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.