Lent 2010: Family Hope Charity, Kenya

A few weeks ago I got up early to listen to the end of the Super Bowl on the Voice of America radio station here in Nairobi. Even though I’m a lifelong Bears fan and if you think that is bad, a lifelong Cub fan, I was hoping and praying that the Saints would triumph. And miracle of miracles, they gave the city of New Orleans and Louisiana its first Super Bowl championship. This past summer a friend was driving me around the city of New Orleans to experience its charm and to see the lingering effects of hurricane Katrina. I still remember seeing those pictures of women and children stranded on roof tops and others begging for help in front of the New Orleans convention center. Those memories made me want to see the Saints triumph even more. If ever a city needed a boost and a little bit of cheer that a successful sports team can bring it was New Orleans.

For many women in Kenya though, Katrina is an everyday phenomenon. But as the lady pictured demonstrates, they literally carry the lives of their children and family members on their backs through the hurricane of chronic poverty. Whether it is fetching wood for cooking, carrying babies, bring food to sell on the street corners---women are the backbone of Kenya. Two initiatives that Family Hope Charity is spearheading are a daily savings scheme and a community based substance abuse program. Daily savings schemes allow a number of poor women to put together their meagre savings---sometimes no more than 15 to 25 cents per day---and over time save enough to start income generating projects that will greatly assist them in feeding and supporting their children. Our community based substance abuse initiative will be an attempt to help women find a forum where they can share the pain, frustration and anger that comes with having an active addict as part of their life. Alcohol abuse is the root of so much suffering and misery in Nairobi’s slums it would take something the size of a big city phone book to catalogue it all.

So this Lent consider making a Lenten donation to Family Hope Charity. Give a helping hand to hundreds of African women like the lady pictured above. “Your ‘widow’s mite’ can work wonders. Thanks to all of you who have helped in the past. My prayers and best wishes to you and your family. May the strength and peace of the Crucified and Risen Christ fill every part of your life.

Tom O’Hern----Director of Family Hope Charity.