Korogocho - Nairobi Kenya
Rev Colin Holmes, Mike Petryszyn and Stella Davies visited Korogocho 8 – 20th June 2011
We’ve had newsletters, photos, videos about the Korogocho slum but nothing could match the experience of being there.
Nothing could match the heartbreak of tiny children in adult size flip flops, calling to you in English ‘how are you’ and their giggles when you replied ‘I’m fine, how are you’ or their delight at seeing themselves on a digital camera and their ragged clothes or patched uniforms, playing around an open sewer while their mothers did their washing at the communal tap or filling jerry cans with water or playing bare foot in the rubbish dumped in the street to be picked over for anything saleable before being taken to the city dump; no landfill here, the council just dump the rubbish in Korogocho.
Living takes place in the street here; the average tin hut which is home to these families is 3 metres x 3 metres; no windows, no lighting, yet inside one of these huts, it was tidy, clean and comfortable, even though 6 people lived in it. The mother had made a home here and it was a rare privilege to be invited in. Korogocho, a place where in the face of the helplessness, and hopelessness, there are huge social problems but also, in the middle of it all, there is Vision Peoples in Mission, where once you were within the safety of its gates, you sensed that God was in this place, offering relief from pain and illness, dressmaking classes so that women could earn a living, primary education for 300 children, a feeding programme for these children and an orphanage with the possibility of foster homes.
The VPM staff and committee led by the Director Rev Franklyn Otwoma are witnessing very powerfully that God has not abandoned these people and it was very humbling to join with them in worship at the Saturday seminars, led by Colin and the Sunday services where Colin was the main speaker as they praised and thanked God for what He had done for them.
Practical ways to help
1.The top priority for VPM is the completion of the Lucky Summer apartment block as this will provide them with an income. Funds needed to complete - £8,932
2.Next the relocation of the orphanage to provide improved accommodation. A further £........ is needed to purchase a site and building which requires minimal adaptation to make it suitable.
3.Coursebooks for the school: £3,837...... is needed to provide coursebooks for each child in each subject. Currently 4 children have to share each coursebook.
4.Sponsor a child in a foster home for £10 a month.
5.Increased sponsorship needed for the school feeding programme. Food prices are rising and it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide the children with their one good meal a day and their staple porridge. Current sponsorship is £65 per month.
6.Medical centre - lack of funding for drugs and medical equipment is a constant worry. It costs around £500 per month
The cost of all staff is around £786 per month.
A small amount makes a huge difference and you could change someone’s life.
Please speak to Stella Davies if you want to know how to make a difference to Korogocho.
