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.