Nyumba Ya Tumaini Visit

Yesterday I walked to Nyumba Ya Tumaini.  It is only about a 30 minute walk and it gives me a chance to explore my surroundings a little more.  I met with Isaya.  He is the manager there and has been there since it began 9 years ago.  The boys were all down the road at a christian camp that they all were able to attend on a scholarship.  Nyumba Ya Tumaini means Home of Hope.  It was the vision of a man named Ben and a friend of his in the UK.  It began as a feeding program for street boys in Nairobi.  The team started by just developing relationships with the boys and inviting them to eat at their church.  At first there was no mention of trying to change their lifestyle in terms of the drugs and stealing because the team knew the boys would not respond well to that.  They first wanted to create an environment of trust.  After a few months they had hundreds of people all ages coming to their feeding program each week and they really wanted to help the younger ones.  They felt that there was a greater chance of life change if they focused on the younger boys, so they kept the feeding program every Sunday for everyone, but added a day when the boys 12 years and younger could come and eat and hang out.  

Eventually, once the relationships were established, they got the home started and invited the boys to come and live there until they could be rehabilitated.  The goal is that the boys will be reintegrated back into their families.  It is a hard process because the boys will lie about their names and about where they came from because they do not want to go back or they are running from the police.  Also most boys are hooked on drugs so they suffer from terrible withdrawal.  They originally brought 30 boys and currently 18 boys live at the home.  At first it was violent and the boys were not in school.  The local schools did not want to admit street boys.  It is interesting to me how similar it is to the U.S. when people did not want a different race or ethnicity to move into their community.  That is how the community felt about these boys from the street coming into the neighborhood and into their schools.  Now things are good and all of the boys are enrolled in school.

Since the beginning eight boys have successfully returned to their families and Isaya continues to follow up with them.  Five boys received vocational training and are now on salary.  Two have become good farmers.  Two are on football scholarship.  This year they have their first candidate for the national exams, the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education.  Sixteen of the current boys have contact with their families right now.  Even with all of their success, they are struggling to make ends meet.  The young adult team from BTCKE is working with them on a couple of income generating projects and have done so much to engage the community to support Nyumba Ya Tumaini. I really enjoyed talking with Isaya.  He feels very called to his work and he believes that if he was not called there then he would have given up a long time ago.  That is my prayer for everyone (including myself)- that we can all find the work we are called to do and love doing it, even when it is difficult.

I did get to meet Oscar. He was one of the first boys that came to live at the home and he is finished with school and now helps at the home.  Through talking to him and listening to his story, it is evident that life on the streets is not something they like to relive and would rather be forgotten.  He is just one of so many that have lived through things I cannot even imagine.  His story is what breaks my heart and yet gives me hope at the same time.  I am really looking forward to returning to Tumaini when all of the boys are there and spending time with them.

This is the start of one of the income generating projects.

This building is where they cook right now, but will also eventually hold a library and a counseling room.

One of the bunk rooms.

                              

                               The store where they keep all of their food.

One Week In

Well today will mark one week that I have been in Kenya.  I feel like I have done so much already.  I have gotten to meet many of the young adults that work with BTCKE and all of the directors of the partner organizations.  Everyone has been so wonderful.  I have even had a chance to meet some people working to start organizations to improve their communities.  Their stories are so powerful and I am so encouraged by their passion.

I wish I knew how to express how incredible the work is that the young adults are doing with their partner organizations.  They are truly going out into their communities and engaging them in the work to fight child poverty.  I am blown away by them and I just met them so I cannot wait to get to know them all better.

Today I overcame my fear of getting in a matatu, which is the public transportation.  It is an adventure to say the least, but it is completely doable.  I went to visit Huband Orphanage.  Huband is one of the organizations that BTCKE is working with this year.  I met with Irene.  She is the manager and does a fantastic job.  She works incredibly hard.  There are 32 children living at Huband.  They are all either orphaned, vulnerable (meaning their parents have HIV/AIDS), or from the streets.  There are 20 boys and 12 girls right now.  Luckily they were still on holiday so I got to meet most of them today or at least see them.  When I got there they were dancing and don't you worry I captured a short video clip that I will include along with a few pictures of the home.

