The landscape is Beautiful.
The smell of the air is Beautiful.
The people are Beautiful.
But there is an overwhelming amount of need here.
How do you tell a child ‘no’ when he is pointing at his belly saying ‘hungry’ and holding his hand out for food?
Upon our arrival we were asked NOT to hand out food or money in town to the street kids. This request was made by our ministry host and is also supported by the government.
The logic is good. Many kids who do end up invited into a home or facility run back to the streets because it is the only life they know. Giving handouts encourages this and hurts the mission of local ministries seeking long term solutions.
They lift up their hands and beg and follow us.
They all hold bottles of glue in their hands and it’s dripping down their clothes;
the glue which these 8 year old kids huff to stay high.
I say ‘no, I have no food for you’.
Women come up with babies begging for money or medicine to heal the jiggers (worms) in their baby’s feet. Some of the women so drunk they collapse to the ground at our feet.
I say ‘no, I have no medicine’.
The kids say they want to come to Challenge Farm to live and to learn.
But again, ‘no, right now there is no room’.
At the end of it all my hands are covered in filth from hugs and holding hands, the inside of my nose is burning from the fumes of their glue, and my spirit feels rotten because I could make their stomachs full, even if just for the moment. But at the same time I can’t.
I can’t because there is too much need. Too many mouths. Too many days of being hungry or sick. I can’t because I was told not too.
Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden..
Heb 13:17
Afterall, I am only here for 1 month. The ministry is rooted deeply here and serves hundreds of children long term. They know what they’re doing.
But then I still can’t shake the kids from my heart, and I hear Matthew 25:35-40 over and over again as we finally walk away:
I was a stranger and you invited me in,
I needed clothes and you clothed me,
I was sick and you looked after me,
I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
My heart is torn on scripture, on the obvious logic of the no-handouts request, and the insatiable need of these beautiful people. GOD, if you could leave a blog comment that’d be great.
Have I mentioned I love Kenya?…I do.
some of the boys above
below is Kitale, the central market of town
