Monday, December 24, 2012

Christmas Cleaning

On Saturday we held a Christmas cleanup in Gatina. The members of our recycling group joined in with the guys at Light and Power to collect garbage and clean some of the roads. Afterwards there was a programme for children from the community as well as lunch. This was our first attempt at a group cleanup and we hope to organize more and begin weekly garbage collection and recycling in Gatina during 2013. Here's a few photos from the day:



















Youth Sunday at Christ Church

Sunday, 16th December was a special Youth Sunday at Christ Church, Westlands. Dave preached in two services and Lucy joined in with the Dance and Music Team. During the service we were able to raise support to repair and make improvements to the Youth Tent. Below are a few pics:







Thursday, November 22, 2012

Encouraging Young Minds

Recently, sponsored students from Akiba School met with some of their predecessors at Light and Power Centre. The graduates encouraged the current students on how to stay out of trouble, improve their grades, and prepare for life after high school. It was great to hear the students raise their concerns and share openly about challenges they've faced and lessons learned. One Akiba alumni recently graduated from university in Uganda and five more are currently pursuing degrees in business, communications, computer studies, and nursing. All of them are the first in their families to attend university.
 Edwin grew up in a very challenging environment and missed most of primary school. Now he is in his first year at Nairobi University.

 James is about to finish a bachelor's degree in Business from Nairobi University. He repeated his final year of high school in order to improve his chances of qualifying to go to University.
 Jane is pursuing a degree in communications from St. Paul's University and poses here with her former classmate.
 Team building exercises for Akiba Students led by Sammy Mwaniki.

Ezekiel's Music Video

To practice various camera and lighting settings, we produced this video for one of our staff at Church Army. Filmed one evening outside our offices with several young Kenyan gospel artists. It was a fun project and the team really enjoyed.



Warm Music Video from Church Army Africa on Vimeo.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Wedding Photos

Last weekend, two of our friends were married in Nairobi. Lucy and Dave were part of the wedding party, while Josh had fun chasing after the flower girls:







Hand Grenades and Throwing Stones

On the way back from a wedding last week, we narrowly missed a mob of riotous stone throwers. Because of traffic concerns I decided to use a different route than normal to our offices at Church Army. A few minutes after arriving in the compound, hundreds of vehicles were ambushed with stones by disgruntled football fans. One of the local clubs had lost an important match and the team's followers, known for their passionate approach to the game, decided to dismantle the nearby stadium and destroy as much property as they could. The rioters blocked traffic along one of the major highways (our normal route) and bombarded vehicles with stones. We arrived inside the walls just in time. The Church Army School Bus which was ferrying children and teachers from the wedding didn't. One of the 5th graders was hit in the face and had to be rushed to the hospital to remove broken glass. At the matatu stage outside our office gate, the street was littered with stones and broken glass. For many we spoke with, the experience reminded them of the post-election violence of 2007-2008. While we waited inside, police scattered  demonstrators with gunfire, shooting one man in the arm and leaving him on the side of the road. Thankfully, no one else was seriously injured and the rest of the children were able to make it home safely.

Earlier this week, another riot broke out a short distance away in Eastleigh. After a hand grenade exploded in a passenger bus, hundreds of youth from rival groups took to the streets. A few photos below:



Apart for these incidences, the city of Nairobi has been relatively peaceful. We thank God for His protection and continue to pray for calm amidst heightening political tensions as campaigning for 2013 continues. Public school students are now sitting for their exams and will re-open in January.


Monday, November 12, 2012

This is our home

 Photos of street boys living near Eastleigh:





Crime and the Community

In the African context, there is no such thing as an individual crime. At some level, any crime entails corporate responsibility and the community needs to be involved in restoring harmony. For example, consider what happened a few weeks ago at one of our friend's churches:

Recently, a young man from Silanga was caught stealing. He was caught in the act and apprehended by bystanders. The group proceeded to beat the young man for his crime, and then handed him over to the local police. While in police custody, it was discovered that this young man was part of a criminal gang which had been terrorizing residents of the community, attacking, stealing, and even murdering individuals as they walked home at night. The boy, however, managed to escape from a police van while in transit.

Residents of the community were greatly angered when they heard that the young man had gone free. A mob formed and went to visit the boy’s home in Kibera. When his parents heard that a mob was on its way, they ran to the local church (where they were active members) and locked themselves inside.
The mob surrounded the church and forced their way in. Despite efforts to intervene from the local pastor, the mob proceeded to beat the boy’s father and mother for failing to instil discipline in their child. The parents were told that if the boy ever returned to the city, he would be killed. The young man is now in his village and has no plans to return to the city.

Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Setting up Camp

In September, we organized a team building camp for our interns in a nearby forest. Below are a few snapshots:






Monday, September 17, 2012

Children's Programme

Josh and I have been participating in the Children's Program at Light and Power Centre the past few Saturdays. Josh has been learning new games in Swahili and making friends from Gatina. The program targets young children and includes outdoor games, a feeding programme, colouring, and bible lessons. Here are a few photos: