Going on Tour with CRWRC

Over the past year Paul and I have interned with CRWRC Uganda’s country team. It’s been a privilege and joy to discover the potential of community development through the church in this beautiful country. Now, during the month of May, we set out to apply the lessons we’ve gained and deepen our understanding of community development through a study of CRWRC partnerships in different regions of East Africa. We’ll be going on a journey to see God’s hand at work through CRWRC Kenya and Tanzania. As we encounter communities working to improve their economy and their health, their families, and their futures, we will be listening for God’s stories of transformation. Along the way, we will share the stories, adventures and pictures of our work with you!

May 1, 2009
It’s Friday and the citizens of East Africa celebrated their annual Labor Day holiday today. The jovial mood of the general crowds matched our own as we juggled our luggage through the Kampala airport and past the ticket counter, boarding the ten o’clock Kenya Airways flight for Nairobi. Before noon our plane arrived and we soon met our driver, Immanuel, outside the airport. In no time we were on the road, passing along well-developed city streets and large office buildings. We were amazed at the difference between Kampala and Nairobi’s urban layouts and the very Western feel of the latter. For a few sentimental moments we began to recall the feelings of home and then… the police stopped us. We were charged with driving in the wrong lane and the penalty was going to court or paying the bribe. It was a disappointing introduction to the poorly developed judicial system of this country and the corruption behind it.

We drove on until we reached a small compound nestled among some trees and greenery. A sign by the gate read Amani Ya Juu. There we met Amy Thompson, a Bridger for CRWRC Kenya, also our friend and tour guide for the next few days.

After hugs and hellos, we joined Amy for lunch at Amani. She explained that Amani functions as a training center, restaurant, and gift shop employing vulnerable and marginalized women from multiple African countries. Amani focuses on giving women marketable skills and a place to use them. Additionally the program helps the women build Christian community together through Bible study and fellowship. Customer can purchase beautifully crafted garments, decorative quilts, hand-made jewelry, and Christmas crafts made by these women. Amy’s creative selection of meal venues gave us our first introduction to the city of Nairobi and some of the local projects underway to enrich and empower people in need.

May 2, 2009 – Bird of Paradise
We spent this morning with Amy’s Kenyan family, a gracious couple that hosted her when she first arrived in the country two years ago. Before sitting down to Kenya tea, which includes milk, tea, and plenty of sugar, we took a walk around their compound. As we admired the beautiful orange flowers along the walk, Amy’s host father shared with us the story of his Bird of Paradise flowers. Originally he planted them for the family’s enjoyment. Then one day a traveling visitor noticed these plants and how well they grew in the soil. The visitor inquired of Amy’s host father, who mentioned that he grew them recreationally. At this the traveler explained that if Amy’s host father was interested in making a profit, he would buy the Bird of Paradise flowers, as many as Amy’s host father could plant. In turn the flowers would be sold to a buyer in Holland. The plan worked splendidly and Amy’s host father shared the opportunity with his neighbors. Now, together, he and his neighbors grow hundreds of the flowers and sell them regularly. Amy’s host father pointed out that he’s saving the money to help him through his retirement years. His story gave one example of an effective way to use your natural resources and networks to earn an income.

May 3, 2009
A light rain shower this morning turned our walk to church into a puddle-hopping dash. However, we arrived in good spirits ready for worship at the Parkland Baptist church in Amy’s neighborhood. The service combined African and Western worship styles to accommodate its diverse body of members. The Western influence could be seen in the familiar selection of praise songs that we know from back home and the leaders’ efforts to begin and end the service at the scheduled times. Meanwhile the African flavor of the service was reflected in the rhythm and volume of the praise songs, not to mention that many were sung in Kiswahili, the national language. It was a treat to worship with Amy!

In the afternoon we visited the Witteveen’s residence. Fred Witteveen serves as the country consultant for CRWRC Kenya. He and his family welcomed to their home the Kenya office staff and partners for a celebration of the team’s work over the past year. One of their particularly exciting accomplishments in the recent months has been the development of their strategic plan. The document outlines the vision, goals, and action plans of CRWRC Kenya for the next five years. It’s a real sign of God’s faithfulness to CRWRC and the staff team’s commitment to advance God’s kingdom here in East Africa.

May 4,2009
Accompanied this morning by our seasoned guide George, we got an early start on the day’s adventures, the first of which included an experiment with Nairobi’s public transportation system of matatus (minivans). As our crowded matatu careened down the Kenyan roads it carried us away from the city and deep into pineapple country. In less than an hour we reached Thika, home to a Del Monte pineapple plantation and CRWRC’s partner Christian Community Services (CCS).

CRWRC emphasizes the importance of capacity-building partnerships with the community and facilitates the learning and networks of its community partners through program consultants. The community partners in turn are empowered and strengthened in their capacity to teach and encourage the community members in development initiatives.

The CCS community development coordinator, Peter Macharia, met us in town and then drove us to meet two of the Orphan and Vulnerable Children groups (OVC) that his organization supports. Each group consists of about 30 elderly women and single mothers working to raise their family’s orphaned children. The first group welcomed us warmly. As we sat together in a hut on a hill overlooking the pineapple and tea fields below, we listened to their story and appreciated the impact of the group on each of their lives. The women explained how they meet together regularly, sharing their burdens, empathizing, and devising creative solutions. The simple solidarity that they find in the group encourages them and motivates them to believe in their futures.

The women expressed their gratitude to Peter for his support of the group. Through CCS these women have received goats and training on how to use natural fertilizers for the benefit of their fields. They have also started a rabbit raising income generating activity (they told me holding them by the ears doesn’t hurt ).

These women still have difficulties that need to be dealt with daily. We met a woman, the secretary of the group, whose husband had passed away leaving her with a number of children. When her husband passed away, his family conspired against her to steal her land. They burned down her house, chased her and her family off the land, and are now working with the courts to make what they did legitimate. Peter told us that once this happens, it is hard to undo, but CCS and the women’s group is working to bring light on the issue, exposing to the community what the family has done to this woman and is educating the community on land rights to prevent this offence from happening in the future.

A view of the rural area outside of Thika. Most of that green is tea fields

May 5, 2009 – Recycled Manure

Today we had the blessing of visiting a man named John in a village outside of Nairobi called Gathitika. John is an accountant by trade, with an interest both in business and preserving the environment. From his hillside home, he can look over the sweeping valley and mountains in the distance and see the deforestation that happens as the years go. As a way to combat this trend, and to invest in a little business, he has built a methane biogas generator, and it is for this reason that we came to meet.

For the last couple months I have been working with my coworker, Dale Christy, on plans for a bio-gas generator to implement in Lira. A bio-gas generator harnesses methane gas that comes from manure and directs it for use in daily tasks, like cooking or lighting at night. Most of the community in Uganda, as well as in Kenya, still use charcoal and wood to do their cooking, resulting in a quickly depleting forest over the whole region. Bio-gas generators are one way of combating this trend. When I heard through Partners Worldwide (an affiliate of CRWRC), that there was a man working on one in Nairobi, using a loan from a Partners Worldwide organization, I was happy to go and check it out.

John is building a generator that should be able to supply his home as well as the surrounding 20 homes with enough gas for cooking each day. In return for the gas he will charge a small fee as part of this income-generating activity. The hope is that his neighbors will see the benefit of paying for this gas over the hours they spend each day looking for and gathering firewood. I was amazed at his initiative and creativity in bringing his interests together in a way that sustains his family, his community, and his environment.

Standing in the resevoir for the generator, still unused