God calls each one of us to be disciples of Jesus Christ. We as Christians have a responsibility to pick up our Cross and carry it for the Lord. At times this is not easy however loving God is a key to happiness here on this earth and in the world to come. God calls us to serve and we must listen to what He has to say to us. We must listen with our eyes, taking in things and absorbing them. We must be physically aware of what is going on, not only in our surroundings, but throughout the world. We are part of a world wide body of Christ. Each part is particularly unique and special, all of them being important. So often do we as human beings get caught up in the "rat race" of our everyday lives, only to forget about what really matters and those who we should really focus our attention on.
Presently, I am in Kenya, Africa. My first words are that these people have been forgotten. There are millions of people in Kenya who live in slums and are completely marganalized. A tremendous barrier has been placed between many Africans and the rest of the world, this being HIV. The barrier is a stigma which remains because people do not know the truths and/or care to be friends with those who are inflicted. It saddens me that a disease keeps so many people from being loved. As Christians we have the responsiblility to spread the love of our Lord Jesus Christ to all of God's people. Love has no boundaries and we must love every person with the same affection and devotion. Kenya is a nation completely stricken with poverty and the corrupt government is not doing much at all to help its struggling and suffering people. For the last few weeks I have worked with social workers in 5 different slum areas. I have visited schools to talk with students about education in the U.S., my studies at Le Moyne College, politics, and social problems. I have also spent time at Nyumbani a home for 100 HIV positive children whose parents have died due to AIDS or have abandoned their kids. At Nyumbani I played and spent time with the kids. The children were ecstatic to have a "big brother" to play with. They have so much love and so much hope, as Nyumbani has certainly changed their lives. These children are receiving treatment for HIV and are now able to live a fairly normal life. Many of these children just need love and someone to spend time with them. I had so much fun loving on them and seeing them smile was very moving. I also spent 4 days and 4 nights at Ketui, a village associated with Nyumbani. The hopes for the future is to make the Nyumbani Village in Ketui a self sustaining village where grandparents care for their grandchildren, as a result of HIV killing the parents of the kids. In Ketui I lived among the people and worked along side them. I cleared fields, got material ready for brick building, built Jico's (a mixture of clay and dirt shaped into a cooking station), watered trees, worked in the school, and played with the children.
In the last two weeks I have also visited and spoken to people in five different slum locations including Kariobangi, Dandura, Karangwari, Kangami, and Kibera the largest slum in Subsaharan Africa. There are hundreds of thousands of people in each of the slums alone, and the conditions are the worst I have ever seen in my life. The smell is unbarable. There is no sanitation, no sewage, and no running water. Garbage heaps line the streets and fill the allies. The houses are made of flimsy boards and scrap metal for the roofs. The shanti shacks are built right next to one another and have huge locks on the doors because of crime. The slums are extremely dangerous, especially at night as there are many gangs, drug dealers, drunks, and rapists. Murder occurs often and the bodies of the dead are merely dumped in the drainage. People defecate and urinate amongst there homes and in the streets because there are no bath rooms. The places that do have bathrooms charge the people, and there is no way they can spend money on this when a meal is not guaranteed. The children play in the dirt and garabage. These people cannot continue to live this way. Something must be done. Please pray for our Kenyan brothers and sisters and spread the word about these conditions.
However amongst all this misery and suffering there is hope. The people are hopeful as many greeted us with smiles in the streets. The children especially have joyful spirits and are smiling even though there life is inhumane. Programs such as Lea Toto which provides food aid and medication free of charge to HIV positive Children Kenya and Nyumbani which I mentioned above are the reasons why Kenyans still fight for their lives. No one can ever be forgotten, how horrible to allow fellow humans to suffer and die. We as Christians must do something and help to creat a brighter future for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Financial support, prayers, and service must be completed. There are many bystanders, many people who have forgotten, and many people who play the ignorance card. NO! We must be proactive and do something about it. There is no way we can solve the problems that plague Kenya over night. However, over time it is my hope to be able to establish a better future for these people through a collective effort. Please listen to the Lord and answer the cry of thse people. If we love our neighbors as we love ourselves we will do all we can to make sure that there are steps taken to improve the lives of those in poverty and in need. Show others Jesus Christ, as our Lord says "whatever you do for the least of my people, that you do onto me."
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