Nosikitok - A Community that is United

Our visit to Nosikitok, a Maasai village near the border of Tanzania, brought great encouragement to our team as we crossed cultural barriers and enjoyed an incredible day of fellowship with the community.  This village was hit hard by the drought in 2009 and the need for holistic transformation was evident in what we saw and what we heard.  One of the elders of the community shared with us that he had over 500 cows prior to the drought and now has less than 10.  There are many orphans and vulnerable children among them and the women walk over 5 hours one way to get clean water.  Still... the overwhelming feeling that emerged throughout the day was HOPE.  This community was united.  They were humble.  They are ready for change and the hard work that will be required to bring it about.  And in the midst of what could easily be described as a crisis situation, they greeted us with joyous hearts and treated us to an incredible day of celebration Maasai style.
After an initial meeting together where introductions were made and community leaders shared the history and current status of the community as well as a glimpse of their vision for the future, we were told that it is Massai tradition for the men to separate from the women and go into the "bush" where they feasted on roasted goat and learned some of  the Maasai warrior traditions such as throwing a spear.  The women stayed together and also enjoyed a feast of rice, potatoes, and the neck of the goat which is what the men send back for them (a little different from home).  It was amazing to see language barriers disappear and love filled the gaps in communication.  Everyone was given a Maasai name and we even gave some of the women American names.
Later when the men returned and we were all together again, we were invited to join the Maasai women dancing.  I say "invited" but understand it was not an option to not join them.  Basically we learned quickly that we lack the "rhythm and flexibility" needed for Maasai dance.  Later we were asked to stand in a line and the women came and adorned us with beautiful Maasai necklaces, bracelets and earrings.  It was a beautiful day with beautiful new friends.  We are hopeful about the future for our new friends and look forward to the opportunity to join U4A in standing alongside this community.
Nosikitok Photos

Faces of the Fatherless

I've had the opportunity to share in previous posts how greatly encouraged our team was on many occasions during our trip.  I'd be less than honest, however, if I did not also share that we experienced moments (even days) of incredible despair.  In truth, we had team members who felt completely broken, wiped out, inadequate.... and they struggled to find the strength or the desire to go out and face another day fearing they would only see and experience more of the same.  Thankfully God's grace is all sufficient and He fills and renews us each day.  His provision is enough to get us through this day.  We may be completely spent at the end of it, but He is faithful and He will refresh and renew us again tomorrow according to our needs on that day.
There is a stark contrast when you visit a place where community is completely shattered and hope seems elusive.  We visited a place like this. There was an overwhelming sense that evil had managed to gain footing despite the efforts of the local church.  Here, it is much harder to see the Hope.  Instead you see anger, apathy, despair, numbness, emptiness, abuse, suffering....  But it is also here that we could see the value of working with an organization like U4A.  This particular community was devastated by the post election violence in 2008 and the aftermath is beyond anything I could have imagined.  The road to restoration will be a long one but U4A has the wisdom and experience to stand with such a community and help them to find their way.  I was deeply moved when I heard Samson tell these church leaders that he had met for the first time earlier in the day that U4A was committed to walk alongside them.  Knowing that U4A would be there leading this community toward holistic transformation totally changed my perspective about P82 working there.  I went from overwhelmed and almost hopeless to believing and even visualizing redemption in a community that desperately needs a Savior.  And I could imagine the sadness that I saw in the eyes of the children being replaced with pure JOY that only comes from the ONE who created them.  One of our team members, Carl Setterlind, beautifully captured some of these faces with his camera.  I've included a link here.  Please join us in praying for these children and for this community.  P82 is working with U4A to gain a better understanding of the specific needs of the orphans and vulnerable children and we are prayerfully considering how we can stand together to help transform a community and bring hope to the fatherless.

Empowering Orphans

While in the Kisumu area with Unite 4 Africa last week, we visited the Redeemed Gospel Church in Mamboleo.   Having been trained in church leadership principals by U4A, the church is now reaching out to the community around them via church planting efforts and programs of relief and compassion that are meeting the practical needs of suffering community members.  There is a large population of widows and orphans in this area and it was encouraging to see the church sacrifice lower priority needs (emphasis on lower not low priority) in order to invest in programs that provide some level of immediate relief and are also designed to develop and empower both the widows and orphans in the community to eventually meet their own needs. A concept that I have come to believe in strongly is the idea of actually empowering orphans.  I was familiar with the model of empowering widows but the idea that we can actually empower orphans was a concept that U4A introduced me to last December.
You can make a minimal financial investment in addition to the typical monthly child sponsorship fees that help pay for food, shelter, and education and that investment is used to buy a goat for an orphan.  The child learns to rear the goat and sell the milk to earn income that helps provide for his or her own needs.  The goat can also be bred and the offspring raised by the orphan eventually providing more milk to sell thus producing more income. In a relatively short period of time, the child has enough goats to trade for a dairy cow which can create even greater opportunity for sustainable income. These programs provide practical teachings for the children that they can leverage for the rest of their life and also helps to reestablish some value and purpose in a child who otherwise can feel like a burden to the extended family or community that is trying to care for them since the loss of their parents.
This same concept is effective when investing in a single chicken or cow.  I was amazed by how strategic the program is.... the community leaders buy in volume, perhaps 100 goats at at time, which allows them to negotiate better prices.  Those 100 goats are given to the children they have identified as the neediest.  Later when the goats are bred, the first offspring is given back to the community leaders so that  it can be given to another orphan thus maximizing their investment.  This may seem like a simple solution to a complex set of problems but the truth is.... its working. We have witnessed that it is making a difference in the lives of many of these precious children by bringing them hope and helping to secure their future.

