Live on Less and Donate More

The data was disturbing, and the comparisons in lifestyles between how the average Kenyan and the average "poor" US family lives was shocking. Here, let me share with you those comparisons: (from 2007, but relatively speaking, the stats haven't changed)

97% of “poor” Americans own at least one color television

80% of “poor” Americans have air conditioning

75% of “poor” Americans own at least one car

The average "poor" American residence has 2.56 rooms per person with approximately 740 sqft. per person and 100% clean water access

The average Kenyan residence in the capital of Nairobi has 0.27 rooms per person with approximately 55 sqft. per person and 40% clean water access

(The Census Bureau defines an individual as poor if his or her family income falls below certain specified income thresholds. These thresholds vary by family size. In 2006, a family of four was deemed poor if its annual income fell below $20,615)

I got these facts in an email from my friend Dave the other day. It came about a week after we returned from a life-changing trip from Kenya. After that trip, Dave has figured out that our standard for defining "poverty" is very different from the poverty he has come to experience in the slums of Kenya. In all instances, our "poor" still do not miss many meals, and have the choices in foods that they want to eat, generally speaking (there are exceptions, I am sure). The poor in other parts of the world are guaranteed to go hungry, and having a choice of foods is unheard of. Our poor generally have access to adequate health services of decent quality. In Kenya the access to health care is almost non-existent, and if you need to go to the district hospital, God be with you. Your chances of survival are slim. I have heard the expression that the poor in our country are still better off than 90% of the rest of the world, and now I believe it. In Kenya, the median income is just over $700 per year, and the poor are trying to live on $1 per day.

I don't flaunt these statistics to say that our poor aren't poor. I use them to make a comparison, and a point. For the 89% of Americans that live above the poverty level, which includes me, we need to be thankful, grateful, and generous in our giving.

Dave and his wife Sara have been supporters of CRF for years. They had never been to Kenya before, but had heard the stories, seen the pictures, and wanted to see for themselves, so they joined on our most recent trip there. I think Dave used the word, "bombshell" to describe how affected he was by what he had seen and experienced. I have seen a lot of things there, but the most poignant was when a small group returned from their visitation of late-stage AIDS victims in the slums. All 5 adults were in tears after visiting one young woman named, Patricia. I listened as Dave and Patti told the story of that young woman they had just seen. All of us listening to their story were moved to tears as well as they broke down, unable to fully describe their experience. Not only was she infected with AIDS after being sexually assaulted, she lived with severe epilepsy. "Living" is stretching it. She could only lie on the floor of a dirty mud hut with excrement all around her. She was skin and bones, yet tried to get up to show hospitality for her guests. There was no food, no furniture, no possessions to speak of, but she still wanted, or needed to show hospitality to visitors. That is the Kenyan way. After hearing her story, they asked what was being done for her. The health care worker with them quietly said that there wasn't much they could do for her, her late stage of the illness meant resources might be wasted. How does one accept that fate for that poor woman? In that small group was a doctor and two nurses...they would not accept that fate. Perhaps her late stage of AIDS development would not let her live much longer, but the rest of her life should be lived out in some semblance of dignity. They left food for her, and one of the women in the local HIV-AIDS support group promised to care for her. Imagine being that healthcare worker and having to make life-and-death decisions on who should have food or not. I thank them for taking on that responsibility and not having it fall on me. But more importantly, how do I make sure they have enough resources?

I think that is where Dave is with his life. I think that is where I am with my life. What can we do to make sure they have enough resources so they don't have to make such life and death decisions.

I have so much stuff! My possessions overwhelm me sometimes. They get in the way figuratively and physically. I would hate to tell you how many color TV's I have in my house and in my basement going unused. I have AC, I have 3 cars in my driveway, and stuff...boy do I have a lot of stuff! I hate doing the math to figure out how much I have spent just on stuff. I am not alone in this. My daughter is cleaning her room out after her sophomore year in college. Where did it all come from? I am almost paralyzed when I think about trying to rid my life of the extra stuff I have everywhere.

I have decided that I will live on less and donate more. It is a good mantra to have. It is what my God wants from me. Will you join me?

Chow!

Kenya Mission Trip #4; Mission Complete!

Wow, trip #4 to Kenya is already over and done with...that was the longest AND shortest 2 weeks I have ever experienced. This trip had special meaning for me because I finally convinced my brother, the doctor, to join me. You remember him, don't you? I wrote an entry on him a few years back for his birthday. I think it is the funniest piece I have ever written. His wife says it explains his inability to trust...oh well. Having him along was fun for me. He got to experience all the stories I have been telling him, and it was great spending 2 weeks with him. He has good stories to tell now, and I hope he will continue to love Kenya as I do.

We had a big group this time...17 intrepid travelers, most of them first-timers. This group was the easiest group so far...everyone seemed prepared, open, and unafraid of anything. Drama-free and eager to get to work is the best a group leader can hope for, and this group embodied both of these traits. We had some amazing young people...full of maturity, common sense, and fun. I "bonded" with two students from Western Kentucky University, Amy and Emily. We had fun making each other laugh over our meal experiences. Say "sheep colon" to either of them, and watch them bust a gut laughing. It was a mixed bag of travelers: a family unit (minus 3 of their younger kids but adding another 14 year old), a young married couple from Texas, a cattle rancher, a home-building contractor, 2 nurses, my brother the doc, a preacher, the college girls, the President of CRF, and the two trip leaders (Julie and me).

Let me say this about my co-leader: she did all the hard work. The planning, organizing, etc. She made it easy for me...that was the promise she made to me to get me to agree to go again. She said she would make it easy on me if I would help her lead the team while in Africa. She kept her promise. This was Julie's 2nd trip to Kenya, and my 4th. I don't know why, but I love it over there. Things are natural for me in Kenya. I get into the culture, the rhythm of the people, and I feel accepted there. I understand it in Kenya...I can't say that about any other place, including the US.

