 |
Updates
From the Field: Kenya # 44: August 13, 2009 |
 |
| Dear Friends and Family, Look around. Do you have a light on right now? Is your computer plugged in? I am now learning what it is like to go without electricity. The electricity in Kenya is hydro powered. Due to the drought in the country, the electricity is being rationed. For the next couple of months, we will have no power at the office on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The power is turned off where we live on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Fortunately, our compound has a generator, so we can still function at home. We do not have a generator at work, so we are trying to accomplish things with no computers, no printers, no scanners, no lights, no photocopiers and no phones. Today is a scheduled day for us to have power, but it was turned off at 8:30 this morning anyway. I am one of the lucky people with a laptop, so I have a few hours of battery to get some things typed, like this letter. A certain day when I was a young girl sticks in my memory. Our teacher put a blind fold on each of us and asked us to manoeuvre around the classroom. We were to imagine what it would be like to be blind. I can only guess that this experience will help me to empathize more with those I come in contact with around Kenya. However, I can still turn the light on when I get home. I can still open my refrigerator for a cold drink and turn on my TV for some entertainment. My experience at work is nothing compared to the life led by the people I minister to. I recently brought some visitors to the slums of Kibera. Many families have no electricity in their small metal shacks. Those that have the luxury of a bare lightbulb hanging from the ceiling have to pay more in rent for that privilege. We visited one elderly woman who was raising her 4 grandchildren. Two were orphaned and two were abandoned by their parents. She had a small metal jiko (like a mini grill) that held charcoal. She made the charcoal using left over charcoal bits and paper and mud. The charcoal heated her small residence. The Kenyans are very cold this time of year. She was very appreciative of that warmth and the chance to sell some of this charcoal she makes. Last month, I visited more schools in rural parts of Kenya. This time, I went to 7 schools in Embu. Most of the schools have no electricity in the classrooms. They might have some in the head teachers’ office and administration building (when there is an administration building). These teachers do not have overhead projectors, computers,  slides
or even lights. They teach with chalkboards, papers and
pencils.
I went into the special unit of one school (for children with mental
disabilities) and the children were doing math using chalk on the
cement floor. The children of this unit have to live at the school. It is too difficult for them to walk every day. They live in an old classroom with no water or electricity. They cook in a small metal enclosure outside and bathe in a metal enclosure next to the “kitchen”. Thank God we are working with a group on a project to improve their living situation. So, I woke up this morning and thanked God for all I have. I prayed, “Thank you God that I am waking up in a warm bed. Thank you that I have food in my kitchen to eat. Thank you that I will leave a house that I live in, go to my car and drive to my job.” It hit me once again how many blessings I have, even without electricity. The
verse of the week is:
"Jesus talked to the people again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will never live in darkness, but will have the light that gives life.'" -John 8:12 All my love, Armida Armida
LaMarr |
||