Judy Richardson VUSN class of 1961 and I traveled to Kenya from March 8 to March 19 with the purpose of obtaining an update on the Burning Bush, Inc initiatives in Ndathi.The Samaria Maternity Home is now staffed with seven people and serving as many as 50 people a day. Agnes is shown with the new scrubs that we took with us. They think that they look very “smart” in their scrubs. Please note the color of the scrubs match the fence in front of the clinic!
The duplex that is being built to house staff members on the grounds of the clinic is only about a month away from completion. This will allow clinic services to be available 24 hours a day. The clinic is also used by people in the community for educational purposes. Four women trained by the Presbyterian Church America in poverty eradication came to talk with the patients as they waited to be seen by the nurses. A tuberculosis workshop sponsored by the District Medical Office was held one afternoon. That was the day that 59 patients were treated and one baby was delivered. As all of you know who have visited, the clinic building does proudly stand out in that community of small farms. The financial reports for 2006 show that the clinic is well on its way to being able to generate income to cover most recurring expenses. The additional money from Burning Bush, Inc will be used for further capital improvement and development. Also, Agnes has been accepted for distance learning program at Kenya Medical Training College in Nyeri to upgrade to an RN degree. It is hoped that some of the money contributed to Burning Bush will be used as a continuing education fund that will benefit Agnes and others who are employed at Samaria.
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Judy and I also met with the micro lending groups which have recently been funded. The groups are under the great leadership of Njeri, Esther and Sister Sue, the paid administrator. Esther says,” I have now known how to spend “and she is spinning! Just started the first of March and has a full basket ready to be processed and dyed. I have been in touch with Rising Fawn Fiber owner Brenda McKaig for help in how to proceed and I hope to get them connected by e-mail. Oh, this new tech age is wonderful! Esther also made the decision not to fund the small women farmers this year. The funds arrived just as the European Union announced to the snow peas farmers coop that they would have to change the fertilizer and insecticides being used. This would have closed down the snow peas operation that has been so successful in the past. The funds kept the 77 farmers in business and they have pledged to repay the loan by the end of the year. Knowing Esther the loan will be repaid! Then it will be decided what is the best use of the micro loans. Also the other groups i.e. knitting, beading and merry go round (every member has bought a sheep) under Esther’s administration are investigating the best ways to proceed. Stay tuned in to www.burningbushkenya.org for future reports.
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Njeri and Sister Sue invited us to meet with the Village Micro Lending Group with 28 members. They have just recently been given their loans for small businesses, to farm and to buy chickens or other animals. They also borrowed money to buy water tanks so they could catch rainwater. Njeri and S.Sue have done a great job organizing this group and are very serious about teaching these women about self-reliance. They believe that the women have sufficient resources available to them. They should not think that they should be given something. This attitude of self-reliance was probably the most repeated thought we heard from many different sources during our visit.
The people in this group are living in the village where the people who were removed from the forest in 1992 were placed to await the opportunity to get land. They have been told that land will be available starting in June, 2007. For that reason, the loans given to this group must be paid back in 28 weeks instead of 52 weeks as the women and their families may be moving. If all of this happens, the money will be used for another micro lending group being formed to promote secondary education. This is an effort to address particularly young women to stay in school and not get pregnant and/or married. For each family who saves kshs2500 (US$35) the group can borrow another ksh2500 to offset the difficult problem of raising the entire amount when needed for the first year. They will be able to access the money and repay it so that it can be loaned again. I thought the group we visited was a little testy but Njeri said this proposed group is the real challenge. She says, “It has strife, trouble, jealousies but we are confident that with prayer and fasting we can help them to learn and grow.” They have their work cut out for them.
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There seems to be a real sense of progress in Kenya these days. May have something to do with the presidential election in December, 2007. But it is wonderful to see a subdivision of large homes being built outside Nyeri, big tractor plowing the Rift Valley, roads are being built and repaired. Much activity! Susan said that people like the government and think they are doing a great job to control corruption and to develop the country. She says people are not afraid to invest now. You need to remember that Susan and her family are Kikuyu’s and the largest tribe in Kenya and the present administration is mostly Kikuyu.
It was also interesting to hear that Kenyan churches are encouraging members to go into areas of Kenya that are in greater need and be missionaries to their own people. Just go and the Lord will provide for your needs!
Njeri tested positive for malaria while we were there. She was treated with a single pill and seemed to be just fine within 48 hours. What progress is that!
Hope you will keep checking this website. I will tell you about Big Simon, Monica; the Kenyan Private Practitioner nurses group and latest information about what’s happening in and around Ndathi, Kenya.
Thank you for all of your support to this ministry.