Huband Orphanage

I will be visiting the rest of the organizations during this week as well.  Expect an update from each visit in the next couple of weeks.

Karibu! (Welcome)

I am here!! I have now officially spent 2 nights in Kenya and I have slept so well.  The journey here was pretty uneventful and for that I am thankful.  I arrived pretty late Tuesday night, so we spent the first night in Nairobi and then came out to the house in Rongai yesterday morning.  Apparently it can take 30 minutes to 3 hours to get out here depending on traffic! They are working on building a new road and its supposed to be done in March, but we shall see.  I spent yesterday with my new friend Ken, who works for Be The Change- Kenya.  He was a trooper to take me to the store and help me get settled in and he even brought me with him to a meeting at one of the organizations I will be working with this year.  I won't begin my official work duties until next week so for now I am just getting used to everything and tagging along on things when I can.

My friend Ken Chomba

The house I am living in is a home/office for BTCKE.  When I got here, my other new friend Beatrice was here to welcome me and it was the greatest welcome I have ever received.  She had my room completely decorated with signs and streamers.  I will put a few pictures on here and more will come on facebook later.  I already feel so at home here.  This is just a quick update to let you all know that I am safe and excited to be here.  Once I begin my work, I will spend more time explaining what I am doing.  

Me with Beatrice

My fun new room!

Thank you all for your continued prayer and support! It seriously means the world to me and I will probably continue to say that over and over again.

Two Weeks

2 weeks from today I am getting on a plane and moving to Kenya for a year!! WHAT?

For those of you that did not know, I was just in Toronto for two weeks with all of the other YASCers and some missionaries with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the United Church of Canada.  It was a cultural orientation and training for us all before we go.  I experienced so much there. We had great speakers and many different sessions on all of the different aspects of mission, but what stuck out to me the most was the time I got to spend getting to know the other YASCers and missionaries traveling all over the world.  I am beyond thankful for the various conversations I had and the wisdom that was imparted on me through each person there.  The whole experience definitely made this new chapter in my life feel more real.

Our group outside Wycliffe College where we had all of our sessions.

We are all a part of God's story and the way we tell our part is so important. There is so much more that goes into it than we may see on the surface.  Seriously the group of people in that picture are all doing incredible things for the Kingdom and I am blessed to know them.  It is strange that I will not see some of them ever again and some I will not see until our re-entry retreat next year.  I am really going to miss them, but you can all join me in praying for them and keeping up with their blogs.  We had so many good laughs and adventures.  Toronto is a cool city with much to offer.  Some of the things I got to experience were a Hindu Mandir, an Islamic Center, shawarma, Ethiopian food, a Blue Jays game, listening to people's stories, navigating public transportation, getting stuck in an elevator and there was so much more that I wont bore you with, but if you ever want to hear about it let me know.

I am guessing that the next time I post, I will be in Kenya! I cannot wait!

August 6, 2012

Well yall its official I will be moving to Kenya on August 6, 2012.  That is a little over a month away!! I cannot believe that it is really happening.  I mean time has been flying by lately.  All the things I have had planned are coming and going.  The past few weeks have been especially cool because I have seen so much evidence of God's faithfulness and goodness.  I will give more details soon, but I am so excited to have a date to share with yall!

Time in Texas

The more I think about this whole moving to Kenya for a year, the more excited AND nervous I become. It is so strange that I can be pulled in two opposite directions at the same time.  I am certain that the excitement outweighs the nerves, but I would be lying if I did not admit I was scared, not out of what life will be like there, but more out of what I will be missing here.  It is just going to be a dramatic change, but I believe for good.  I am currently sitting in a Starbucks in Houston, TX with Natalie (one of the directors of BTCKE and my future roommate in Kenya).  She is in the states doing some fundraising so it worked out great that I could meet her before I move over there.  It is a little surreal to think about my journey up to this point.  As I go around with her and hear her talk about BTCKE and how it began, it never ceases to amaze me how God works and has clearly brought me to this place.  I wish I could write and explain every little detail to y'all because it is CRAZY, but it would be too difficult and I am not that patient, so just trust me :)

