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| 3/26/2008 2:38:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | Restoring hope in KENYA
Sitting atop a highland in Western Kenya, Jan Nieland interviews one of the children who is sponsored by Outfitters for Adventure. They share pictures with one another, talk about the weather, their favorite food or maybe even their favorite subject in school-anything the sponsor and the orphan may want to share with their new American friend.
But while the interviews are important to ensure the donated money is being spent appropriately, Nieland of rural Starbuck, can't help but wonder how many more people need help in a country ravaged by a post election uprising.
As part of the Reach Out to the Children of Kenya (ROCK) program, a group of seven people from Minnesota and North Dakota went on a nearly two week expedition from Feb. 28- March 11, to visit the orphans the organization sponsors. On the tails of an agreement signed by both the winning and losing parties following the December 27 election, the trip also gave the ROCK group a chance to comfort those who have lost a loved one or lost everything in the political uprising.
"Once they heard an agreement was signed they thought 'Oh I will just go home,'" said Nieland. "But when they got home, some of them found out their home was burned down. They lost everything."
Not only were some of the more than 600,000 refugees faced with the grim reality of no longer having a place to call home, but when some of the refugees returned home they were also forced to cope with the loss of a loved one or family member as a result of the political uprising.
With no place to go, the homeless refugees and children returned to the same churches and refugee camps they called home during the uprising to find anything from a safe place to sleep, a drink of water, or bite to eat. In one Cathedral the ROCK group visited, some 18,000 refugees passed through one church during the two-month struggle. As a result of the visit and firsthand account of the orphans needs, the organization decided to expand its reach and sponsor 20 new children who have been adversely affected by the political uprising. The new sponsorships will be in addition to the 61 kids who are already being helped by ROCK and some 30 kids who are currently on a waiting list.
Though the sponsorship for a Kenyan child is just $17 a month, the money is more than enough to help a family not only survive, but live in financial stability.
"It doesn't seem like a lot here, but for some of them that doubles their income," said Nieland.
The money which is donated, either through individual sponsorships or general donations, goes towards everything from meals to clothes or bicycles.
Even the volunteers got involved with the donation process while in Kenya. After learning a widow of a polygamist was being ostracized by her former husbands family, the group of seven volunteers pooled their money together, and managed to come up with approximately $130 to give to the widow to help finish the 3/4 completed roof of her home.
The money wasn't much, but after leaving town on a mission trip for most of the day, the group returned to Kisii only to hear the roof was not only completed, but the money covered the cost of new clothes and mattresses for the entire family.
"She was just elated," said Nieland of the widow. "I was just impressed with how quickly that got done."
But this was just one story of many Nieland told of her trip to Kenya. There was the five-hour long community church service in which some Kenyans walked upwards of five hours to attend. There was a meal at every church and stop the group visited (Nieland said on some occasions it became hard to eat all of the food in front of them).
But perhaps one of the most touching parts of the trip was overwhelming support from not only the orphans and their families, but from the governmental agencies. In one town in particular, Nieland said the chief of police went out of his way to ensure the groups safety at all times, and is now sponsoring an orphan of his own.
"It was so encouraging to have the local government say we appreciate what you do and the help you are providing," said Nieland.
Though remnants of a political uprising were still visual, Nieland said she was never afraid for her own safety, despite the van the group was riding in breaking down just hours after arriving in Nairobi.
Just three hours into a 16 hour van ride, the van broke down and the group was left standing by the side of the road. Fortunately another large van pulled up and the group was able to hitch a ride in the already half full van, all 23 of them to a neighboring town. The van would break down one more time before arriving to Kisii when the radiator overheated.
While Nieland may not have been scared about what lay outside of the van windows, the drivers of the vehicle may not have been so laid back.
"I never felt any fear, but once we crossed the border and got into Kisii they were all relaxed," said Nieland. "I'm sure there was danger but I never felt that myself."
In a part of the country with no running water (water was brought into the town one bucket at a time) or electricity, Nieland said contrary to beliefs Kisii wasn't overly warm with the temperatures ranging from 65-70 degrees at night and 80-85 degrees during the day. While they walked through the city in their group, Nieland said they were welcomed into the communities with open arms, especially at all of the gift shops which line Kisii.
"They were so excited to have customers come in," she said. "With all of the stuff that has been going on in the last two months there hasn't been too many customers coming in and buying their stuff."
Purchasing an elephant soap stone at one ship in particular, Nieland may have brought home more than a gift to show her friends and family. Signifying memory, strength, ancient wisdom, and power in the African culture, the elephant represents everything ROCK hopes to accomplish. Giving strength, power, and most importantly hope, one Kenvyan orphan at a time.
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