(Wuok tich, piero ariyo g'auchiel due abiriyo ... I think that is Monday, twenty-sixth of seventh month !)
Several people have asked me why on earth I want to get involved with street teenagers in an African shanty town. Two main reasons !
I lived in Kenya for almost 11 years back in the 1970's, and have returned to Kenya and other parts of Africa three times since. Joseph was introduced to us as a boy wanting work; he was brought to us by a missionary who vouched for him, and we took him on to work in the garden. We ultimately paid for him to finish primary school, and then sent him to secondary school, and finally managed to find him a job in Nairobi in an antique auctioneers. He came back to us whilst at school every holiday to earn money, and we took him on many safaris; he saw the sea which was a great wonder to him, and huge herds of game animals in the national parks.
When we left the country his family whom we had got to know organised a massive party for us in their tribal home out in the 'wilds' of Nyanza ... it seemed wild to us, but it was his home ! They hired a traditional musician to play a nyatiti and we were highly honoured guests ! And it was an honour !
Then after about 16 years I decided to revisit with my two younger children; S. who had left Kenya aged six months, and T. who had been born here. Joseph had no hesitation ... he took three weeks holiday from work and became our driver, guide and guardian. He looked after us like family; he told all his friends I was his 'mother' ! His family invited us for meals and before we left, gave another traditional party complete with nyatiti player. We ate and talked and laughed a lot with them. The Luo laugh a lot !
Joseph and the Jaluo of Nyanza had given us so much over the years; they have so little, and we have so much. It was therefore with great sadness I learned from another African friend of Josephs death a couple of years after our visit; tuberculosis, probably HIV related. I tried to find his family in Alego by writing to everyone I thought could help me to trace them, so I could at least pay the childrens school fees, but had no luck whatsoever. They had 'disappeared'. With no father or money earner in the family, his children could even have ended up on the streets of Kisumu.
So that is one of my reasons for wanting to do this project ... to give something back to the Luo people who treated me and my family as their own; the children we will work with may not be Joseph's blood family, but they are his 'brothers'.
My second reason for joining this project is a Christian one (and I won't mind if you skip the rest of this entry !) I'm a Christian lay minister in the Church in Wales, and I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say I'm also motivated by Christian principles to help those in need. 'Who is my neighbour ?' Jesus was asked ... and the answer is very clear to me ... it's those people I live amongst, who I meet when out and about, and those who have needs (for example, I visit a nursing home for the elderly every week)... they are my neighbours ... and when Jesus said 'Love your neighbour as yourself' then in Kenya I can do no other but live among the poor in the shanty town, meet them and try and help with their needs, even if its just for a month ... remembering they have to live in the shanty towns for years if not for life.
No comments:
Post a Comment