Dearest Friends and Family,

Henry David Thoreau said, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation". I see that desperation in the eyes of many Kenyans I meet. It led to many deaths recently.

As I was walking across our compound last week, one of the groundsmen stopped me to tell me that the Nakumatt downtown was on fire. Nakumatt is our big grocery chain, and I was surprised but not particularly worried. As it turns out, I should have been. It took more than two days to put out the fire, and now they are recovering bodies. At least 25 have been found with 30 more people missing. Though you cannot always believe the stories reported, they say that some of the deaths occurred because the Nakumatt guards locked the doors when the fire broke out,so people couldn't leave without paying. In addition, some of the victims were people who found a way to get in so they could loot items after the fire began.

On Saturday night, a petrol truck turned over near the town of Nakuru. People started to swarm the area to get containers of gas from the truck. Some of the people didn't even have cars. They just thought they could
sell it somehow. The military police on the scene started charging people to take the gas as a way to line their own pockets. One individual thought this was unfair and decided to light a cigarette to burn the truck. Of course, this caused a huge explosion, and over 110 people lost their lives. Many of those people were women and children.

It would be easy to judge those killed as being greedy, corrupt or at the least, undiscerning. However, I have learned that desperation pushes people to extremes. Many Kenyans get paid $1-$3 a day. If a family could
make a few hundred shillings by selling gas that would be spilled on the highway, why wouldn't they? If someone sees a way of getting free food, who could blame him?

Those of us in first world countries don't really know what it is like to fight for survival. However, we all make mistakes in our desperation. We may stay in a relationship we shouldn't be in, because we are desperate to not be alone. We may ridicule and abuse our bodies, because we are desperate to look a certain way. We may change and compromise who we are, because we are desperate to be accepted and appreciated.

It is easy to say that God provides for all our needs, but that is a pat answer that doesn't always help. I DO believe that God provides, but people still suffer and are still desperate. Life is hard that way. I guess we all have to make the choice to look toward God in our desperation. I think God uses those weak times to bring us closer to Him.

"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers , they will not overflow you. . . For I am the Lord your God . . . . Do not fear, for I am with you" - Isaiah 43:1, 2a, 3a, 5a

Love,
Armida

Armida LaMarr
Captain
Social/Education Secretary
Kenya East Territory