Happy Thanksgiving Day

Abraham Lincoln, the 16^th President of the United States of America, proclaimed that every last Thursday of November will be a thanksgiving day.

Thanksgiving Day can be traced back to the historic American Christian tradition in 1623. After the harvest crops were gathered in November 1623, Governor William Bradford of the 1620 Pilgrim Colony, “Plymouth Plantation” in Plymouth, Massachusetts proclaimed:"All ye Pilgrims with your wives and little ones, do gather at the Meeting House, on the hill… there to listen to the pastor, and render Thanksgiving to the Almighty God for all His blessings."

painting depicting the origin of Thanksgiving Day

In my opinion, setting aside a day just to give thanks to God is a marvelous idea. The bible constantly emphasis the importance of thanksgiving in our lives. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Paul states that we should give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.

Here in Afri-Lift we have a lot to give thanks.

1.      Osiligi Training Rehabilitation

The projects on the farm that started this year are running smoothly. We are about to have a new house for the Farm Manage and a teacher’s toilet block. The staffs at the farm have had a new member start to work there called Beryl Simuyu. In this we give thanks

Farm Manager's house

2.      Riziki Child Assistance Program

The program has seen more children get sponsored this year thanks to the support of our sponsors. We have also had our candidates for this year complete their exams successfully.

This year, the Riziki Leadership team has adopted a new program from Metro World Child Ministries. The program has equipped the team with great skills and taken their ministry to a whole new level. On 24^th November, they were able to do an outdoor program where they saw 25 children give their lives to the Lord. In this we give thanks

children having fun in the outdoor program

3.      Manyota Program.

The street based program has seen the increase of the number of boys to the 20 maximum limit. Through this program we have seen lives being transformed and young trainees reach their God given potentials.

Boys from the Manyota Program

4.      Touch A Family

Through the generous donations of our sponsors and donors, families have been fed and encouraged. God has worked tremendously in this ministry and brought hope to homes that were in despair.

It is interesting to note that it is through this visits that children have been sponsored to go to school and the Gospel preached to those who do not know Christ as their Savior. In this we also give thanks.

some of our visitors who participated in TAF

5.      Children Worker’s  Training

The ministry has just completed a successful training in Kitale courtesy of Petra Institute for Children’s Ministry for the last two weeks. The training dubbed Walking With the Wounded Children saw lives of their trainees being transformed and friendships built. In this we also give thanks.

Children's Ministry in Burundi 

There is always power in giving thanks. Through giving thanks, one takes their eyes off themselves and their problem and focus on the nature of God. This is where one looks back in their lives and traces the hand of blessing that has clothed them, fed them, protected and provided for them.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our American and Canadian brothers and sisters.  It is not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving-W.T. Purkiser

  

What would you do if you didn’t have a loo?

It kind of seems weird that we have a global day about toilets doesn’t it? Call it a toilet, ‘the bathroom’, outhouse, loo, choo or washroom we get the picture.

Just last week I was watching a documentary on how toilets evolved into what we now know them to be and how different cultures do ‘their business’. Nothing like a late night doco to inspire a blog!

The fact is that 2.5 BILLION (yes I said billion) people do not have access to a clean and safe toilet. That’s a whole wad of people who have to find another way to keep their dignity while performing normal bodily functions.

The number one reason girls don’t go on to secondary education is that they don’t have access to single sex toilets. As soon as they hit puberty they need a safe, clean area but this is rare. Teenage girls who need to go to the bathroom are often harassed by males in the area. This leaves them open to sexual abuse and rape. These girls are more likely to either drop out of school or miss 5 days of school per month.

While sanitation is a basic human right, yet many have their dignity taken from them in this area. They have no choice but to defecate in the open field and ditches, on railway tracks or in a plastic bag. So where does that plastic bag go – into an open area or water source. The cycle of poverty continues.

Diarrhoeal diseases are the second most common cause of death of young children in developing countries, killing more than HIV/AIDS, malaria and measles combined, and resulting in 1 death every 20 seconds.  The link between a lack of sanitation facilities and poverty is obvious. Here in Kenya there is only 29% of urban sanitation covered. That leaves a whole lot of people in the city without water and toilets.

