Tuesday 1 July 2008

On to Eldoret

Today we left Nairobi and traveled to Eldoret where Open Arms has its Kenyan base and main African presence. We had a good 36 hours in Nairobi, getting to know each other, discovering who has the best bartering skills in the craft market and seeing some Fairtrade crafts in actions at a local ceramic bead and pottery workshop. I was particularly pleased with that bit of the day as I already have some of their products and now have seen just how ethical the production is and what a difference the work makes to the women. The brand is KAZURA and the people that work there all come from the slum area of Kibera. It has 1 million inhabitants, no running water, no sanitation, no electricity; Comic Relief and Christian Aid are both involved in projects there. It was great to see the women from Kibera, that get provided with transport to get to work, do 8 hour days with 30 minute tea breaks both morning and afternoon, a proper lunch break and working in an environment that is clean and friendly. What a difference from where they are living, and we can help keep that going there with such projects - excellent!!

But now we are in Eldoret, and have had our first visit to the Open Arms property. We flew to Eldoret in an 18 seater plane (which everyone enjoyed except for Dan who is afraid of flying) and got fabulous views of the Kenyan landscape. It was lovely to be on the property with David and Rachel, and to hear from David as he showed us around. There is nothing quite like hearing about the vision form the visionary. Although I have been here before I came away even more inspired and it was great to see the others catch the vision as well and to get to understand what the village is all about.

We had a bit of time with the children when they got home from school. They sang us some songs as a bit of a welcome performance and then we played with them, did the "digital camera" magic, and spent time showing them love and acceptance and giving hugs as required! I had the privilege of seeing Johny come out of his shell in a wonderful way. He is 5 years old, an orphan since 2006 and came from the IDP camp where he had fled with his Aunt and 8 cousins. His Aunt could not cope and when she heard about Open Arms she asked for Johny to be taken in and given a better chance in life than she could offer him. Since arriving at the village he has been very withdrawn and can be quite violent in his way of seeking attention. He has been shown such love here that he is gradually relaxing. Today I heard laughter and got smiles and physical contact in a positive way as he climbed on my lap, my shoulders and hung up-side-down off my arms. The difference in him since I was last here 5 weeks ago is amazing. God is doing some wonderful transformations.

Well that is it so far. Tomorrow we get to do our first medical camp in the slums so that will be interesting, challenging and hopefully God-filled. The US team are finally due to arrive in Eldoret on Thursday morning, so praise God for that. It will be excellent to be a full team at last and for them to get to the place that they really want to be.

1 comment:

Gill Jeffrey said...

Praise God for His goodness and mercy. I will continue to pray for safe travelling for the rest of the team and an easy uniting of all on team as you seek to do God's work.
Can't wait to see all God is doing in Eldoret.
God bless
Gill