A Drop in de Ocean: Can anything good come out of covid-19?

June is my birth month. For the past few years I have made it a point to do something to celebrate my birthday, because I have come to realize that tomorrow is not guaranteed. This year was no different. In late 2019 a missions group that I am a part of made plans to do ministry in Kenya in June 2020, so I figured that would be my birthday event this year, but then covid-19 happened.... Even though I could not go to Kenya in person this year, I decided that for my birthday, I would still do something to positively impact the lives of vulnerable persons over there. Thanks to connections that I had from previous ministry trips there with ITNAC, I found the perfect project:

The aftermath of recent floods

This village in Kenya was recently hit by severe flooding in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic. With persons already struggling to make ends meet due to economic slow down, it was literally impossible for widows who have no one else to rely on, to find someone to assist them with rebuilding their homes. In this part of the world, a widow has to be inherited to get men to build her a house. This is not a viable option for most, as it involves having to take care of the new man's needs (food, clothing, sex etc) and can result in her getting pregnant and having even more children to provide for. Apart from being inherited, the only other persons that can help such widows are the church or the Muslim community.

Shakila and her three children - Fadhila,
Abigael and Husuna

Shakila was a God-fearing woman who refused to be inherited after her husband died, and opted to raise her kids as a single mother. She lives with two other orphans belonging to her late sister. Her house collapsed, but she had to survive inside there despite the harsh weather conditions. When I found out that she could get a new house for $400US, I knew that this would be my birthday project for this year. I sent out a message asking my friends and family to send funds to help building homes for widows from this village. I was driven by this verse from James 1:27a - Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Shakila was really grateful for her new house and
said now, people have started visiting her
and she is no longer a laughing stock.

Thanks to the generous response of those who gave, which was amazing to me coming in the midst of a global pandemic, three other families were able to receive new homes, and funds were sent this week for four other families to be blessed with houses as well! Among the beneficiaries was Josephine Sanko, a 70 year old widow whose two daughters had to drop out of school due to lack of school fees. Since they had no proper education, they opted to work as prostitutes in the city. They later got infected with the HIV-virus and later succumbed to AIDS leaving behind six orphans under the care of their jobless granny. Benard found them living in a small hut that leaked heavily whenever it rained. No one really wanted to help them until we came to their rescue.

"We knew we are a forgotten lot.
There was completely no hope of us building a new house."

Jacinta Akumu Mati, mother to Jessica, Saidi, Billy, Snider and Swaid suffered a double tragedy. Her husband recently died leaving her with a collapsing house. Later on due to floods the wall of the house caved in exposing her and her babies to many dangers including being attacked at night. Now, they have a house and a place to call home. Margaret Munyanya is a 68 year old widow who lives with grandchildren Lilian, Apita, Samuel and Rose. Her house was destroyed by floods and she had to take refuge at a nearby primary school before we came to her rescue.

The new houses have galvanize roofs instead of
these thatched roofs, which do not stand up
well to inclement weather

Apart from building houses for these widows, Benard was also able to mobilize for the construction of pit latrines in the village where open defecation is still a common practice. Many villagers cannot afford to build one, so they live without one even though this makes them more susceptible to diseases. So far four pit latrines have been dug, and this will serve to raise the standard of living in the village. In addition to this, our building project has also provided a source of income for the young men in the village who were otherwise unemployed. Talk about blessing after blessing!

In the midst of constructing a pit latrine

Since I was not able to jump on a plane to engage in missions overseas, I was grateful for the opportunity to reach out to foreigners living in my own country. ITNAC has been ministering to the Venezuelan migrants who have been taking refuge here since 2019. Many of them who were registered were working in bars and in persons' homes, but these were no longer possible in the early stages of the lockdown. The first week in June we loaded up a maxi with cooked meals, hampers, clothes and snacks for the children, and took the long scenic drive down to Icacos where we visited migrants living there. One of our team members shared the gospel and we prayed for the families, meeting their spiritual needs as well as their physical needs.

Breathtaking scenery on the way down south

Worship in Spanish

Hamper distribution to grateful families

One of my friends joked that the government lifted covid bans just in time for my birthday and I must say that I took full advantage of it! From taking a hike to Avocat Waterfall in Blanchisseuse to swimming in Clifton Hill beach with my nieces and nephews twice in one week, I thoroughly enjoyed being able to enjoy the nature that is abundant in my homeland. My actual birthday was spent by my brother with a lovely home-cooked meal by his wife, and plenty love ups from my niece and nephew, followed by a zoom ice cream birthday lime with my high school friends. Thank you so much to all my friends and family who played a part in ensuring that my 2020 birthday celebration was one that had such an impact to so many lives, and will be fondly remembered for years to come :)