A Breif About Riziki!

Afri-Lift’s Riziki Child Assistance program targets children from Nairobi’s urban poor, particularly from Kibera slums.  For 14 years, Afri-Lift personnel and sponsors have assisted children from Kibera and other poor communities with educational sponsorship for Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Education.  The children are chosen from the target group based on need.  The outcome is that the young people as they graduate have marketable skills for the workforce and are empowered to be self-reliant and leaders.  Currently, there are 40 recipients of the Riziki sponsorship. 

Every 3^rd Sunday of the month, we have Riziki club meetings which are held at a local church in Kibera. We have 6 Riziki leaders who facilitate games, singing and dancing, words of encouragement and sharing of snacks. All the Riziki leaders are Riziki are former Riziki sponsorship recipients who have completed tertiary education. It has been a challenge getting the kids to attend club meetings since most of them are in boarding school, but the leaders follow up with them to find out how they are keeping on. 

Last year, 40 Riziki kids and 25 boys from Afri-Lifts Osiligi program attended the Inua Riziki camp which was held at the Osiligi Farm. During the camp the children participated in sporting activities, indoor and outdoor games, and team building and ministry sessions. This was a fun and enriching experience for the kids and leaders.

Riziki aims at giving children an opportunity through empowering them with an education and leadership skills. With a monthly contribution of $40 a child receives tuition fees, books and school uniforms. 

To sponsor Riziki visit www.afrilift.com or contact us at riziki@afrilift.com

 

Go Mr President

It’s the President’s Day in the United States this week. Originally it was about celebrating George Washington’s birthday and then it evolved into what is now a major holiday and a great time to get bargains in the store.

Whenever I think of a president’s birthday I think of that tacky song and historical video of Marilyn Munroe crooning JFK.

What have birthdays really become? A few weeks ago someone was spending $3,000 on a one year olds birthday party that she won’t even remember! I remember when our girls were small and we were these broke youth pastors (before the days of high wage consulting was around) feeling really bad that we couldn’t afford anything big and flash for their birthdays or Christmas.

Can’t we bring it back to just celebrating the life of someone and not as a competition to see who can put on the best party?

On our farm in Kiserian, we have a training facility for former street boys from the Kibera Slum. It is set in the most beautiful surroundings of acacia trees and a spectacular rural outlook. We are instituting that when a trainee has a birthday, we will make them a cake and celebrate their life. They, along with some of our staff have never had a birthday cake. Such a simple thing, yet impacting. Some of our trainees don’t even know when they were born, so it’s not just a simple thing to get the information. Our staff have to phone the families just to get this basic information.

Life is precious, we shouldn’t take it for granted, especially in a developing country where the average life span is in the early 50’s. We are constantly hearing of bombings, fatal car accidents, and attacks.

While our trainees may not have a famous person singing to them, they are worthy like the rest of us to be recognised as a child of God.

President’s Day has changed from a birthday event to a social event in the calendar.

Let’s not forget that each of the six billion people on the Earth is a gift from God. He knows each one by name, has a plan and purpose for them. That’s what Afri-Lift is about, giving purpose to young people.

Love is not shallow, it's a verb

2 days from today our streets will be painted red. Ladies will be walking around town with bouquets of red roses and restaurants will be fully booked with lunch and dinner reservations. That is just a glimpse of what Valentine’s will be like in most countries all around the world. It’s a day of love. A day reserved for the expression of love to friends and loved ones. Why run your pockets dry and go through all the ‘trouble’ to show love? Isn’t saying I love you more than enough? Those are the questions some people may be asking and here is the answer…. LOVE IS A VERB!

Love goes deeper than the words I love you. Those three words without an action attached to them can be empty. Love is an experience and an experience is found in deeds. Think of it this way, how can you say I love you to a person who has no understanding of what the words I love you mean. Ever wondered how a new born experiences love. How does this innocent child comprehend the love of the mother yet has no understanding of the words I love you. How does this mother manage to give this child an understanding of her love? How does she make this child cling to her bosom, cry for her attention and give a loving smile of appreciation after a good feed? Through her cries, the child communicates a need of affection from the mother. She communicates that she needs her mother’s touch, soft voice and smile; to this child this is love. To the mother, the opportunity to tend to her child needs is an opportunity to give and share her love for her child. Love meets a desire of love and love gives love. We all desire love in different ways, the ability to meet one’s desire of love is the best expression of love. Giving love is love.

