Hi Abigail and the Mission Team at Meadows Presbyterian Church. 

 

I send Christian greetings from your friends at Tumaini Children's Home and Huruma Children's Home and all the folks at Riamukurwe Parish.  It is a glorious day here today and I even caught a glimplse of Mt. Kenya this morning before her peaks ducked behind some light clouds.  They say here in Nyeri, when Mt. Kenya shows her face to you at the beginning of the day, you know the day will go well. 

 

And here I am in the new "wireless hotspot" in the library at Tumaini sending you an email because my blackberry is not picking up a signal...a reliable internet back-up here in Nyeri...a real miracle.

 

Things in Kenya have calmed down almost completely, and things here in Nyeri have been, and continue to be, quite normal in terms of the day-to-day activities. 

 

What has changed is the added burden that Tumaini and Huruma have taken on with respect to displaced children in the area.  Huruma has take in about 20 children, most of whom are in primary school, that were displaced from a children's home near Eldoret during the time of the heated violence.  The home was burned and the children were transported by the Red Cross to the IDP camp in Nyeri which is on the ball field next to Huruma.  Riamukurwe Parish and Tumaini have taken responsibility for getting these children out of the camp and into more stable housing and into Riamukurwe Parish Schools. 

 

Tumaini Children's Home has take in 7 new children, some primary and some secondary school children.  Some of the children were orphaned due to the violence as parents were killed and several simply do not know what the situation is for their parent (s).

 

There are a large number (probably  30 to 50) children who remain in the IDP camps with their parents or grandparents or who have re-located to stay with relatives, that are also being enrolled in the Riamukurwe Parish Schools.  Tumaini project is doing all it can to assist with school expenses, uniforms, and lunches for the displaced children.   

 

The women in the sewing and tailoring project have put aside thier craft projects and are busy making uniforms for the newcomers.  The primary school is short of books and supplies and the classrooms are bursting at the seams but the teachers remain upbeat and enthusiastic, in spite of the numbers in their classrooms.  

 

This huge burden is graciously accepted by the folks here with a firm and unwavering belief that God will provide the needed resources to accomplish the task.  Many of the members of the parish are donating maze and bannas and beans to help  shoulder the weight of this responsibility.  While food prices have gone up and there are some shortages of produce and meats, no one is going hungry at Tumaini or Huruma.  And many of the children who have been so traumatized by what they saw and experienced in Western Kenya are responding in such positive ways to the security of having enough to eat, their own bed and the routine of school.  When I met the "new" children at the primary school, I was greeted with big smiles and a chorus of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." 

 

The most violent areas, Kisumu, Nakuru and, even now, Eldoret have gone back to regular business.  Shops are open, the roads are safe and passable (as they ever were) and most of the schools in these areas are now, also, open.  While the circumstances could change at anytime as the talks continue in Nairobi, most Kenyans that I talk with from several different ethnic groups believe  that the same level of violence will not return. 

 

Unless there is a dramatic change in the circumstances here, you should certainly continue making your plans.  And while some may change their minds about coming, and that happens with any trip,  I hope you won't let the political situation dissuade you from seeing the amazing way that God is working in and through Riamukurwe Parish, the Tumaini programs and the US supporters of these programs. 

 

I want to also make a special plea for any financial assistance any of you might be able to provide.  The extra burden of school fees and uniforms and food and shelter, and so on, is tremendous, and an already tight budget is being taxed even more.  But, for the folks here there simply is no other alternative but to respond to God's call and provide what they can for the children in such desperate circumstances.  Please pray about  this and listen for how God might be calling you to help.  Any assistaance you might be able to give will be greatly appreciated and should go through TOF, earmarked for the Nyeri Street children's Project.

 

I will be returning to US this week-end, so will be home next week if anyone wants to give me a call for a first hand account of the situation.

 

Thanks for all yor prayers!  And continue to pray for out brothers and sisters here.

God bless,

Eve