Today we visited two new communities... Kimakandura and Babong, both in an area known to locals as Naibor. After a relatively short ride from Nanyuki (about 20 minutes), the tarmac ended and we took the dirt road into the bush. The impact of the extended drought was easily visible as the only water source for these communities, the Nanyuki River, was almost completely dry. Everything looked brown, dry and dusty.
These communities are home to about 3000 people mostly from the Turkana and Samburu tribes. The eldest in the communities have been living there for about 20 years after working as day laborers on nearby animal conservation ranches. Today, however, they are unable to find employment on the ranches and have turned to charcoal burning and brewing alcohol for sale in efforts to earn enough shillings to provide food for their families.
We visited in the homes of many older widows who have taken in their orphan grandchildren but have no real way of providing for them. Several families that we talked with had not eaten in 2 or more days. We were able to take corn flour and porridge to be given to 70 households who were caring for orphans and in desperate need of relief intervention. The reality, however, is that what we provided will only last a few days in each home. Just before we left, we visited a mother name Theresa who has 4 children. Her youngest is 18 months old and looked about the size of a sickly 4-6 month old baby. We were all heart broken as we watched him try to feed from her breast but his skinny arms and legs told you instantly that she had no milk.
As I walked through these communities today visiting with so many and hearing their stories, I kept telling myself to look for the assets here and not just the needs. I don't want to imply that there were no assets.... I was amazed by the sheer will of these people to survive doing whatever necessary and constantly looking for new solutions that might make the difference. I was equally saddened however to witness that in their present environment, the amount of hard work and determination of their efforts would not likely have much bearing on their ability to change their current reality. And so I thought about the scripture from my morning devotion and tried to make sense of it in light of all of this...
But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Dt 4:29
Today we were able to provide a little relief and possibly even a little hope by giving the gift of food to these widows and orphans who are hungry and are suffering. But mostly, we just prayed with them and for them as we are seeking the LORD our God with all our heart and soul knowing that He desires to be found by each one of us. Sometimes we simply cannot understand why He would allow such adversity to come upon us but His continual Presence with each of us is an absolute promise. Today I am praying that His continual Presence with the people of Naibor will comfort them as only He can. I am also praying that His continual Presence with those of us who are so greatly blessed, will provide the wisdom and courage we need to be that physical manifestation of His comfort.
Tomorrow we will visit a community called Lekiji that is deeper in the bush. We are told the conditions there are even worse than what we experienced today. That is hard to imagine. Please join us in prayer for these people and ask God to provide us with the divine wisdom that we need to see as He sees.