One form of giving love is showing appreciation. This month at Riziki, we will be giving our love to our children who sat their KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education) examination by awarding them with certificates. Appreciation is a big thing in Kenya. Saying “thank you, great job!” goes a long way in changing a life. Love motivates us to be our best and to always give our best. Our Riziki Kids need for love is an opportunity in life. They desire love through the provision of an education that will put them on the path of a career of their dreams. The boys at Osiligi need love of a second chance. They need the love that motivates them to transform their lives and give back to society. They desire love through words that affirm their great potential to do great works and be the best. All this children and youth need the hope that is found in love. 

C.S Lewis wrote in his book “The four Loves” “The mark of Friendship is not that help will be given when the pinch comes (of course it will) but that, having been given, it makes no difference at all. In this season of love, choose to be a friend to someone. Show love to a child a youth or an adult by meeting their need for love. They may not desire chocolates, flowers and all the nice things we can buy during Valentines. Their desire is for an opportunity in to be their best .

Have a loving Valentines Day.

Thanks NZ, you gave us your best!

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Welcome to our new blog! Each week, a team member from Afri-Lift will be putting together an interactive blog with topics that relate both to our work and what is happening globally.

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Afri-Lift was co-founded by Robin and Margaret Aim who came all the way from the tiny nation of New Zealand for a 2 year stint in Kenya. 30 years later, they’re still here!

When we teach our trainees on the farm about countries we often do it comparing them to Kenya. When it came to New Zealand they couldn’t believe that a country could be so small in number.

Here, income, prestige, a high ranking job all matter over character, honour and truth. Big is better. Yesterday we were having a coffee at a restaurant and we found out that some parents were spending the equivalent of $3,000USD on their one year olds birthday party. It was ironic that hundreds of thousands of people are living in a slum a 10 minute walk from where we were.

Last weekend Kenya beat New Zealand in the Rugby Seven’s finals, on the Kiwi’s home turf. There were some very happy Kenyans that day. It’s ironic that the most favoured sport here is football (AKA soccer) but Kenya is not very good at it. Kenya has 40 million people but this is the first time we’ve got this far up in the football ranks.

New Zealand is a tiny country, with 4 million people, but for every person there are 7 sheep. It used to be 20 sheep per head of population, maybe there’s not enough money in it any more! Another fact about New Zealand, their national bird is a Kiwi. A Kiwi is blind, can’t fly, is endangered and when it lays an egg, it’s 20% the weight of it’s body (an Ostrich is 2%).

New Zealand is the closest country to Antarctica, so it’s pretty much at the bottom of the world.

Some good things about New Zealand though:

-        At one stage they were the highest country (per capita) in sending out missionaries

-        They were the first to allow women to vote

-        Their anthem points to God being in charge of their nation

-        New Zealand was the first country to have its three top positions of power held simultaneously by women

-        Everest was first conquered without oxygen by Sir Edmund Hillary

-        New Zealand has won more Olympic gold medals per capita, than any other country

-        It has no snakes.

So although it’s small, has earthquakes and is at the bottom of the world, some great things happen there.

That’s what we try to teach our trainees. A country is what you make it. A good leader can turn things around. Just because people on the outside are willing to criticise, doesn’t mean you have to bow down to their thinking. To we Kenyan’s, New Zealanders speak funny. To New Zealanders, they can’t understand what we say or why we do things the way we do. In the big picture of things do our differences really matter? Not really, it makes us unique and something to be proud of.

We are grateful that people like Robin and Margaret sacrificed their lives to serve the most needy young people here. Kenya is proud to be related to New Zealand.

Significance doesn’t come from your GDP, the language you speak or even what the world thinks of you. It comes from within and knowing why you were created and living for that purpose.

Congratulations New Zealand, you’re third on the Sevens and you’re also celebrating Waitangi Day this week. 

Have a great time and come and visit us some time!

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