In a perfect world, our team would own a car by now and be
able to drive from where we live to the IDP camps we are working in. However, as I’m sure you’re well aware,
we don’t live in a perfect world.
So we have to make due with what we have while we wait. And what we have instead of a vehicle
is our legs. Yep, our alternative
is to hike the hour and a half or two-hour journey, each way, to the camp.
AWe do live on the side of the mountain, so the trek can be a
little tiring, but it’s good to be able to walk and not be totally reliant on a
vehicle to get us there. Today we
walked to the camps to check on some projects that people started there and to
spend time and build relationships with people.
When we arrived we saw a large group of white people (which
is unusual) congregated in one area.
We went to investigate and found a group of volunteers that were there
for a week to help build homes with Habitat for Humanity. When I say “homes” though, you have to
understand that these are very simple, stone and cement buildings with no
electricity or running water, but they do provide a solid structure for
families to live in and be out of the weather. We talked to them for a while before moving on and finding a
large group of Kenyans congregated around a pallet of ugali (a cornmeal mixture
that is similar to thick grits). A
group of nuns had dropped it off and now everyone was trying to figure out how
to distribute it fairly amongst everyone present.
All of these things were happening in the main IDP camp in
Maai Mahiu. That is where most of
the help goes since there are a large number of families there. However, camp Tumaini, the camp we are
working with, doesn’t typically receive this type of help. They are a smaller camp and are
recessed farther back from the road so they are less visible….but they’re in
worse shape.
We made our way to camp Tumaini, and as is typical, we were
greeted by numerous kids that wanted to practice their English, hold our hands,
and walk with us wherever we were going.
We made our rounds saying hello to people and catching up. It had rained the night before, so many
people were working on their small farming plots. Patch and I jumped right in, grabbed a hoe, and helped to
plow Ann’s garden where she is trying to grow sweet potatoes. She is a single mom, has six kids,
health problems and is one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met. After we helped her for a while she
insisted that we eat lunch with her.
This is always a hard thing to do for me because I know she struggles to
get food for herself and her kids, but culturally it is rude to refuse an offer
like that. So we sat in her tarp
home and ate mashed potatoes with small amounts of corn and beans mixed in. Her children ate with us and we laughed
and smiled together as we ate. Before
we left we prayed with her.
Helping out in Ann’s garden.
It’s hard to live here and see the poverty, needs, and all
the help people are in need of, but there is a hope underlining it all. Our hearts were heavy today, but we left
that camp encouraged. Ann’s life
is anything but easy. However, she
still presses on. She still trusts
that God is her provider and healer.
She still looks to Him for her daily strength. Her life….her story…encourages me to do the same.
