The day began with volunteers on a rooftop where beans and rice were cooked in blackened pots by wood fire. They cooked all day. The car would be loaded with food for distribution and the volunteers would carry on preparing the next batch.
OUTREACH
TRANSFORMING A COMMUNITYIn a lower income neighborhood of a capital city in East Africa, I joined with a local brother for community outreach. We took meals to school children, care packages to the sick, and fed others at a crude football pitch. We even joined with government officials to make well visits to new mothers. All of this took place in conditions unimaginable to most. We fed nearly 400 people that day. As you scroll through these images, can you see yourself ministering in this kind of community?
Some of the red beans were reduced to a slurry of sorts and poured into recycled vegetable oil jugs for easy transport. The beans are said to be a good source of protein, carbs, and fiber and were accompanied by chapati flat bread.
Many of the narrow streets featured more goat traffic than automobile traffic. Both versatile and profitable, goats are raised for milk, meat, hides and more. Grilled goat meat, known as Nyama Choma is the national dish in this part of the world.
Next to a slaughter house in a cement building was the first school stop. The children were pressed tightly into window lit rooms with wooden plank benches and desks. Each child was given a chapati and a cup of bean slurry. They were received with many smiles and much thanksgiving.
Nearly 41% of this nation is 14 years old and younger. With Islam expanding rapidly it’s projected to be the dominant global faith by 2075 – should fertility rates continue their current trends. Can global missions keep pace?
On our way to another school we stopped to visit a local sister who sells vegetable from a rustic stall. It occurred to me that taking time to chat, to encourage and even to pray was a simple but vital demonstration of love and care.
It’s estimated that 60% of school children in the region do not receive adequate nutrition. Besides alleviating hunger, school feeding programs can increase school attendance, reduce students’ risks of chronic disease and help improve their development.
The word chapati reflects a heavy influence Indian cuisine. However, this style of chapati is slightly thicker, with flaky layers, and in most Indian restaurants, would be called paratha.
Clutching the path of a local river, lowland slums house some of the least fortunate. It’s a maze of corrugated steel baked by unrelenting sun. A small school in the community was little more than a single-room shack without power, water or toilet facilities.
In the slums we joined health officers for well visits to new mothers. My brother knows many of the kids in his neighborhood from birth! He shared that partnership is essential to reaching every level of his community. He can’t do it alone.
Away from the river, we drove into a business district with housing above the store fronts. On foot we snaked through an alley and emerged in an open space surrounded by the rough backs of brick buildings. Word of our arrival spread quickly and my brother was welcomed by name. Women and children lined up with cups and jugs, some eating and drinking on the spot.
Evening meals were packed into disposable containers making stacking and transport easy. On this night the donation run pantry afforded a serving of white rice with shaved carrots and red beans with carrots and celery. Stacks of chapati were also on hand for those in need.
With a sense of urgency, day laborers queued for a meal on the sidelines of an open space serving as a football pitch. When someone is hiring, these men are the ones to take some of the hardest, most dangerous and least rewarding work.
Local boys playing soccer on this dusty patch of bare earth were the first to get a meal. The men quickly followed. Looking back it occurs to me that my brother made an impact at many levels in his community that one single day.
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