A few months ago I was walking through the Kibera Slum where our sponsored children come from, taking a Brit on a good tour of the place. She wanted to see the worst, so one of our leaders, Kelvin, did that for two and a half hours. It was not pleasant. It’s hard to understand why anyone would choose to live in some of these places. Children playing by water mixed with raw sewerage, plastic bags of poo underneath your feet, smelly shacks with a long drop latrine.

That’s the thing though people don’t choose to live there. Their situation gives them no other option. When you are in abstract poverty, lucky enough to earn $2 a day, you have very few options. People often ask ‘Why don’t they go back to the countryside to their families?’ Most of the time there isn’t enough land to grow even a few veges on. They have no other option but to stay in the city in the hopes of getting a job or some casual work to feed their children with. Accommodation is at a premium in Nairobi for those who are in poverty. You have to take what you get even if it is next to a brothel or open sewer. If you can’t afford to pay $20cents to use a pit latrine you have no other option than to use a plastic bag and then throw it away.

So this week celebrate the toilet/s you have. Forget the issue of somebody having to clean it, the seat being left up or the accidents kids may have in using them. Be grateful and rejoice in what you do have. Then do something for someone who doesn’t.

What is True Religion?

Afri-Lift Kenya is an organization that works with the underprivileged in the society. The society helps these people reach their God given potential by lifting, guiding and mobilizing them in various ways.

Afri-Lift has departments that often work with the orphans and the widows in Kibera. As I write this article I think of the countless names and faces of those we are working with that have been burdened by loss of a member of the family.

A widow with her child

However thanks to our generous sponsors and donors, we have seen many families fed and orphans join schools on their way to a brighter future. The work is not done yet but it’s a step in the right direction.

Scholastica Adhiambo

Meet the beautiful 16 year old Scholastica Adhiambo. Most of us call her Schola. She is part of the Riziki Child Assistance Program. Earlier this year she joined Form 1 at Olympic Secondary School. She lives with her widowed mother Beldina Akumu and her two siblings in Kibera.

Schola is quite painfully shy but once you get to know her, you will meet an incredible young lady. I have interacted with her on several occasions most of them in the monthly Riziki meetings. In the few visits we (Mathew and i) have done to their home, Schola has portrayed herself as a hardworking and surprisingly neat girl full of dreams. She wants to someday become a doctor and not just any other ordinary doctor but an incredible doctor.

I can understand why she wants to be a doctor. Her mother Beldina recently revealed to our team that she was suffering from breast cancer. She confessed to us that she had had it for six years and was struggling to get the painkillers since they cost a fortune. Sometimes she would debate whether to pay rent and food for the family or get the medicine.

 Margret Aim later took her to see a specialist who later revealed that she had painful lumps and not breast cancer as Beldina had been earlier diagnosed. We were happy to hear the news that had touched most of us.

Beldina , Margret and Lucy during a Touch A Family Visit

The bible in James 1: 27 says that pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted from the world. In Exodus 22:22-24, do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless." 

It seems that God has a special spot for widows and orphans. James was quite clear on what true religion is….helping the widows and orphans. In the African culture back in the day widows and orphans were taken care of by the community around them. They were not left to suffer at any point of their lives to do so was to put the community in a position of being cursed.

 Have you helped any lately? Do you know of a family that has been bereaved?  I understand that we can all not come to Kenya to help the widows and orphans here but where you are, you can also reach out to them.

According to Nick Marion a coauthor of the book Orphanology has written a few ideas that you can take with a small group to help the widows and orphans your area or neighborhood.

1. Find a single mom or single dad with whom your group can develop an ongoing relationship. You can help him or her and the kids by providing resources at special times, such as the beginning of the school year (supplies, uniforms, etc.) or Christmas

2. Have your group trained to provide care for foster families and volunteer to babysit for a local foster family. Families with foster children can’t leave them with just anyone because of regulations, and a few hours of relief can be a huge help.

3. Plan a group project to raise money to care for orphans.

4. Your group can throw a shower for a family adopting or fostering an older child

5. Consider donating medical supplies, an appliance, or other items to an orphanage or women’s shelter as Christmas gifts.

6. Build a long-term relationship between your small group and a widow. Plan regular visits to check on her and take care of small tasks like grass cutting, changing light bulbs, or anything she might have trouble doing by herself.

