Kenya, August 30

Going to a foreign country always changes my perspective on my life and the world in which I live. Kenya, although not the poorest of African nations, struggles with the same issues as its neighbors. They are the issues we hear of so much but cannot fully understand: poverty, corruption, AIDS and other diseases, and injustice.

Nairobi is home to the largest African slum, Kibera, where one million people live without clean water, toilets, electricity, or indoor plumbing. Rainwater and urine intermingle in streams cutting through dirt roads. Many don’t have enough to eat. Many are sick. The problems faced in Kibera are also faced in the rest of Kenya, Africa, and the world.

Sixty percent of Kenyan women will be sexually assaulted at some point in their lives. All Kenyans deal daily with corrupt police seeking bribes. The allegations that Kenya’s recent election violence was the result of a corrupt government’s plan for ethnic cleansing exemplifies this issue.

Losing hope is easy when staring in the face of such enormous problems. However, I didn’t leave Kenya with a sense of despair, but rather I felt encouraged by the work of those fighting for change.

Daryll and Verna’s work at Africa Nazarene University is educating and empowering young people to make a difference in their world. Daryll’s theology and education training is bringing new teachers and pastors into communities throughout Kenya, and Verna’s health classes are educating students about the realities of AIDS and other diseases. Her preventative education is enabling Kenyan men and women to make more responsible choices, therefore creating safer communities.

The work of Compassion International, through sponsorship money, built a school, church, and clinic for 250 village children who previously had no access to any of these services.

International Justice Mission is providing safe havens and free legal services to sexually assaulted women and children and people abused by a corrupt legal system. They are giving a voice to those who formerly had none.

Jaakko, a pastor in a Mombasa slum, has opened a growing church and school. He is praying to open a place for orphans. In addition to their own three daughters, he and his wife have opened their home to four orphans and needy children. Somehow nine people live in Jaakko’s home that could be no more than 250 square feet and lacks a bathroom and a kitchen.

Musili, another pastor the same age as me and Dave, has already overseen the building of a church, hospital, and school in his community.

People all over Kenya are fighting against the poverty and injustice, and I would encourage each of you to search for ways to make a difference in your community or one that touches your heart. God is at work everywhere, and He wants your participation.