so much brighter.

Peace and travels...

A lot has happened in the last week, there have been political breakthroughs in Kenya, and some eye opening experiences for me.

The big news here is that the government has made a peace agreement; they have formed a coalition government and will seek to work together. They have a lot of work to do rebuilding the economy, tourist industry and rehousing all the displaced people across the country. At least 600,000 people have been displaced in Kenya, 30,000 of whom are encamped just outside Naivasha. For me the town has had an eerie feeling to it since I have been back - if you were unaware, you could easily pass through without the slightest idea that around forty people were murdered just five weeks ago. Now that we are hopeful of political stability, people may be able to come to terms with what has happened here in the last two months, and move on to a brighter future. My immediate response to the union now found within the government is one of relief and thanksgiving, but it is still true to say that right from the top corruption remains, as there have been recognised flaws in the election process. Most Kenyans seem resigned to the fact that corruption prevails in all areas of society, but because of that, the weak, vulnerable and poor continue to pay the price.

Most of the past week was spent in Mombasa. I drove to Mombasa on Tuesday 26th, accompanied by Joseph Chege, the son of Pastor Simon, the Director of the Sunshine Boys Project. We drove for almost 9 hours in Mission Care's landrover, my wheels for the next six months or so, and the car that Mission Care International will use as the work progresses here in East Africa. In fact, it was Joseph's company in Mombasa that organised the shipping of our container.

The purpose of the trip to Mombasa was to visit Timbwani: a school, orphanage and housing project on the edge of the city. It is run by an English couple called Glyn and Jane who have been living in Kenya for the past eight years. Footsteps International have been very involved with their work, and Martin and Mary Print of Footsteps joined me on this visit - there was a lot to see!

I never cease to be amazed when I can acknowledge transformation in people's lives - from despair to joy, from hopelessness to exciting potential and new prospects. At Sunshine I see this every day, to the extent that you can sometimes fail to notice it properly, but I saw this transformation a number of times in the past week. One great example would be in the case of Winnie, a 12-year-old disabled boy, who uses a hand-pedalled wheelchair that resembles a tricycle. Winnie has recently moved up several classes and school and now has increased mobility. He is very happy within the surrounds of Tumaini School and is an active member of the school community.

Timbwani includes the Tumaini School, which has 600 pupils, as well as an adjoining orphanage for 28 children, a feeding programme for the school children and an additional 200 children from another school nearby, and a housing project for people in the surrounding area. Mission Care International has been most involved with the housing project, building 8 houses and toilet facilities for extremely poor families living next to the school in 2006. One resident of the houses is Elaine, who is a young mother still studying at the school, who lives there with her grandmother.

While in Mombasa, I also visited another project supported by Footsteps. This was the Bombalulu Workshops and Cultural Centre and for me, the work going on there and the community that has been forged, was a clear indication of the Kingdom of God. The project is supported by APDK, the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya. There are two streams to the work here: to provide wheelchairs to those who require mobility aid across Kenya that are built on the premises, and to produce handcrafted jewellery, leather, textiles and wooden carvings. The amazing thing is that the project employs 170 people with disabilities to this. I was given an awe-inspiring tour of the project. In the wheelchair workshop, many of the staff were deaf and mute, and they produce tailor-made products for those in need of wheelchairs across Kenya. In the workshops I had conversations with many people as they skilfully made jewellery and textiles - some were blind, others had missing limbs and various disabilities, but within this community they were thriving. In fact, to me it felt that those we would term as fully able and those we would term as living with disabilities had integrated into an environment of such love, acceptance and empowerment that we rarely see in this world. For me, this is what mission is all about, empowering vulnerable people to achieve while forming a community that supports and enables each other.

I have been re-inspired by my visits this week to ensure that in all that Mission Care International does we will be seeking to bring forth God's Kingdom, bringing heaven to earth by supporting and facilitating trasnformation, empowering the weak and vulnerable to live fully integrated, both socially and economically, in true community.

Back in Kenya...

I arrived back in Kenya last Friday, 22nd February. It was a great feeling when the plane touched down in Nairobi. I've had a busy time since...

Saturday I attended a Sunshine wedding! Mark, a former Sunshine boy who is now living in his own home and supporting himself, married Naomi. It was a small and idyllic wedding which was also attended by Martin and Mary Print, of Footsteps International, the charity that Mission Care International has the privilege of supporting as they run the Sunshine Rehabilitation Centre. It was wonderful to join with Martin and Mary as they watched the ceremony, seeing somebody in whom they have invested taking further strides to independence and beginning his own family. It was an amazing occasion, and one that I was privileged to be a part of.

Sunday I watched the Sunshine Boys play football against another local orphanage. They lost 4-0 and we were completely gutted! I did have some great news though, as my car arrived from Mombasa. The car was shipped out in December, but due to the recent troubles took a lot longer to arrive than we had expected. It is great to have my own wheels and be able to get around. I will be spending a lot of time in the car when I drive to visit our project in Uganda, so it was a relief to know that it is finally here.

