Northeastern

Children at the Ifo refugee camp at the Gambala Church.

Kyle and Tristan with the lab workers and director of the Garissa TB clinic.

Tristan and Daddy on the road in Northeastern Province

Tristan and I have just returned from a trip to Garissa and Dadaab, where we were following up on the ministry projects we had met with at a few weeks ago. We also had our friend, Kyle Davis, join us on the journey. Kyle directs the work of Evangelism Explosion in East Africa. It was fun to have him along and to be able to share with him our work first hand. Tristan and I had fun sleeping out together and eating lots of goat with our Somali friends. I think Tristan ate more goat than any of us -- he's a real carnivor :) !

In Prayer:

Please pray for the spirits of the Raya camel herdsmen. A mysterious illness has taken the life of another female. We saw the dead camel which looked well fed and strong. The herdsman have another female that is also sick. We helped with getting a veterinarian out to the herd (Which has fallen nearly to half its original size from disease). We pray that the herd will bounce back and that God will protect them from illness.

Faces of Dadaab

A daughter of a Tushirikiane Member at the Dadaab Primary School

In Kenya, much of the work that we do among the Somali people is in partnership with local Somali community groups and organizations. In Dadaab, the largest community based organization that we work with is called Tushirikiane Development Organization. Tushirikiane is Somali for "united or cooperation" -- a spirit that is much needed among the displaced Somali community. It is a small group of concerned Somali men in the village of Dadaab consisting of 51 registered members. They describe their mission as "commited to identify and assist the most vulnerable households in Dadaab in collaboration with Canadian Baptists in relief and development. The future is our responsibility." Over the past six years they have assisted their community in drought relief and food distribution, local water crisises, a Redcross livestock restocking project, an HIV/AIDS abstainers project (with CARE International), and the Dadaab Primary School. Presently, they are organizing a youth project for teens in their community.

We are so thankful for such good friendship and partnerships in our ministry.

Dadaab Primary School

Somali Children at the Dadaab Primary School

Among the ministries that we share in is a wonderful little school in Dadaab, Northeastern province. The primary school presently serves about 40 children from the age of 4 to 9 years. The two teachers hold class from 8 am to 1 pm each week from Monday to Friday in two small buildings on our CBM compound in Dadaab. While some parents can afford a minimal fee of 500 Kenyan Shillings per month (approximately nine Canadian dollars), many of the students are unable (Presently the school cares for 15 vulnerable families and orphans).

We are blessed to be able to help this school and these struggling families on behalf of Canadian Baptists and our supporters. This September, we will be building a playground for these children at the school with a mission team coming from First Baptist Church, Charlottetown. For these children, this will be their first encounter with swings, monkey bars and a teeter tooter. The local community leaders are thrilled!

Back from Dadaab

Hussein a teacher in the Dadaab Primary School program

On Saturday afternoon, I returned from a trip to Northeastern province where I was connecting with a number of our ministry projects. It was nice to experience some cooler temperatures in Dadaab, especially at night. It was a very dusty journey, but a very good one!

In Garissa, the TB clinic continues to care for 19 in patients and 36 out-patients. Our CBM feeding program serves a hot breakfast seven days a week, consisting of: hot cereal, camel's milk, boiled eggs, and bananas. This is an important part of the treatment of people recovering from TB in this impoverished community.

The camel cooperative is doing well. One of the female camels are ill, but the herdsman are assured that she will recover. The cooperative is presently building a home for a single mother in the community.

In Dadaab, the Primary School was preparing for "African Child day". Every June 16th, Africans take a day to remember 1000 children who died in South Africa decades ago. It was great to spend a day with the students and teachers and to learn about the many challenges they are facing.

Prayer Requests:

Pray for the Dadaab Primary School as it struggles with an influx of new families in the community.

Please pray for the Somali community of Sosoma, which was burned to the ground this last month after clashes with a neighbouring tribe. The families have scattered and are seeking safe places to resettle.

We praise the Lord for the new bore hole being drilled this week for the Storetho community. They have been struggling without water since this past falls floods destroyed their well.

Thank you for praying with us!

Hello from Ava!

No new progress to report. We are still collecting the paper work for fostering. While we were picking Tristan up from camp this past weekend, we drove through the area where she was found. It is a very cold area (about 2000 feet higher in elevation than Nairobi). It was so cold that Tristan's camp actually sells winter hats to the campers.

Thanks to everyone who has been emailing us with questions and prayers. We appreciate all of your support.

Storms brewing

This morning I met some incredible traffic jams in Eastleigh. I thought I'd be clever and take a short cut only to discover that my secondary route had become a lake. I wish I had brought a camera with me to show you just how much water had built up on Eastleigh's second avenue -- in the middle of the road (that I did not attempt to drive on) was a large blue bus sunk to its windshield in mud red water. All around the bus were men in chest deep water trying to push it out of the depths. Meanwhile, boys struggled together to pull steel carts of everything from fruit to live chickens through the swamp.

This has been a very tumultuous June. The Spring rains have not left Nairobi. In fact, we have had some powerful thunder storms and flooding in the last week. There has also been a lot of conflict in the Mathare Valley slum that neighbour's Eastliegh. The Mungiki sect, a gang that is present in many impoverished areas has been very active. We are told that this is to be expected in an election year (Kenyans go to the polls for a federal election this December).

Please be praying for the safety of our fellow teachers and students in Eastleigh. We are so thankful for your prayers!

Camp Brackenhurst

Tristan and his counselor, Nate.

