A Story of Mathare

Jambo,

Jambo Bwana.

Habari Gani?

Nzuri Sana.

Wageni,

Mwakaribishwa.

Kenya Yetu,

Hakuna Matata! 

This is the song that I listened to many precious school children sing for almost an hour while welcoming our team into their neighborhood in Nairobi. Listening to this song brought me so much joy but for a deeper meaning that just the smiles on their faces and the beautiful sound of a chorus of voices. It is their background and what they are overcoming that is so powerful. It is always moving to hear someone's testimony but to be caught up in the middle of it and witnessing their transformation first hand is something completely unimaginable. 

It is the story of each of these children that make them different that any other people I have been around. 

These children were born into a completely hopeless life. They have been born into a place where there has been no hope for education, a job, economic stability, guaranteed nutrition, and health care. But the list doesn't stop there. Besides the more obvious things that I have listed, these children have also been born into a family of despair. His or her father cannot find a job to support his family, and therefore is not fulfilling his need to provide for his family. More often that not, this father takes out his helplessness on his family by physical or sexual abuse. The child's mother feels like she is standing in the midst of chaos alone and helpless. A large majority of the households (if you can call a one-room shack the size of my bathroom housing multiple people with just one bed a household) are led my single mothers. It is very common in Mathare for a father to abandon his family when things get too tough or his public image might be compromised. Women don't have rights in Kenya like they do here in America. They might be the breadwinners of the family, but they can lose everything the have worked so hard for in an instant. 

There was no hope in Mathare Valley. None. If you moved there, you would never leave there. If you were born there, you would die there. That all changed in the early 2000's when an ordinary business working couple decided to do the little bit they could to provide a small drop of hope in an area of hopelessness. The Kamau's started Missions of Hope International (MOHI) and miraculously, their efforts of providing light did not get swallowed by the endless surrounding darkness. God has continued to bless MOHI and literally has "Transformed a valley of darkness into the mountain of God" Instead of the valley being filled with darkness, it is now consumed with light. Bwana Asifiwe! 

The children and families of the Mathare Valley now have a great hope because of MOHI. There is hope for their child to become one of the thousands who are now getting a good education because of child sponsorships. Through that education, the child is taught about the ultimate hope, hope that comes from Jesus. That newfound hope fills them until they are overflowing and spreading this hope like a virus to their family members and friends in the community. 

Honestly, I never understood how much of a difference child sponsorship makes and please don't tune me out on this part.  It literally makes all the difference in the world for that child. Choosing to sponsor a child will change a life. If you pass up an opportunity to sponsor a child, that is one more child who cannot escape the unrelenting clutches of poverty. 

I have seen first hand children who do not have sponsors. 

I have seen first hand the expression on those children's faces when someone chooses to sponsor them. 

I have seen first hand the priceless embrace of the first meeting of a child and their sponsor.  

I have heard first hand children and mothers talk about their sponsors and how much they love and appreciate them. 

I have seen and heard these things and been moved to action. I decided to sponsor a child my very first day working in Mathare. Even though I would consider myself a poor college student, I have been so blessed and the least I can do is sacrifice a little bit financially to begin a relationship with a child who's life I know I will be a part of forever. The impact of my simple decision to sponsor my little Brian Kioko is absolutely immeasurable. 

Me and my new sponsored child, Brian. He is so beautiful.

Please do not sit still after reading this. If what I have written has impacted you in the slightest bit, DO SOMETHING! You can sponsor a child and completely change a life, a family, and an entire neighborhood. I would love to talk to you more about this so please talk to me more about it. 

God is blessing the Mathare Valley and He is using us to do it. Without sponsors, none of this is possible.