Here is our most recent message from Keith Ham.
Resettling the displaced families of Mathare is the main task of our relief efforts in Kenya at this point. Today, we’ve met with 26 families from the Air Force base camp to counsel them and encourage them to begin the relocation process. This is about the amount of families that we can meet with on a daily basis. What this means is they will find a home/residence on their own in an area of the slums that they feel safe. We will provide two months worth of rent to get them on their feet ($15 a month). Once they have moved from the ‘camp’ to the dwelling, we will assess what household items are needed and begin to purchase these. Some of the people were completely burned and everything will be needed, others were able to leave with a few personal belongings when they were chased out of their homes. We will provide two weeks worth of food supplies when they move in. Hopefully, they will be able to return to finding day jobs and be able to provide for themselves in the manner they were before this disaster. We will wait and see.
Beth Wambui (a Kikuyu) is married to Peter Oduor ( a Luo). These are the two main tribes fighting in Mathare. They have two beautiful kids, Calvin Odhiambo is out at Joska (our residential school) in the 4th grade and Abigail Atieno is at our Bondeni Center in kindergarten (where much of the violence has been concentrated). They (gangs, thugs) warned Peter that they were coming to kill his wife, Beth. He moved her quietly to a neighbor’s house along with the children. They found out and threatened the neighbors so Beth took the children and went to Peter’s sister’s house. Again, threats came that ‘some Luo’s were hiding a Kikuyu, and bad words were exchanged. Beth than, ran to the police depot camp with her children. That is where we found her yesterday and realized why the children had not reported to school yet. Today Calvin went out to Joska (40 minutes outside of Nairobi) and Abigail reported to school. Beth and Peter are looking for a place in Kosovo or Mlango Kubwa (two of our neighborhoods that have refused to allow the divisions and violence to happen). Once they find a place, we will pay two months worth of rent and figure out what Peter was able to save from their home as far as household items. Inside their new dwelling we will welcome them with a house-warming gift of two weeks worth of food. We will continue to counsel the family and pray with them as they try to begin a new life. Her husband loves her, she loves him, but they are caught up in the middle of this thing. Crisis counseling will be needed and one of our social workers will be involved in doing that.
Peter and Beth are just one family. Twenty-six others have begun this process today, more tomorrow and many more next week. What we are seeing are people under so much trauma and fear that they are paralyzed. They can not even assess their own simple needs. The government is saying that they have to leave the ‘camps’, but they do not even know where to begin. You ask them, “What did you lose in the violence?” They say, “I don’t know”, with a blank look on their face. They are stuck, frozen, fearful and not sure of anything. We are resettling our families with shelter, food, clothes, safety and hope. The source of hope is the living God. He alone can give them the courage to continue.
Reconciliation will be the next focus! Part of our relief efforts will be reconciling the two tribes living in Mathare. We are going to begin by using football (soccer). We are getting the youth together for football, food and fun. Up by the police depot is a large play field (close to our church in Kosovo) and we are going to sponsor a football tournament with lunch and games for the young. We will have gifts for all the participants to help facilitate the reconciliation process. We will play, pray, preach, eat and give gifts and do it again and again until we see one another as brothers and sisters.
Food distribution is continuing at the different camps. We are especially focusing on Mathare North and Bondeni where they have been hit hard.
Kids are returning! Last week we were wondering if the centers would ever look the same, but praise God, they are returning! Our staff has returned. With the exception of one person all of our 134 staff members have returned. One is stuck in the Eldoret area and calls frequently.
Our social workers and teaching staff are working very, very hard. They are resettling our displaced families and getting all of the children to their centers for school. Please keep praying!
Pray for…
• Relief efforts –food distribution to the camps.
• Resettling of our displaced families.
• Returning of all our kids to the centers.
• Reconciliation that can only come through the Spirit of God among the people.
• Rescuing of the image of God in our people of Mathare.
• Redoubling of our efforts in crisis counseling, home visits, follow up and especially evangelism.
Praise God for…Isaiah 40:11…”He tends his flocks like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”
• Opportunities to serve Him.
• His resources to use, to His glory.
• His people responding in faith.
• His Son, in reconciling this world to Himself.
Thank you so much for your continuous prayers.
Love, Keith and Kathy
