Today our team spent the morning in the slums of Kwa-Njenga in the East lands of Nairobi. For some in the team, it was their first time in the slum. Although I have been in the slum many times, I still was moved to tears by what I experienced. We visited 8 homes and stayed for about 30 minutes in each home. The team was split into two so that each team visited 4 homes. In the first home we met a lady who was HIV positive, 5 children, had been married three times and all three husbands had passed away within a period of about 10 years. Second home- a family of 10 children living in a wee place about 10 feet by 10 feet. No regular income, not sure when the next meal will come from. Their teenage children have gone to the streets due to desperation. Last home, we find a woman bedridden due to an illness that has not been properly diagonised. She cannot afford to go for tests. It may be an acute liver or kidney problem or a tumor. She can hardly move. We prayed for healing and hope to follow up her progress. AND YET..... in the midst of this pain, injustice and hopelessness, we felt that God was there in every home we visited. There was a joy and peace behold understanding! Kids entertained us with songs, dance and poems and yet many may not have had breakfast that morning and they were not expecting to have lunch.
After a 3 hour experience that felt like a full day we sat in a coffee shop to de brief. Many in the team said they felt the people in the slums have a lot of hope and that keeps them going in the midst of heart wrenching challenges. But I still long to see justice flow down like a stream. Poverty is multi faceted and requires a holistic multi faceted solution. There are no quick fixes and yet one person like Rachel or Kim at Utu Wema project that we visited a making a huge difference in the lives of about 180 children and their families. And yet they have very limited resources. I think one way we can make a difference is to walk alongside people like Kim and Rachel ( locals in the slum) as they know how to effectively engage poverty in the slum in a sustainable way. I ask .. how long O Lord? But surely God has not left himself without a witness
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