The work is always rewarding. We designed this trip to be more medical in purpose. We brought over 100 lbs of prescription meds, we got training in the Village Medical Manual before we left, and we designed courses to teach the kids on oral hygiene, water purification, malaria prevention, and hand-washing. Oh, and we brought along a doctor and 2 nurses to help out at the clinic. We always over-plan and try to do too much, and this trip was no exception. We seem to forget that the concept of time management in Kenya is run by the seasons and not a stopwatch. What we thought would take an hour takes several hours in Kenya.

In reality, the purpose of bringing people to Kenya is to let them experience the children and the work of CRF. They get to meet the saints that care for thousands of orphans and HIV+ men and women. It is thankless work, and our trip is in part, to thank them. The children are the most loving in the world. They don't need a reason to love you, they just do. They seem afraid of you at first, but after that initial hesitancy, they learn to open their hearts to you. They want to know everything about you because it gives them a view into your life. They are so easily satisfied and thankful. That is the amazing thing about these children. Orphaned by a horrific disease, living in conditions of poverty, they are joyful, loving, and happy. What does it take to make a kid in the US happy? If you can answer that, let me know...

100% of the people I bring to Kenya change their minds about why they are coming. If you ask them, they usually say they originally came to help, to teach, or to love. What they say afterwards is that they were helped, that they were taught, and that they were loved.

Yes, we got a lot done. We taught the kids how to properly wash their hands, brush their teeth, and we applied fluoride to all of them. We taught 5 groups of leaders the Village Medical Manual, we even worked in the health clinic. But we were unconditionally loved by hundreds of kids who had hope because of Christian Relief Fund, and we got to thank the tireless workers who hardly ever get thanked.

My brother has donated the meds we delivered two years in a row. I am glad he came to see the clinic and how underfunded it is. He learned that we have been wasting time and money by bringing meds in from the US in our luggage. He found them cheaper in Kenya. Turns out it was a communication breakdown. The clinic director had asked last year for specific meds he couldn't get in Kenya, and when we asked him for a wish list of meds he needed, he put down what he was missing in his inventory...he didn't want to tell us that he could get them in Kenya, his desire was to do what was asked, so he gave us a complete list. How crazy! So we wasted weight in our luggage that we could have used for shoes, teaching supplies, etc. for meds that could be bought in Kenya at 1/5 the price! So now we know!

Here are two quick stories I learned this last trip. The first is about twin brothers who were just found and sponsored, and the second is about a boy who was one of the first sponsored in our Eldoret project started 4 years ago.

Ronnie and Randy are brothers that are about 4 years old. Identical twins, they were abandoned by their mother who ran off after giving birth to them. They were taken to their maternal grandmother to be cared for. The grandmother was barely surviving on her own, being a widow without property, and worked long hours gleaning in the fields to make enough to live on for herself. I will lay out the life this poor widow lived. She gleaned in the fields for greens, potatoes, beans, etc. that were not all captured by the harvesters. She paid the farmer a small amount for the right to glean in his fields. Whatever she gathered she would take to the market and sell, usually making 100 shillings per day ($1.20). Of that 100 shillings, it took 20 shillings to buy coal for one meal, another 25 for oil, 20 shillings to buy a tin of maize, and 7 shillings to grind the maize into meal to cook. The rest was used to pay rent, buy kerosene for her lamp, and clean water to drink. This woman was busy 12-14 hours per day. She did the best she could, but could not afford daycare for the twins. She would lock the boys in her hut all day by themselves. By age two, the boys had developed their own language that no one else could understand. It was how they coped. When the grandmother heard that CRF was sponsoring children, she rushed to get them registered. They were given sponsors a month later, and their lives changed. The school principal named them Ronnie and Randy to give them names. They now attend nursery school and are fed 3 meals a day at school. They are 4 years old and are learning Swahili and English, though they prefer their own language of grunts and noises when by themselves. The two boys were almost wild, having learned to fend for themselves since birth. They had no concept of social skills, and had free rein of the village they called home. They preferred to fight the other children rather than learning to socialize with them. The school environment is giving them a chance to develop normally, and they now have lots of friends. I got to visit their home with the principal of the school. The grandmother is grateful to CRF, and tells me that her boys had no chance without us. Her life is no easier, but at least now she has some help. We don't blame the grandmother, she is trying her best to survive...this is the aftermath of the HIV-AIDS pandemic.

Barnabas Kipsoges is another success story. 4 years ago he was one of the first kids we sponsored when we started a project in Eldoret. When we first came to Eldoret, we were expecting to find only 20-30 kids needing sponsorship. Greeting us instead that first day were over 150 kids needing sponsors, and another 100 or more that couldn't make it to that first meeting. Overwhelmed was our initial feeling. But gradually we found sponsors for all of them, with more being registered with CRF everyday. Barnabas was one of the lucky 30 that first day. He was an emaciated and starving 13 year old. After getting regular feeding, he has turned into a star athlete that is the pride of Eldoret and his home country of Kenya. Barnabas has a knack for running. That is a Kenyan trait. Some of the best long distance runners are Kenyan, and Barnabas must have that gene. He is now one of the top junior runners at 5000 meters, running close to 4 minute miles. He is now 17 and sponsored by the Kenyan military. He is grateful to CRF, and to show his gratefulness, he bought a used SUV to donate to the Eldoret office of CRF to help get the workers around.

These stories help motivate me to continue to work for CRF. All children need a shot of hope to have any chance at success. That is what CRF does...it gives hope to children who don't have any.

Chow!