Joanne's Weapon of Choice for the Day: Rubber Bands (if you don't understand this, read yesterday's blog on the winner of the 'American With Good Intentions...but Not So Much' Award).
The 'So Happy We Are Going to Levitate Home From Kenya' Award is being shared by Lois and Shauna. Anyone who has been around CrossWay for more than a few visits knows this church has a heart for those living with disabilities. Lois and Shauna have a call on their hearts from Christ for the disabled and they are having a PROFOUND impact with the Missions of Hope staff in #1 understanding the disabled (something the staff is thirsting to know and were moved to tears today with joy in finally getting expert advice on this topic) and ultimately #2 this will lead to tremendously different actions and treatment for the disabled.
In Kenya, having a disability is akin to having a big SCARLET A stamped on you and your family. Unfortunately, shame is the word most used to describe disability as many here believe that those who have disabilities are cursed or being punished for something they or their family have done. There are horror stories of kids being killed due to their disability or being tied up or chained so they cannot leave a room and embarrass their family. We have heard stories of abuse by criminals who force the physically disabled to beg for money (as some do feel sorry for them) and then stealing that money at the end of the day leaving the disabled destitute, used, and depressed.
There is no 'special education' in Kenyan schools. The only place we have been told about for the disabled is more of a babysitting service than any kind of education service. Lois and Shawna are floating around here with satisfied smiles on their faces because they truly feel that for the first time in Kenya there will be an organization (Missions of Hope) who cares for the disabled and educates them with a focus on 'Functional Life Skills' (something the staff kept repeating over and over almost with glee) versus attempting to educate them to pass the 8th Grade test to get into high school (the goal for every other student).
The key is learning how to evaluate the abilities of those with disabilities and creating goals around those abilities (similar to an IEP in the United States). Those who are mentally fine will still focus on academic aptitude while those who are clearly challenged mentally will focus on functional life skills. Lois and Shawna started the day at the main office evaluating 16 kids the social workers brought in. This allowed them to see what the social workers are working with, show the social workers what to look for and how to create plans for the future for different kinds of disabilities. They then worked with the Community Health workers as well.
This second meeting happened in what they referred to as 'a conference room in the middle of the slum with CHE trainers who were mostly 25 year old men' Something about the vision of this low lit room made of steel sheets in the middle of the slum with 10 black men and 2 white ladies is awesome....why? Because this is the meeting where our ladies moved these men to tears. These men want so much to help these people in their community...they just didn't know how until today. They were moved to tears of thanks and joy! They asked so many questions and left with their first answers in how to move forward and empower disabled members of their community.
This little seed planted today will continue to be watered the rest of this week and I'm sure there will be follow up after our team has left Kenya. Everything I have seen about this organization tells me they will engage this problem with a fervor and in a relatively short amount of time fruit will result.
In other news....
The THREE LITTLE PIGS and the BIG BAD WOLF visited the Area 2 school. Now this was fun with Rachel (narrator), Sunny, Brian, Melissa (the piggies) and Andrew (the big bad wolf) acting out this story in 2 'packed house, standing room only' performances during the day. We tried to upload the video tonight but it is just too big and the internet connection too slow. The long and the short of it....the kids absolutely LOVED this performance. They were just laughing and laughing and cheering throughout the performance. My favorite part was at the end after Andrew went howling off the stage after being burned in the boiling water and the piggies danced with glee....Rachel came back on the stage and read Mathew 7:24-27
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Rachel said "You are building your life on a strong foundation, the rock of Jesus Christ! Who are you building your foundation on? (Kids all yell: "JESUS!") It's a STRONG foundation....what kind of foundation? (Kids YELL "A STRONG foundation!"). Awesome moment. Worth the whole trip for me.
For the rest of the afternoon as Andrew walked around the school he would have kids howling at him, huffing and puffing etc. Hilarious. We are considering taking this to the big time with shows in other areas of the Valley later in the week....and since we will be internationally recognized, perhaps converting this classic into a replacement for 'Cats' called 'Ham' or something like that.
You can probably tell we have no fun on this team. None. It is all serious work here.....Ha!
Fortunately there were no breastfeeding conversions for Christ today...or at least none reported (see yesterday's first paragraph if you don't know what that means). But in all seriousness, 8 people came to Christ today during our home visits in the community. What I love about Missions of Hope is that they have planted churches in the community and partnered with other churches right in the slum. There is no 'notch in the belt' mentality with this organization. They are simply deeply committed to Christ and acting as his feet and hands in this impoverished community today. In other words, there is follow up with these individuals. Their names and phone numbers are taken (unbelievably, a majority of them have cell phones....in Kenya it is cheap as the one doing the calling is the one charged so they can receive calls nearly for free and the monthly fee is nominal). Pastors and volunteers from the church in their area follow up with them. Social workers and CHE trainers from Missions of Hope continue to follow up with them.
Sometimes (as with many Americans) it takes a while for full commitment to come about. But the seeds are constantly being planted, watered, and tended. Planted, watered, and tended. We all have been so very impressed with the Missions of Hope Staff. They are young, talented, and incredibly committed to the mission of this organization.
This includes the teachers who are so open to new ideas and eager to learn. Rachel taught an impromptu music class today and the teacher asked her to write everything down after class so he could continue to implement not only the songs taught but also the methods used. The kids learned a song that involved a 'round' where one group started singing and then another group sang the same song a verse later. They had never done this (including the teachers!) and they loved it. Brian and Sunny engaged the kids over at the Kosovo site with dancing and singing. Melissa and Jim taught classes at the Bondeni site while Nancy and Joanne, the teacher with weapons, :) taught at the primary Area 2 school. Even Andrew got into the act as Rachel roped him in to a pre-K class where he acted as a hat salesman and monkey (Story: Caps for Sale). Goofy, yes, but the kids (and the teacher) loved it.
I know Martha was teaching all day as well.... as were the teachers out at Joska, though I don't have a specific report from them (apologies if I left anyone out!).
Our team asks for prayers for health for the entire team. Mark and Gail had stomach bugs this morning and stayed at the Grace House today. Fortunately they felt fine by the afternoon and ate 'normal' dinners with us this evening. Other team members were not feeling so great at different parts of the day. We have important work yet to do and ask for your prayers.
God Bless,
The 2011 Kenya Team
Thank you, thank you, thank you for these updates. Your impact on the MOHI is incredible! I get the feeling that no one has ever done this for them before. You guys are amazing and God is working miracles through you all. He is proud! You all are changing lives. We pray for you! Stay healthy!
ReplyDeleteJenn