On Saturday and Tuesday, Brian and I spent time at the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp near Maai Mahiu in the Rift Valley. We had originally visited the camp and met many wonderful people here during an ISK Habitat for Humanity build back in the fall. During that visit, we talked at great length with a young man named Eric who has taken on a leadership role among the youth of the camp. After the terrible violence that these people experienced in the post-election chaos of 2007, several hundreds of people were relocated to the Rift Valley. Almost 150 people/families are still living in tents made of wood and plastic and it has been very difficult for people to start over. They all lost everything when they fled from violence (mostly around Eldoret) and the area of the Rift Valley where they now live is a dry, dry place. It is difficult to establish gardens because the sun is so hot and direct here (the result of overgrazing and deforestation for decades before the IDP camp was established).
Yet, in the midst of such challenges and hardship, it is amazing that so many people have hope for the future. Many young people (such as Eric, Jeremiah, Nathaniel and Douglas - all pictured in the photos with this post) have stepped up and are organizing sports leagues for the youth; a tree nursery so that perhaps, with time, the area can become green again and the rains will come back; and a community library. This is why we were visiting this past week. The young men want to transform a room in one of the houses (provided by an elderly woman) into a community library. They are already planning to build shelving and they believe that literacy and education are the way forward for the young people in the IDP camp. They have a passion to help their community not only survive, but thrive; this was evident in a big celebration they organized for the 450 children of the 9 Rift Valley IDP camps last Saturday.
While establishing community libraries is a new type of project for Freedom Through Learning, we are so excited to partner with these young men. They have launched their own organization (called the Jiinue Education, Economic and Talent Empowerment Group - Jiinue means "to pull up or pull together" in Swahili) and they have a dream of opening the library on Easter weekend. They are going to provide the shelving, the librarian and the organization of the space; we are going to help provide as many books as we can.
This ties into my thoughts about Christmas in so many ways. While we were chatting with Eric on Tuesday he told us that it only costs 205 Kenyan shillings (about $2.75 US) to buy the school supplies a primary student needs for an entire school term. This ensures the ability of that student to attend school for the term - isn't that staggering? For less than the cost of a Tim Horton's coffee, a child can receive education for a whole term. Of course, given the IDP community's limited resources, it's not always possible for families to come up with this kind of money. I have been thinking about one family, in particular, in this regard: it is a family of five children, the oldest of which (a 16-year-old named Hannah) is trying to stay in school while caring for her four younger siblings. The youngest is 2. Her father did not come with the family to the Rift Valley and her mother has abandoned the family. Now the siblings are on their own in the midst of unbelievable circumstances. Many times they are given food by others, including two Kenyans who work for a charitable foundation in the nearby village.
In the face of these stories, and in the face of the optimism and hope that so many people here have for a better future, it makes me contemplate Western consumerism in the Christmas season with increasing dismay. I think that if more people from Canada, the US, Korea and other privileged nations could meet Eric, Hannah, Douglas, Jeremiah, Nathaniel and so many other people here, priorities and habits might change. My prayers are becoming more fervent for North American churches and believers to think about the distribution (and redistribution) of the world's resources. I find myself hoping this Christmas that more people (including myself) would truly believe in what love can accomplish on our planet.
What a blessing it is to be here and feel part of something bigger. God is so good.