Monday I began working with the Fuhomi Project, which is one of Mission Care International's newest partnership projects. The Fuhomi Project is working with four girls who have finished secondary school but who have struggled to find employment or places for further education, which are really limited. Fuhomi facilitates a dedicated gap year programme, providing accommodation and full training for the girls, who will then go into local schools to teach personal and social education to 13-15 year olds. Topics covered will include issues affecting young people in Naivahsa: sexuality, HIV/AIDS, stress management, career choices, how to handle conflict, and more. I will be teaching the girls drama, media and film to help them prepare their workshop sessions for the schools. We began with drama and it was a really good day. The girls have such a positive message to share and it is great to be involved as they learn effective ways of communicating through performance.

I am now due to join with Martin and Mary and drive to Mombasa to visit the projects in there, which I am really looking forward to.

Going back...

I am pleased to say that the situation in Kenya has improved considerably. This means that I am able to return to Naivasha on Wednesday, 20th February.

I am looking forward to getting back to working with the Sunshine Boys and helping with the development of one for our new partnership projects, Fuhomi. Come back next week to hear all the latest news...

An invitation...

I spent time yesterday talking to journalists from the News Shopper and Bromley Extra about my experiences in Naivasha last weekend. Look out for my stories in the editions of each paper next week.

If you would like to hear me sharing about the situation in Kenya and the plans that Mission Care have to support those in rebuilding their devastated communities, please do consider joining us for a special evening on Saturday 9th February, from 7pm at St Mark's Church, Westmoreland Road, Bromley. We will be showing DVDs of different Mission Care International projects and will enjoy some musical entertainment.

Maybe I will see you there!

Experiencing the threat of ethnic cleansing...

Here follows a post that I wrote on Monday 28th January, noting my feelings and experiences as the situation in Naivasha escalated and began to affect the Sunshine compound.

It has been a shock and disappointment to find myself having to come home, although I fully appreciate that in the circumstances, it was the only thing to do. I am now hoping and praying that peace will come to Kenya, and looking forward to being able to return to Naivasha to join with our Christian friends and partners in helping to rebuild this devastated community.

"I awoke this morning to hear more stories of tension boiling over in and around Naivasha, as tribes seek to enact revenge and to claim land as their own. The wardens here at the Sunshine Home were kept awake until the early morning due to the noise of gunshots in the town centre. But I still remained isolated and unaware of the extent of the troubles as I slept through.

I awoke expecting the thirty builders to have begun their day’s work continuing the construction of the home here but as I left my front door there was an eerie quiet across the compound. No work and no sound. I came to find a dozen labourers sat at the gate with the wardens. They were talking, some distressed, others just crouching deep in thought. None of the workers here are under threat, they are all Kikuyu, so none display real anxiety yet they continue to shudder in disbelief as members of their tribe seek revenge in their name and incite more violence within the Rift Valley of Kenya.

As I ask more questions about the situation it only continues to deepen my disconnection from everything and everyone. I’ve begun to feel sheltered; it is like being content on a desert island yet knowing that sharks are stalking and devouring their prey in the surrounding water. All the workers give me assurance of my safety but I can’t come to terms with the situation and I’m at a loss to how I can be of any value here at this time.

I have been in contact with people at home these last two days and I know that many people are well aware of the situation and my predicament here. My own home church met and prayed, while friends and family have texted me news, obviously worrying about the situation. I have contacted the British High Commission in Nairobi for advice.

I have sat here reading and contemplating for much of the day, continuing to feel useless. I attempted to take some food to the Luo children in the house down the road but they had already left, forced away by the Kikuyu mobs.

It was only later this afternoon that I caught a glimpse first hand of the anarchy that is gripping Kenya for the first time. It wasn’t graphic or brutal, but it sent a shiver down my spine. At the gate of the compound one of the Sunshine Boys was returning and myself and the warden were letting him in. As we did a group of five Kikuyu youths were walking past, wielding machetes, clubs, and wooden batons. They stopped and spoke in the Kikuyu language to let us know that they were seeking more Luos. They were told that there were none on site, and as they continued on their way they called out, “greet the white man,” and were gone.

At that moment the cold hard truth of what is happening hit me. It became very real that these lawless groups of young men are terrorising Kenyans across the country, beating and murdering their fellow citizens. I felt utterly feeble in response to the situation and began to consider my own safety in these circumstances. About twenty minutes later, another group of around twenty-five youths stopped at the gate, weapons in hand. They asked the same and were seeking the same, but seemingly left disappointed and continued on their way.

How do people become so perverted in their understanding of justice? How can they believe that what they are doing is right? What grips these gangs with such anger that they would seek to destroy a fellow man with his wife and children? It is simply evil, and I search the depths of my heart as I try to lift these lost people before God and cry out in mercy for their lives."