Adventures in Kitale

I’ve been spending a lot of time in the past week or so praying and thinking about how I can help Catherine’s family and the twins family find a way that they can provide for there families. Both of these families grabbed my attention in very different ways, but God has really put them and their situation on my heart. I talked to Leila about how it would work out to start little businesses for both of these moms. People buy the things they need in smaller quantities because normally they can’t afford to buy in bulk. So there are many people that sit on the side of the road or have little stands in areas like Shimo La Tewa and sell food, charcoal or other necessities. I decided to give both Catherine and Ester the tools to make this happen and then after that it was up to them to keep the business going and we would be there to support them along the way.

Catherine has been a completely honest and genuine person from day one. I know I’ve said it before, but her and her husband, Samuel, are two of the most grateful people I have ever met. They don’t sit and feel sorry for themselves or their situation, but do their best with what they have. Samuel was merely using this as a story to explain how grateful he was for our help because he was saying that both him and Catherine aren’t able to do difficult work. Catherine had a c-section when giving birth and it makes it hard for her to do work that is physically demanding. Samuel has a bicycle taxi that he drives people around on and was saying that he couldn’t do that all day because of his side. We didn’t know what he was talking about and all of the sudden he lifted up his shirt and showed us a baseball size tumor on his side. Then he went on saying how much this was going to help his family improve their situation because they were going to be able to have a more steady income.

On Monday we went to visit Catherine and see how her business was going. Just Samuel was at the house and he was once again so thankful for the small gift we had given his family. They are still looking for a place where they can go everyday to sell their things. Until then, Samuel loads up his bicycle and goes from house to house selling what he has. They have already sold a lot of the items and have used the money to buy more. He told us that they were only using that money to keep the business going so that they can make a real way to support themselves. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for this family.

Samuel and Mary

Ester, the mother of the twins, is a different story. When I first met her, I got the impression that she didn’t care about her kids or her family. She looks completely healthy, while half of their family is starving. While the kids were still in the house she was never out working and was always just sitting around the house. Since we took the twins out of the house, we’ve been stopping by their house every other day. Two days last week, she wasn’t at home because she had gone out to find work. Often times here, you find that poverty causes people to sort of give up because they don’t see any way their situation can improve. With the twins at a place where they are safe, taken care of and well fed she can see a little bit of hope. Her husband’s health is improving and he is looking better everyday. This family has also never asked me for a thing. We asked them if she new anything about selling maize, other vegetables or charcoal and they told us that she used to do that when they lived in El Doret. In Kitale, they didn’t have the support of their neighbors to help them get this started, so life has been hard for them with no source of income.

So yesterday we dropped off a bag of charcoal and maize at their house in the pouring rain. Ester wasn’t there so we talked to Patrick and went there today to follow up. Patrick told us that after the rain stopped he went right outside and started selling. When we went there today Ester was sitting outside and cooking the maize to sell. They had already sold most of the maize we bought them and are planning to go to a nearby shamba (farm) in the morning to get more. We also heard that they were two months behind in rent, which is about $10.00. We had found another family that had the iron sheets to repair their roof, but needed help. So this morning we took him to fix the roof and gave him the money to pay the rent. My hope is that God will use these small gifts to provide for the family in a huge way and that they can get back on their feet so the girls can go back home in a few months and live with their family.