Kenya Demographics

Word from our Regional Coordinator is that we will be starting language school on January 4th. We will be attending the Anglican Church of Kenya Language School in Nairobi. The following weekend, January 9th and 10th, two lay missioners, one from Kitale and one from Mombasa, will be joining us for our in-country orientation.

We've been working on our regional studies to learn more about Kenya. I thought I'd share some things I've found interesting.

The majority of Kenyans (56%) are living in poverty. Approximately 23% are considered to live in extreme poverty with an income of less than $1 a day. The typical daily wage for an unskilled worker is $1.35. The Gross Domestic Product is $550 per person. Subsistence farming on small plots of rain-fed agriculture is the most common occupation (75% of the population). Only 20% of the land is Kenya is arable and thus able to be farmed. Informal service jobs such as selling vegetables, transporting items by hand, guarding property, working as a "house girl" are typical ways to earn income.

Kenya is made up of 42 different ethnic groups with a population of 40,000,000. There are also an estimated 234,000 refugees in Kenya from Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Rwanda, the Congo, and Uganda. The majority of Kenyans are Christians. Protestants are 45% of the population, Catholics are 33%, Muslims are estimated at 10% with the final 12% holding traditional beliefs.

Education is valued in the Kenyan society. Parents will do everything in their power to provide an education for their children. In 2003 a policy of universal free primary education was announced. However, the reality is that many students are still unable to attend school. Why? There are not enough schools or teachers. Classrooms are overcrowded. There is an average of 50+ children per primary teacher. The target of three students per textbook is not being met due to a lack of textbooks. Incidental costs of having a child in school include uniforms, pencils and paper, lunch, or school improvements which many families cannot afford. Net primary school enrollment is estimate to be 76%. Of those children who do enroll in primary school only 73% ever reach fifth grade. Secondary education, vocational training and university are fee-based which are beyond the means of the majority. The estimate of high-school aged youth attending secondary school range from only 12 - 30%.

The life expectancy in Kenya is 48 years. The three diseases causing the greatest health care problems are malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS. The rate of AIDS infection is estimated from 7 - 15% of the adult population. Approximately 1.2 million Kenyans are currently infected. One hundred children die of malaria each day. Many of these deaths could be prevented with adequate health care and the proper administration of medicine. Medical personnel are too few and often poorly trained.

There are approximately one million AIDS orphans. Churches and NGOs are building orphanages and children's homes, but they are overwhelmed. Then there is the problem that children in these facilities lose their connections to their home community and have no where to go when they become adults other than the streets.

Can't you see why education and health are the two area in which Maryknoll Lay Missioners are focusing their efforts in Kenya?

Make sure to check the Prayer link from time to time. We have learned so many new and great prayers in our time here at Bethany. I am adding ones that I especially like and think you might also want to pray from time to time.

Discernment and Commitment

Author Frederick Buechner offers the following definition of vocation: "The place that God calls you to is the place where your deepest gladness and the world’s deepest hunger will meet."

We are halfway through our orientation at MKLM. It doesn't seem possible as time has flown by so quickly. Today is our Statement of Commitment. Thus far classes and workshops have been structured to help us become more aware of the realities of mission. We have been meeting individually with a staff member as well as a mentor to help us think, learn, discuss and process information that has been presented to us. In addition we have been meeting in small integrations groups made up of other candidates to talk about issues and concerns. Last weekend we had a retreat and then on Wednesday spent a day of Prayer and Reflection at Rockefeller State Preserve. Why? To discern that we are ready and willing to make a commitment to mission.

Today our staff member will recommend us for membership in Maryknoll Lay Missioners. We will become official MKLM at the Sending Ceremony on December 12th.



Meet our classmates. Back row: Joe, one of our leaders; Stephen, Kenya; Nan, El Salvador; Mary, Kenya; Cindy, Kenya; Erica, El Salvador. Front row: Sister Laura, Panama; Rena, El Salvador; Sister Anastasia, China; Sister Genie, Tanzania; Lindsay, Cambodia; John, Kenya; Minh, Bolivia.

Fall in New York

When Andrea came home for Christmas last year after living in New York for four months she said, "Where are all the trees?" Kansas seemed so bare after being surrounded by woods. We can now see exactly what she meant. Tuesday night we drove into the Bronx for dinner. Would you believe that most of the way (and even in the Bronx) we were still surrounded by trees. At one point we couldn't see the sky because the trees formed a natural arch over the road!

It is so beautiful here that it is hard to describe. The colors are so intense. It seems like every time we have a chance to go outside there is even more color. Three sides of our classroom are glass. Usually we have our backs to the windows, but on Friday we sat so that all had a gorgeous view. I have heard the expression that the ground was carpeted with leaves. Well, it is true. This morning as we walked to church in places you couldn't see the grass or pavement because there are so many leaves covering it. Not only are there leaves on the ground, but pine needles, pine cones, acorns, and berries. At times when we are walking in the morning we hear continual pinging as acorns and pinecones hit the ground or even parked vehicles!

Since there are so many trees here they have a different way to deal with the fallen leaves than we do in Kansas. First, many hire a crew to blow the leaves into the street. We saw a three-man crew working last week. They formed an L-shape with two men in front and one on the side. Each man had a leaf blower that blew the leaves in front of them creating a larger and larger pile until they reached the street. Although we haven't been able to get a photo in action, we did find a crew that had finished their work for the day and were loading up their equipment. I'm sure they thought we were crazy when we asked if we could take their picture.

