I'm surviving Africa. No, i'm better than surviving, i'm actually enjoying it here. My office mates, Jacinta and Juliet are hilarious. They sing unabashedly to the radio - echoing kenny rogers or whatever cheesy singer from the 80's is on. This occurs all day long, even while you’re on the telephone. Constant noise and good humor. And they're laughing at me learning Swahili. Every day this brings them great joy to teach me a new word and then giggle upon my pronunciation. Didn’t know God was sending me over here for comic relief. Associate Director Lee says that he can hear us laughing from his house. Of course, Jacinta and Juliet blame this on me. And I blame it on my mom, from whom i've inherited this loud, hearty laugh. J Passing the buck…
Speaking of bucks…some of you are wondering what I’ve been doing with my days… so I’ll tell you. One of my main roles right now is to research grants and monies available through foundations and corporations. It’s amazing how God has really provided for this ministry without a grant writer! It’s been established for 13 years and God has always provided the funds! But now they’re at a place in their ministry where they’d like to get donors in the cue (or lined up) for areas in need of development. The ministry is larger than you can imagine from the website or word of mouth. They operate in 9 areas of Kenya including 5 children’s homes for orphaned and abandoned babies (with priority given to HIV positive babies), feeding programs (there’s a drought/famine here in parts), and 16 rural schools for underprivileged children. {{Please be thinking about your corporate connections and ways that you/they might be involved in meeting the needs of the children in Africa.}}
On January 31 I went with one of the social workers, Grace, along with two other nurses/volunteers to pick up (a.k.a. rescue) four babies into the care of New Life Homes. We went to Jomo Kenyatta Hospital (public and government-run). Can you say ghetto? What a slum of a facility and named after a former President, too. Who would want such a dump named after himself? The first thing I noticed as I walked in the front entrance was a sign pointing to the “Anti-Corruption Unit”. Ha! What a joke. Corruption seems to permeate every aspect of society here. The walls are lined with mosaics and expensive-looking artwork while throngs of poverty-stricken people push through the traffic-jammed hallways. All those verses in the Bible about “injustice” just come alive for me now. We were supposed to pick up the babies last week, but due to the corrupt and slow bureaucracy of the powers-that-be, we were allowed in a week later than we had requested. The fourth baby – the baby whom they called “baby d” died. It’s infuriating. The babies we rescued today all had feeding tubes taped to their cheeks and inserted into their noses. They’re not bottle-fed or really touched, though the nurses today struck me as compassionate and caring. The babies were called “baby a”, “baby b”, and “baby c”. Talk about dehumanizing a little human being created in God’s image. I guess if you call a baby by a letter or a number, you distance yourself from caring about his or her life. Distance creates apathy and apathy allows injustice to continue. So we left the hospital with “babies a, b, and c” and took them home to a new life. The baby I carried home was named Jim (after Jim Krill and Jim Powers), the only girl baby was named Melissa (in honor of nurse and Rock the Baby Team Member Melissa Bart/Dennis), and the last baby was named Stuart. They’re all off to a great start in their new home and beds in the Intensive Care Unit.
One more thing about the hospital situation before I move on to lighter things – in the same room with the abandoned babies were three abandoned children with cerebral palsy. They were the size of 3 or 4 year olds. They’d been growing in their hospital beds like vegetables since their birth and abandonment. There are apparently no facilities for disabled or special-needs children here in Kenya. One child would not stop crying. I spoke to another child, named Ruth (my strong and loving Grandmother’s name), whose front teeth were rotting and whose mouth was filled with sores, whose body is never touched or loved except during diaper changes. What do you do with human suffering? Why is it so? Let’s intervene. Let’s do something.
Africa teaches and speaks through her moans and groans, through her tears and songs. I’m learning a lot. I’ve learned that it’s hard to break babies. This is a good thing, since i’m not always graceful – especially when they projectile vomit on you or yank your hair like little cavemen! At first I thought I’d break them if I held them a certain way, but they’re really quite durable and sturdy. Especially these babies here. They’ve been through it.
I’ve learned that faster is not necessarily better. I felt like pulling my hair out over the speed of the internet connection and the suddenly slow functioning of my personal laptop - it’s become Kenyan and moves poly-poly (slowly-slowly). But someone sent me this verse and it’s taught me a lot:
“Better one handful with tranquility
than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.” Ecclesiastes 4:6
Less with peace is better than more with striving. So here’s to dial-up and to patience and to waiting. Thanks for praying and listening. I love hearing from you all!
Kwaheri (Bye) for now,
janay
“I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and (nations).
I cannot sit idly by … Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.
Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
- Martin Luther King Jr. in Why We Can’t Wait (italics mine)
In Africa…
“Justice is driven back,
and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
Truth is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The Lord looked and was displeased
that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no one,
He was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so His own arm worked salvation…” (Isaiah 59:14-16)
Speaking of bucks…some of you are wondering what I’ve been doing with my days… so I’ll tell you. One of my main roles right now is to research grants and monies available through foundations and corporations. It’s amazing how God has really provided for this ministry without a grant writer! It’s been established for 13 years and God has always provided the funds! But now they’re at a place in their ministry where they’d like to get donors in the cue (or lined up) for areas in need of development. The ministry is larger than you can imagine from the website or word of mouth. They operate in 9 areas of Kenya including 5 children’s homes for orphaned and abandoned babies (with priority given to HIV positive babies), feeding programs (there’s a drought/famine here in parts), and 16 rural schools for underprivileged children. {{Please be thinking about your corporate connections and ways that you/they might be involved in meeting the needs of the children in Africa.}}
On January 31 I went with one of the social workers, Grace, along with two other nurses/volunteers to pick up (a.k.a. rescue) four babies into the care of New Life Homes. We went to Jomo Kenyatta Hospital (public and government-run). Can you say ghetto? What a slum of a facility and named after a former President, too. Who would want such a dump named after himself? The first thing I noticed as I walked in the front entrance was a sign pointing to the “Anti-Corruption Unit”. Ha! What a joke. Corruption seems to permeate every aspect of society here. The walls are lined with mosaics and expensive-looking artwork while throngs of poverty-stricken people push through the traffic-jammed hallways. All those verses in the Bible about “injustice” just come alive for me now. We were supposed to pick up the babies last week, but due to the corrupt and slow bureaucracy of the powers-that-be, we were allowed in a week later than we had requested. The fourth baby – the baby whom they called “baby d” died. It’s infuriating. The babies we rescued today all had feeding tubes taped to their cheeks and inserted into their noses. They’re not bottle-fed or really touched, though the nurses today struck me as compassionate and caring. The babies were called “baby a”, “baby b”, and “baby c”. Talk about dehumanizing a little human being created in God’s image. I guess if you call a baby by a letter or a number, you distance yourself from caring about his or her life. Distance creates apathy and apathy allows injustice to continue. So we left the hospital with “babies a, b, and c” and took them home to a new life. The baby I carried home was named Jim (after Jim Krill and Jim Powers), the only girl baby was named Melissa (in honor of nurse and Rock the Baby Team Member Melissa Bart/Dennis), and the last baby was named Stuart. They’re all off to a great start in their new home and beds in the Intensive Care Unit.
One more thing about the hospital situation before I move on to lighter things – in the same room with the abandoned babies were three abandoned children with cerebral palsy. They were the size of 3 or 4 year olds. They’d been growing in their hospital beds like vegetables since their birth and abandonment. There are apparently no facilities for disabled or special-needs children here in Kenya. One child would not stop crying. I spoke to another child, named Ruth (my strong and loving Grandmother’s name), whose front teeth were rotting and whose mouth was filled with sores, whose body is never touched or loved except during diaper changes. What do you do with human suffering? Why is it so? Let’s intervene. Let’s do something.
Africa teaches and speaks through her moans and groans, through her tears and songs. I’m learning a lot. I’ve learned that it’s hard to break babies. This is a good thing, since i’m not always graceful – especially when they projectile vomit on you or yank your hair like little cavemen! At first I thought I’d break them if I held them a certain way, but they’re really quite durable and sturdy. Especially these babies here. They’ve been through it.
I’ve learned that faster is not necessarily better. I felt like pulling my hair out over the speed of the internet connection and the suddenly slow functioning of my personal laptop - it’s become Kenyan and moves poly-poly (slowly-slowly). But someone sent me this verse and it’s taught me a lot:
“Better one handful with tranquility
than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.” Ecclesiastes 4:6
Less with peace is better than more with striving. So here’s to dial-up and to patience and to waiting. Thanks for praying and listening. I love hearing from you all!
Kwaheri (Bye) for now,
janay
“I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and (nations).
I cannot sit idly by … Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.
Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
- Martin Luther King Jr. in Why We Can’t Wait (italics mine)
In Africa…
“Justice is driven back,
and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
Truth is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The Lord looked and was displeased
that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no one,
He was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so His own arm worked salvation…” (Isaiah 59:14-16)
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3 comments:
Janay,
You are my hero! When I read your first posting, I thanked God for his answer to prayer for friends. Then I cried, then laughed, then cried and missed you. You're in my prayers..
You have beautiful feet!
Isaiah 52:7
I love you,
Thanks for keeping us all updated. I love you and I love how you are serving the Lord. May your smiles touch the hearts of people in Africa, just as they have those of us in California.
Hi Janay,
I can feel and see the things you are describing. You have a gift for written words I didn't before suspect! We are all praying for you and are doing well. Gracie split here eyelid open a day or two ago and we had a wild time in the ER room (Gracie was fine, but the others there...whew!). I was thanking our Lord for the hospital HERE and wishing it were also the same THERE.
Blessings,
Julie
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