Tristan had a great time at Camp Brackenhurst this past week where he, and a number of his Rosslyn classmates, took part in the first week of summer camp at this beautiful southern baptist camp/retreat centre in the hills of Limuru. When we picked him up on Saturday morning he was begging us to sign him up for another week -- he is a true camper! Among the week's many adventures, Tristan camped out on a hilltop and won the campwide talent show with his cabin's rap song. According to Tristan, they won because they had the "bling!".

Emma is looking forward to being old enough to attend next summer.

Odka

This Gabra girl is traveling with her family literally in search of greener pastures. Kenya is home to several Cushitic tribes including the Borana, Gabra, Oromo, and Somali people. Like the nomadic Somali herds people, the Gabra people will collapse their homes and load everything they own on a few older female camels (which they keep as beasts of burden), and follow after the rains.

As you can imagine, Somalis do not have any way to refridgerate food. When an animal is slaughtered, it must be consumed immediately by the family/community. Like many nomatic cultures though, Somalis have found ways of preseving food. One of the most pleasant is Odka. When we share meals with our Somali friends, beans, rice and thin goat stew are the most common menu, but we are always in for a treat when odka is served. In our experience, odka has been made of camel meat and is served in a thick gravy with rice. Sharing from a common plate, we gather the food together in our right hands, form it into a small ball and eat it. For another perspective, here is a short essay from one of Somali students. She prefers to go by her nickname, "Melda".

Odka by Melda

Odka is commonly used in Somalia, and in particular Central Somalia. It is also made for couples on their honeymoon. Usually when a person travels from one city to another they will carry odka as a gift.

It is made of meat which is cut into small pieces mixed with oil. The oil that is used is not ordinary oil that we use for cooking. It is oil which is generated from cow’s milk. First, the meat is cut into thin long strips and then hung outdoors to dry. This is a traditional method of preserving meat. When the meat is dried, it is cut into small pieces and then it is cooked with oil. After that, we put oil made from cow’s milk on the odka so that it will not spoil.
Odka has a very good smell and it is tasty. It is always used for breakfast, but sometimes it is used for dinner by couples on their honeymoon. A few Northern provinces eat odka at lunch but this is rare.

Baby Steps

About a month ago we were introduced to a beautiful little girl named Ava. In February, she had been abandoned in a field near the village of Limuru. The police officer who found her, in the middle of the night, brought her to a nearby orphanage. The orphanage estimated her age at that time to be two months old. Soon after this, two women began to foster her on the weekends. The two women are Tristan's 2nd grade homeroom teacher and his Phys. Ed teacher. They had been praying for a family for Ava and felt that God was leading them to us.

On several occasions we visited Ava with Tristan and Emma and began to pray for direction. We began to investigate the fostering and adoption process. We met with other Canadian families who have adopted and those who are in the process of adopting. We talked with our families and we carefully discussed our hopes with CBM seeking their wisdom. After much prayer and thought, we have begun the application to foster Ava. We know that this is a long and uncertain road. If approved, we could begin to foster Ava and after three months we would begin the adoption process. This could take up to two years.

We would deeply appreciate your prayers. Please pray especially for Ava: she has had a rough start in life and has passed through many hands. Pray for her health as she has struggled with some illness (all the babies at the orphanage deal with chronic cough and cold). Pray for the orphanage as they deal with the Kenyan courts to secure a birth certificate so that Ava would be adoptable (we have been told that birth certificates are very hard to get in Kenya).

We are so thankful that God has always been there with Ava and that she is part of His story: "God saw her before she was born. Every day of her life was recorded in His book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thought about her, O God. They cannot be numbered!" (Psalm 139)

Halwa

If you asked ten Somalis about the ingredients of halwa you would get at least twelve answers. This sweet part Somali culture is a treasured by most and the secret ingredients to each recipe is well guarded. When we first asked our students about halwa, it was around our small office table as they were preparing it for a class certificate party in January. We were puzzled by the peculiar taste of this sticky treat: "What's in it?" There was a commotion as the students argued over the ingredients -- "sugar!" "butter!" "NO not butter, oil!" "flour and nuts" "garlic..." The list went on.

To shed some light on the subject, we are happy to share a short essay by one of our students.

Halwa by Aasha Ferah

Today I like to talk about Halwa and what it is made and contained.

The Halwa is something cooked. First, water is boiled and then you add or we add sugar, saffron, cardamon oil and butter. After that, or the last thing, we add peanuts. So Halwa contains that or something else.

Halwa is used at special ceremonies like a wedding, parties, and at a birth. We eat it a lot when we are in honeymoon. When we mostly eat it we use a fork, plate and knife. I eat it three days in every week and it is my favorite.

Students in Erica's Beginner English Class

Camel's Milk

The camel is central to Somali life and culture. One of the ministries that we have the joy of participating is a camel cooperative project in Raya, a small village and area of bush along the Tana River of Kenya's Northeast province. The cooperative was begun by Ron and Joan Ward with the help of several baptist churches in Ontario, Canada. (We have quite a few photos of the camels of Raya on our short Kennys in Kenya video).

The camel makes many contributions to Somali culture but the one of first importance is their milk. A Somali herdsman living in the bush will drink over eight litres of camel's milk a day (it is what they practically survive on). Presently, the cooperative is supplying camel's milk to a feeding project we are also helping with in Garissa through the local TB hospital.

To help you gain a little more perspective on the Somali love of camel's milk, We are proud to share a short essay from one of our students, Subeer Omar Hindi.

Camel Milk by Subeer Omar Hindi

Camel milk is one of the most popular parts of culture in our country, Somalia. But did you know that we also use camel milk as a medicine.

We use camel milk as medicine for example, when someone has Malaria. We give some camel milk also when someone's stomach needs to be soft. We drink camel milk to get better.

The best time to use camel milk is when it is fresh. I mean when you just get the milk from the camel a short time ago.