A Story to be heard

Well, this post is going to be a long one, but I have some people I want you to meet. I met a family while I was in the field on Wednesday, and they have a life that needs to be heard.
Meet Sharon Awino. She is eleven years old, born on July 20, 1997. She is in class 5, and her guardian is her maternal grandmother Fransisca Awino. Sharon is a full orphan sponsored by Life for Children ((LCW)). She is the only surviving child of her mother Juliet Achieng Akuro, who had Sharon out of wedlock. The father is unknown and no where to be found. Before LCW, Sharon could not be provided for adequately, and since she has come into the program, things have improved. But there are still struggles to be faced daily. However for now, Sharon is in school, doing well, has a place to sleep, something to eat, and is working towards a better future. She lives with Fransisca, her guardian, in the Nyalenda slums, where they rent a one room house made of a mud-like substance and a tin roof.
While we were in the field for a visit, we were invited into Fransisca’s home, and she told me her story. As we entered the house, it was a bit dark because there is no electricity, just the sunlight from the small window and the open doorway. There is a sheet hanging in the middle of the room, separating the beds and other living things from the sitting area or living room. Every morning and evening they must rearrange this living space to have enough room to sleep. It is probably comparable to the size of a master bedroom in an average US house )) Fransisca keeps the house in nice order, but with five people living there, it is a very small place. Neighboring the house are other houses like Fransisca’s home. As mentioned before, the area is one of the town slums, so the houses are practically one on top of the other. There is no place to dispose of trash, ao garbage piles and dumps form sporadically around the neighborhood. Additionally, there is no running water, but Fransisca showed us their water supply. It apparently is a constant source, but it is no bigger than a creek with a little pool gathered at the end. Garbage has also found its way here, and the water is a murky color. As we where by this stream, a few children had brought buckets to bring water back to their homes. This spot is very important to the estate.
But back to the story. Fransisca’s husband died 18 years ago. She has 12 children- 11 girls and 1 boy. Seven of her children are now dead, one of which was her only son. At first when her husband died she was remarried to a brother of the husband ((this is African tradition)). She stayed in that rural village for 5 years. I’m not sure if her second husband died or not, but eventually she found herself unwelcomed in that village, so she moved into the city of Kisumu. She had no where else to go because she was not welcomed in her home village because she had been married off, and she was no longer welcomed in her husband’s village because her son had died ((she had no other male to carry on the family)). When she first arrived in the city, she lived with her aunt. Eventually though, they fell under bad terms, and she needed to find a place of her own. By now she has been finding work in hotels/restaurants, washing clothes, selling water, and other menial jobs. Nothing steady but she worked/works hard and has been able to rent the place where she now lives. Ideally, one day she will be able to save enough money to buy a place with a little bit of land, but that is only a hope for a very distant future ((realistically probably will never be realized)). As we were talking, a little grandchild she has also adopted came home from school for lunch. The child is not sponsored by LCW, but Fransisca has taken him in. A few minutes later, her youngest daughter came for lunch as well. Her name is Judith Atieno, and she is 13 years old. I believe they have recently discovered she is pregnant ((another story all together; most likely taken advantage of trying to get food)), which will add another set of challenges in the near future. For lunch they were having bread, and both children seemed in very good spirits, while they ate, smiled, and talked.
After Fransisca shared her story, she and Robert started talking more about the challenges Kenya faces, the perpetuating cycles, the possible solutions, and the hope that is here. Robert told me how the poverty, the spread of HIV/AIDS, the widespread diseases, and the other hardships are due in part to the deep rooted African traditions. HIV/AIDS is spreading so quickly because a husband can and does take so many wives. When one wife has it or contracts it, she infects her husband, who in turn infects his other wives. Also, with the practice of a brother or close relative of a dead husband taking on the widowed wife, the same thing happens. Either the widow has AIDS and passes it along to the replacement husband or gives it to his other wives or vice versa. Either way eventually, they all start dying, leaving the children behind as orphans, to grow up in the same cycles. Especially the girls, it is a high probability because they are often taken advantage of at a small price so they can get food, thus eventually contracted AIDS/HIV. Also it is very common that they would be taken as a younger wife and end up with AIDS anyways. Furthermore, the tradition of taking many wives contributes highly to poverty because the more wives you take, the more children you have. And the men have these children without the means to be able to care for them. Starvation and hunger rise, while availability to education decreases. Then more children find themselves on the street; cycles, cycles, cycles.
So where is the hope? What can be done? There are two strategies LCW works with- intervention and prevention. The tangible things LCW has done for Sharon and her guardian- helping to provide food, uniforms, books, and paying school fees- is the intervention aspect of LCW. Assessing the need, and helping one orphan at a time. The prevention comes, Robert explains, is etching away at those long standing traditions with the message of the gospel. LCW tries to be an instrument in which the news of the kingdom of God is spread, where Christ is found as Lord and Savior, and people witness just that. Salvation from the cycles, from the suffering, and the traditions that keep them trapped. Robert says he wants to lead people to the feet of Jesus, where love, hope, and discipline, demolish the barriers and obstacles out of existence. Christ as Savior redeems you from the sin that so easily entangles, and he brings you out of the pit, whether you find yourself in that pit on your own doing or on the doing of some one else. The message of the gospel does something to you. It saves your entire being and puts you in an encounter with God, which then begins to refine, rejuvenate, renew and transform. To the outsider, this may seem a silly strategy and a cheap face to something so big. But we know that God is big enough.
Well, when the conversation was over, Fransisca bid us farewell, still with so much joy in her speech and disposition. I got to take a couple of pictures, and I hope to get to talk with her again soon.
Now you’ve gotten a little glimpse. Please pray. Peace.