7. Go Christmas caroling with your group to several widows’ homes and take a basket of holiday goodies.

9. Sponsor a child (or children) as a group

Those are just a few things out of the many things in this world that you can do to help the widows and orphans in your area.

Let’s continue to support the work that Afri-Lift is doing everyday and in that way you will be involved in true and pure religion.

Let’s Learn To Celebrate

In India they have just celebrated Dwali, in New Zealand on November 5^th they will celebrate Guy Fawkes. In 7 weeks Christmas will be celebrated around the world.

From my 11 years of living in Sydney, Australia, one thing we learned to do was to take any moment to celebrate. Whether it was the World Cup, the visit of Oprah, or the berthing of the Queen Mary 2, the whole city would turn out to celebrate. Tomorrow afternoon the whole of that country will close down for 30 minutes to watch the racing of the Melbourne Cup.

Learning to celebrate is an important thing, even more so, it is a Biblical principal.

‘In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.’ 1Thessalonaians 5:18

Sometimes when you’re involved in development work there seem to be more challenges and finding a reason to celebrate can be difficult. When you are faced with children who don’t have food, a safe place to sleep or facing long term unemployment who feel burdened more than anything else.

At times like this you CHOOSE to celebrate, even if it is small things. When one of our sponsored kids does well on their school report, we celebrate. When our students get to sit their national exams, we celebrate. When our team who have been unwell are healed and back to 100%, we celebrate. The fact that we get to and from work safely is a very good reason to celebrate.

Celebration doesn’t have to be an expensive party, it could just be putting a smile on your face (even at times of adversity) and bringing God’s joy into a situation, office setting, family. It’s being grateful for what you have, not what you don’t. If you belong to a church it’s easy to celebrate each weekend, but what personal celebration do we do?

For me, I like nothing more than getting together with people I care about and sharing something I’ve baked for them. This Thursday as I head out to teach our students at the Osiligi Training Centre, I will be showing them how to make hamburgers – as a celebration of my 45^th birthday. I know that normally you receive gifts for your birthday but I’m turning the tide on that this year and giving instead of getting. I might even bake myself a birthday cake and take it out with us, just for the sake of celebrating.

Celebrating gets us out of the day to day challenges. It gives us hope. It relaxes us. It helps us appreciate one another.

So, what will you CHOOSE to celebrate this week?

Let’s Learn To Celebrate

In India they have just celebrated Diwali, in New Zealand on November 5^th they will celebrate Guy Fawkes. In 7 weeks Christmas will be celebrated around the world.

From my 11 years of living in Sydney, Australia, one thing we learned to do was to take any moment to celebrate. Whether it was the World Cup, the visit of Oprah, or the berthing of the Queen Mary 2, the whole city would turn out to celebrate. Tomorrow afternoon the whole of that country will close down for 30 minutes to watch the racing of the Melbourne Cup.

Learning to celebrate is an important thing, even more so, it is a Biblical principal.

‘In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.’ 1Thessalonaians 5:18

Sometimes when you’re involved in development work there seem to be more challenges and finding a reason to celebrate can be difficult. When you are faced with children who don’t have food, a safe place to sleep or facing long term unemployment who feel burdened more than anything else.

At times like this you CHOOSE to celebrate, even if it is small things. When one of our sponsored kids does well on their school report, we celebrate. When our students get to sit their national exams, we celebrate. When our team who have been unwell are healed and back to 100%, we celebrate. The fact that we get to and from work safely is a very good reason to celebrate.

choose to celebrate

Celebration doesn't have to be an expensive party, it could just be putting a smile on your face (even at times of adversity) and bringing God’s joy into a situation, office setting and family. It’s being grateful for what you have, not what you don’t. If you belong to a church it’s easy to celebrate each weekend, but what personal celebration do we do?

For me, I like nothing more than getting together with people I care about and sharing something I have baked for them. This Thursday as I head out to teach our students at the Osiligi Training Centre, I will be showing them how to make hamburgers – as a celebration of my 45^th birthday. I know that normally you receive gifts for your birthday but I’m turning the tide on that this year and giving instead of getting. I might even bake myself a birthday cake and take it out with us, just for the sake of celebrating.

Happy Birthday Mrs. Crean

Celebrating gets us out of the day to day challenges. It gives us hope. It relaxes us. It helps us appreciate one another.

So, what will you CHOOSE to celebrate this week?