God Has Spoken Boldly

Waiting for us at the Kisumu airport when we arrived were the Okongo brothers, Samson and David.  Samson is the Founder and President of U4A and is an ordained Missionary Pastor.  He has served all over the world as a medical missionary and proclaiming the Gospel in war torn countries like Sudan, Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Iraq to name a few.  Before moving to the United States and founding Unite 4 Africa (U4A) which is headquartered in Tucson, AZ, he was a Program Coordinator for Samaritan's Purse in Sudan, served in Kurmuk Hospital there, and also served in Kijabe and Kapsowar Mission Hospitals in Kenya.  He is passionate about empowering the least and last around the world through a holistic approach including a church planting movement, practical teachings relevant to community environments and helping leaders to change their own belief systems to embrace the truth that they own their problems and they own the solutions, and perhaps most importantly, they can no longer wait for the government or for well wishers from the west to solve their problems for them.  Ferrell Coppedge, Chairman of the Project 82 Board of Directors commented on this approach having witnessed Samson speaking with community leaders.

"I was blown away by the depth of wisdom emerging from Samson's words as he very candidly, yet with great love and humility, told the leaders of a  Maasai village that money was not their problem and that the team he brought with him was not the answer.  He lovingly told them that we were there because Jesus led us there and our hearts were burdened by the suffering we witnessed.  He then led a discussion prompting them to identify what they perceived their weaknesses to be.  I was humbled as I listened to the honesty of their answers. They did not turn their weaknesses into a list of needs.  Instead they confessed mistakes they knew they had made and even acknowledged that in some cases, while they could see the mistake, they did not know how to do things differently and were earnestly seeking the knowledge and training to help them change. I will not soon forget, maybe never, the dialog amongst those leaders that day."

Okongo Samson and the entire Unite 4 Africa team have taught all of us at Project 82 much this week.  You may be wondering why I am writing so much about a community transformation ministry when P82 is an orphan ministry.  The short answer is this... We have learned that the old adage,  "It takes an entire village to raise a child" is true indeed and the sheer number of orphans in these villages is overwhelming.  We believe that we can make a far greater impact in the lives of orphans and vulnerable children when we direct the gifts and resources available to us for these children toward healthy communities.  Working alongside U4A allows us to focus on the health and future of the children while they focus on the health and future of the whole community.  We are praying for wisdom as our time with U4A comes to an end this week and we define the way forward.  We came here to explore the possibility of partnership.  God has spoken boldly to our hearts and minds.  I can't wait to share more with you!

How We Got Here - A Little Background

Our first day on the ground in Kenya was spent in the Kisumu area with the Unite 4 Africa (U4A) team who is hosting P82 this week.  I met David Okongo, East Africa Director, in October of 2008 and have served alongside him in Kenya communities on several occasions.  In addition to his work with U4A, David holds a Higher National Diploma in Clinical Medicine and Surgery and specializes in Pediatrics and Community Health.  David was on staff with the Kijabe Mission Hospital for 15 years and has subsequently opened 7 medical clinics in KE.  I've witnessed David minister to children medically, emotionally and spiritually with incredible grace and compassion that drew me in almost instantly.
I learned that David founded an orphan ministry called House of Hope that was meeting the needs of 23 orphans in his home community and I was deeply moved by his vision for caring for these children and his dreams of expanding the ministry to reach many more.  When God had burdened my own heart for these children so greatly that to not act was simply no longer an option, the first call I made was to David Okongo.  It was then that I learned about Unite 4 Africa and was introduced to David's brother, Okongo Samson.
I met Samson the first time via video skype and we talked for 2 hours.  Over the next several days, we continued these video conversations lasting hours each time as I learned about the Unite 4 Africa ministry and got a glimpse into his heart.  Having known his brother David for some time, I was not surprised to find a man who is sold out to Jesus and has dedicated his life to sharing the Good News of the Gospel and to serving the least and last.  After speaking with the P82 Board of Directors, we invited Samson and his wife Shauna to spend the weekend in Atlanta to share their vision with us and discuss potential partnership opportunties that would leverage the passion, gifts and resources of each of our ministries to make a greater impact for the Kingdom.  That weekend led us here to the U4A and P82 visioning trip where we have seen first hand how their vision for holistic community transformation is being lived out in Kenya communities and how P82 can become an integral part of that transformation as  a ministry partner focused on the orphans and vulnerable children in these communities.  Stay tuned..... there is much to share!