The daily newsletter I receive from Fons, has this week had two or three articles about the work being done by the niece of Hans Burgman... Jacinta van Luijk ! She is a Mill Hill Missionary lay associate very active in the western Kenya town of Kitale. She writes:-
It is cold in Kitale, even with triple sweaters and hiking boots with socks you shiver, especially when sitting quietly on a chair writing.
But the annual financial audit, currently underway, is keeping us sweating. Fortunately, it is going well, and so far they think our books look neat. We have had a very energetic year, in which we have done a lot of work with our staff and a well-motivated team of 9 addiction coaches and another 11 community trainers. This was possible thanks to the donor funds that we were able to receive, just in time. It is very nice that the implementation of all the plans went well, because there was a lot that had to be started up – including a lot of new things.
There were the trainings for community volunteers in HIV/AIDS and the one for the ‘unreached youth’, including fourteen deaf volunteers . We have also started two new groups for addicts, including one for exclusively women / girls , while the existing groups were also combined into one ‘completion group’ merged .
There were training days for the new addiction coaches and community trainers, and further capacity building of professional counselors , and others . For example, Shakila has now almost completed her Bachelors in program management.
We have also started SILC (Savings and Internal Lending Communities) and making reusable sanitary towels . The latter is a silent need here, which is not only risky behaviour for girls and women (sex for sanitary towels ) but also very polluting .
Our street theatre has been revived and we try to include environmental issues. With additional exchange gain funds we now keep in addition, intensively attended three-day psycho-education sessions on addiction, trauma and violence, and self – and social conscience and action, etc.
The enthusiasm of the participants and the trainers and the good results give a lot of encouragement and energy: Our work meets clearly an important need .
In terms of organizational structure we have a new professional cashier and we were able to make all sorts of new network contacts and have found new friends.
As is undoubtedly well-known this past year the country has experienced ongoing unrest culminating in major protests in which young (er) people active on social media unexpectedly took the lead initiating a creative and non-violent approach. They called themselves emphatically non-political , non-ethnic but connected by their emphasis on action rather than (false) promises, and a firm kick in the ass of all corrupt and unjust practices. For a moment the established order was left speechless wringing their hands , especially when masses of participants suddenly appeared from all corners and in many counties blocking roads to make their grievances known nonviolently.
But, as we also see in our work , there are many other young people – such as those (a third of our youthful Matisi slum residents) who, according to our research from last year, need an ‘eye-opener’ (drink or hash ) every morning to ‘wake up’, and cast an often rather blurred look into the world around. And the young people, including children, who are members of criminal gangs with very bad practices, soon saw their chance to change the character of the demonstrations. So far there have been at least fifty casualties, an unknown number of wounded, and also some nineteen disappearances. Life currently is difficult for many, going hungry, suffering painful , feeling hopeless and confused with many broken lives and families and families. With 75% of the more than 50 million Kenyans under the age of 30, the current and somewhat quieter phase may be temporary.
Jacinta van Luijk MHM
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