That's all you need for Mathare whiskey, the powerful potion of escape for so many calling Mathare home. We walked past the brewery and found out that it costs only 25 cents to get drunk on this crudely prepared booze.
The Mathare slum is the most congested and dangerous slum in Kenya. There are no words, images, or videos that will EVER be able to adequately expose the extreme poverty and searing smells of a place descrbied best by hopelessness.
You will never understand until you have navigated the narrow paths of mud littered with dead animal carcasses, used condoms, and rotten food, had your nostrils burned with the stench of raw refuse, listened to the sound of trickling water struggling to flow in open sewers filled with every kind of trash imagineable, and hoping against hope that you don't get hit by a sling toilet. Just google that one and then keep reading.
This is home for over 800,000 in an area less than 1 mile wide x 2 miles long...
If I had my way I would have thrown in the towel and turned around long before we reached our destination, Compassion Project 355 in the heart of Mathare. And if I had my way I would have missed the most beautiful and hopeful experience of the trip so far.
We spent time with children mature beyond their years and rich in talent that left us blown away. They sang songs that had us dancing and singing along, they performed dramas that had us laughing in surprise, and they shared stories of healing and hope that had us in tears...shocker, I know. :)
Vincent
We broke up into 4 teams of 3 and each traveled to the home of a Compassion child and had the chance to learn more about their story. Let me introuduce you to Vincent, a 17yr. old young orphan now leading his home and raising his younger brother, Kevin. On a day marking the third year anniversary of my dad's death I wept as Vincent shared about his life as an orphan, how Compassion has made it possible for him to eat and go to school, and how he is (in his own words) "experiencing freedom from fear because of his relationship with Jesus Christ."
I was asked to pray for Vincent and offered sobbing words of thanks to God for what He is doing in Vincent's family. After wiping the tears away and trying my best to compose myself I asked him if we could record a short video from inside his home...
Dakika Moja - Episode 5 Hope in Mathare
Alexander Carter from Auastralia, thank you for sponsoring Vincent. If, in the craziness of global social media, you are reading this, please know you are making a HUGE impact in the life of an incredibly mature young man with tender humulity. When asked how we could pray for him he simply replied, "please pray that my brother, Kevin, would receive what he needs for high school next year and for me, that I would continue to grow and learn." Vincent is already looking forward to your next letter...
We said our goodbyes to the children from the Compassion project and headed to lunch at the church where we parked our vans just outside of the Mathare border. During lunch we heard testimonies from Maureen and Rafael, two students currently enrolled in Compassion's Leadership Development Program (LDP). You can learn more about LDP by clicking here. Maureen and Rafael both came through Compassion's child sponsorship program and are now studying in local university. They have pooled their money together with a larger group of LDP students to sponsor 4 children around the world.
If I had my way I would have bailed on our trip into Mathare...I would never have met the smiling children at Compassion project 355...I would have missed Vincent...I would have had a distorted filter while listening to the stories from Maureen and Rafael...and I would not be sitting here freshly aware of the fact that poverty is not to be pitied and that Christ reigns even in the darkest of slums.
I'm thankful that I did not get my way. I was forced to move beyond my initial fear and short-sided perceptions and now have a more complete picture of God's heart to intercede for the least and the lost...
Mathare is not hopeless. Her children are beacons of beauty...
You can be a part of this story, sponsor a child today.
LV
(stay tuned for a post with updates on Alice & Benson)
Beacons of beauty…just like your posts to us outsiders. Thank you for sharing hope. Pain. Tears. Love.
Comment by Tracy Heffner - Mar 08, 2010 @ 01:04 PM
LV-
Thank you, thank you, thank you for being open enough to share your expreiences with the world. I am a follower of MckMama and one of her posts led me to your site. I have a question and I think it might be on everyone’s mind so I decided to write it in the comment section. I feel that God is leading me to sponsor a child in Kenya. HOWEVER, I also am trying to fight the evils that is telling me that the money might not go to the sponsored child. Can you please help to reassure me (and anyone else) that this is a legit organization where the money raised goes directly to the child we’re sponsoring.
Thanks for the help!
God Bless and safe travels-
Jess
Comment by Jessica - Mar 08, 2010 @ 01:44 PM
I’m trying to process all of the photos and videos as well as the words in all of your blog posts. I can’t imagine how powerful this trip is for ya’ll as you experience it firsthand.
Sitting in my comfy digs in NC and knowing that even when I get to California in a couple of months, with many unknowns in my situation, I will never face the challenges and circumstances that these children face everyday. Knowing that Vincent doesn’t fear because of Jesus certainly convicts me to say the very least.
Comment by Elaina - Mar 08, 2010 @ 04:29 PM
oh my goodness gracious!
thank you. thank you. thank you.
sobbing through vincent’s video is exactly what i needed tonight.
and that precious angel in the last picture poking his head above the boy in the gray and white striped jacket is just about the cutest thing ever!!!!
their smiles are contagious…
so is their hope.
-j
Comment by jillian - Mar 08, 2010 @ 10:03 PM
Jess, if you go to Compassion’s website, there are the financial links on there. They are rated as one of the top organizations. Also, they promote that sponsors actually go and visit their children. They couldn’t do that if the kids weren’t real. I did some research when I started with Compassion, and now wouldn’t go with any other organizatio for sponsoring. Also, when you sponsor, we can join the http://www.ourcompassion.org website, where you are talk to tons of other sponsors, many who have actually visited their kids.
Comment by Debbie T - Mar 09, 2010 @ 07:15 AM
We to go my brothera… I love the article and i know Christ is showing you these things for a reason. Can’t wait to see you in Cali… Take care!!!
mc
Comment by Michael Campbell - Mar 09, 2010 @ 07:51 AM
Awesome Debbie. Thanks so much for the info!
Comment by Jess - Mar 09, 2010 @ 10:09 AM
First off…. Excellent post and THANK YOU for sharing Vincent and your experiences with his city. I know I would have felt the same way…. :o)
Jess…. I’ve been with Compassion for two years this month. I get about four letters each year from my little girl in Honduras. She tells me of the things she is doing in school (before I sponsored her, she was 9 yrs. old and not attending!!) and at the local church where Compassion teaches her. She tells me of doctor’s visits and vitamins she can now have because I’ve sponsored her. She tells me little things about herself, like she loves ducks, the color red, and “spaghetti’s.”
This past year I sent a family gift. I recently got 8 pictures of her and her family with everything they bought. I am ASTOUNDED what the money I sent over there was able to buy….
Over the past two years, I’ve watched her grow from a sad, scrawny little girl to a laughing yound lady who isn’t scrawny anymore!!!! It is a WONDERFUL experience being part of her life and I thank God every day for the search engine that let me find Compassion International.
I urge everyone who hasn’t sponsored to jump in and feel the love….. :o)
Comment by Michelle - Mar 14, 2010 @ 06:03 PM
Thank you to everyone who had given me encouragement to help with Compassion International. I am happy to tell you all that I decided to sponsor a little guy in Kenya who’s name is Paul and he is 6 years old. I know that God is leading me to do this and I can’t wait to be a bigger part of Paul’s life. Thanks again everyone!
God Bless-
Jess
Comment by Jessica - Mar 15, 2010 @ 06:12 AM
YAY Jess!!!! I am so happy for you….. because I know what joy this is going to bring to your life and little Paul’s life. :o)
Comment by Michelle - Mar 15, 2010 @ 06:41 AM