Natalie has been telling me more about what my role will look like with BTCKE, so that is really what I wanted to share with y'all in this post.  Right now BTCKE is working with 5 partner organizations- 3 of these are children's homes and 2 are centers that serve children in the community.  From what I understand I will be working closely with the partner organizations and getting to know each of them on a personal level.  Each week I will be doing visits to develop relationships with the children and staff members at these organizations.  Through these relationships I will be evaluating the impact BTCKE is having on the lives of each child.  I will also be creating methods to measure that impact and compile the information for future work BTCKE does.  The type of work sounds perfect for me and appears to align with my beliefs and desires for the poverty stricken children I love.  Even just writing this I can I feel my excitement building-that has got to be a good sign!

Once I get home from my next couple of weeks of traveling to see friends and family, I will be able to sit down and give y'all more information about when I will depart for Kenya. Until then I am including a video from BTCKE that has some testimonies about what they have been doing in Kenya.

As always, more updates to come!

**I will be speaking at St. Edwards Episcopal Church in Lawrenceville, GA on July 1, 2012 after the 10:30 AM service.  Still working on fundraising, so if anyone has any ideas do not hesitate to send them my way or if you would like to support me check out my Support Page. Checks can be made out to St. Catherine's Episcopal Church with Jenny's Kenya YASC in the memo line.**

"You must be the change you want to see in the world." -Mahatma Gandhi

That is a quote I would like to live by, but that means i actually have to do something, right? Yikes!  I think I used to be intimidated by what that actually means and how it would translate into real life for me. Before I even got my assignment with Be The Change- Kenya (BTCKE) I had checked out their website to see what they were doing and that quote jumped off the page at me immediately. Or it may have been at the bottom of an email I got from Natalie (director of BTCKE) sent me? oops...Well either way it stood out and I have not stopped thinking about it since.  My thoughts on it have been a little jumbled, so this will be an attempt to process them all.

I mean, how in the world can I (a human) be a change? It seems appropriate to start by thinking about the man who said that quote. Gandhi- ok he was definitely a world changer. He saw the world differently than many in his time.  He believed there was more for each person to offer the world and that there was more that the world could offer each person.  He was aware of social injustice and the impact it was having on human beings.  So he decided he wanted that to change. Ok- so that must be the first part, recognizing things need to change!  In my personal journey, I can say that I have done that.  I see the suffering around the world and my heart is broken for it each day.

I wonder what Gandhi thought about when he recognized the need for change.  He must have thought it was possible to make change or he would not have acted, right?  Ok- next thing, believe change can happen.  He made a decision to live his life working for a change, so he must have believed it could happen.  That decision must be last part- take an action toward change.  Things are much less overwhelming to me when I can break them down.

1. Recognize the need for change
2. Believe change is possible
3. Take an action toward making a change

Those three points help me see how a person can be a change in the world.  This will, of course, look different for every person, but I believe everyone is capable for changing the world.  I realize I am not Gandhi and most of us will not make the great known changes that he made, but that does not mean we cannot all impact people and allow others to impact us.  Just recently it really hit me that I will be leaving a town that has been my home for the past six years and at first I was really sad.  As I have taken the time to think about where I am going and where many of my friends are going or have gone I realized how great it is that we are leaving and that some are staying.  Not to brag, but I have the coolest friends.  Each one is passionate about something different and they are all taking the steps mentioned above in all different parts of the world.  Moving to a foreign country is not required to change the world, but I believe if I can change one for the better during my year in Kenya then it was more than worth it. I have no doubt that my life will be changed as well.  Each day we choose to live loving others in a way I believe God has loved us then we are doing exactly what Gandhi said.

I will leave you with a prayer that my 94 year old neighbor read to me the other day. It is the abbreviated version of Reinhold Niebuhr’s serenity prayer and I think it is fitting here.

God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.  Amen.