We had been wondering what happened to those piles of leaves along the curb. As I was walking back from lunch one day I found the answer. There was a truck with large cab but small covered bed. Along the side of the truck was a long hose probably about a foot in diameter. This hose extended about four feet beyond the end of the truck. One man was vacuuming up the leaves into this hose, another was raking leaves into a pile and the third was directing traffic around them. Since the bed of the truck wasn't all that large I'm assuming that the leaves were being shredded as they entered the truck. Someone told us that the city has free leaf mulch if you go and get it yourself. They also sell it bagged for others.

We're guessing that this weekend is the highlight of the colorful autumn season. Trees are starting to show bare branches. One of the trees that we have been watching at the Society (priests and brothers) was almost bare this morning when we walked to Mass. If you'd like to share in some our scenery, click here.

Yesterday the Congregation (Sisters) had their annual International Bazaar. Several of us volunteered to help. What would October be without a bazaar? John and I ended up working the snack bar. It was a lot different icing drinks than cooking dressing and turkey gravy. They served Cuban sandwiches and empanadas. Yum, yum! They had made lemon bars, Russian tea cakes, apple (from their trees) cake, zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, Italian plum bread and their famous Maryknoll Coffee Cake for sale at the baked goods shop. I must agree that their secret coffee cake was out of this world! In addition to the food, they also had rooms set up with merchandise according to region: Central America, South America, Africa, East Asia, South Asia. Talk about unique and one-or-a-kind items. It was busy, busy, busy. There was a large crowd so hopefully they did well.

Lessons in DC

Father Mike, a Franciscan monk who has served in Bolivia, led a Day of Reflection that began our week. Some of his words of wisdom were: there are no such things as coincidences. Our God is a God of surprises. Mission is all about developing relationships. He echoed Saint Francis's words, "Preach the Gospel at all times but only use words when necessary."

Representatives from Action Aid, Catholic Relief Services, and Church World Service spoke to us on Tuesday. Action Aid is an international agency whose aim is to fight poverty and injustice worldwide. Catholic Relief Services assists impoverished and disadvantaged people overseas promoting the sacredness of human life and the dignity of the human person. Church World Service represents 35 Protestant denominations that work to eradicate hunger and poverty and to promote peace and justice around the world. (They are the sponsors of Crop Walk that many of us know.) All three agencies stressed the importance of empowering people of other nations at a community grassroots level. They identify needs of their own communities and develop programs to meet these needs. They all use as a foundation for their work the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948. These rights advocate freedom, justice and peace in the world including food, shelter, work, education, healthcare and a voice in the decisions that affect their lives. I thought it was interesting that CRS and Church World Service were begun in the 1940s as war relief to rebuild Europe.

Representatives from the Tanzanian and Bolivian Embassies also spoke to us. They have two very different views of US aide. The Millennium Challenge Corporation is U.S. foreign aid agency that is helping fight against global poverty. In February 2008, they signed a five-year, $698 million agreement with Tanzania aimed to reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth. It consists of three projects: improving roads, improve the reliability and quality of electric power and extending electricity service to communities not currently served, and increasing the availability and reliability of potable water. Tanzania is beginning to see results from these projects. Bolivia on the other hand is refusing to accept aide from the US. They feel that we are supporting the opposition group in government and are interfering with domestic issues that shouldn't involve us.

Several days were spent at the Maryknoll Office of Global Concern. MOGC works with the Maryknoll Sisters, Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers, Maryknoll Lay Missioners and the Maryknoll Affiliates to educate and advocate for social, economic and environmental justice. The have offices in New York and Washington that work with Catholic and other faith-based organizations for peace, social justice and the integrity of creation.

Later in the week those of us going to Kenya were able to meet with a representative from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Africa and the African Faith and Justice Network. Both groups currently work in African nations including Kenya were able to give us some insight in the current situation there.

Our work week ended with visits with our members in Congress. We had appointments to meet with aides in Lynn Jenkins and Pat Roberts offices. Although we didn't have a scheduled meeting with Sam Brownback, we were able to see the aide that works with human rights in his office. Once upon a time she had applied to Maryknoll! We also stopped by Todd Tiahrt's office from my Dad's district.

After an intense week of meetings and classes we spent Friday afternoon and Saturday relaxing and sight seeing. Click here to view some of John's photographs.

Our Future is in Kenya

A bit of wisdom that has been stressed over and over in our training is that there are no such things as coincidences. Our God is a God of surprises. We as missioners need to be flexible and open to opportunities in whatever form they take. John and I have learned first hand that that is true even before we have left the United States!

Our placement has changed. We are going not going to East Timor as originally thought, but instead will be going to Kenya in January. It's a long story. If you want to know the details read on, if not you may skip down to the last paragraph. Either way please continue to keep us in your prayers.

In early August we received an email from Maryknoll Lay Missioners telling us that for several years they (MKLM) have been in process of prioritizing regions where they serve. Now due to the economic crisis, dwindling interest from the endowment,as well as smaller and fewer donations, it has become necessary to restructure and close some regions much sooner than anticipated. If we happened to be assigned to one of the regions that would be closed we would be notified and dialogue would begin about a new placement. Factors considered in these decisions included U.N. data about poverty and need, region characteristics and current MKLM personnel.

About three weeks ago we were informed that East Timor was one of the regions that was going to be closed within the next year. Not because there wasn't a need, but due to practical extraneous circumstances such as isolation, physical distance from other missions, cost of airfare, lack of adequate medical services, etc.

At that point we were told to discern (research, discuss, pray) about where we would like to serve. After two difficult weeks of soul searching as well as talking with Katrina and Andrea we decided to request Kenya. It is the right decision for several reasons. Perhaps most importantly it would be easiest for our nuclear family to spend time together. Although we will be on the same continent, we will still be several thousand miles away from Katrina. However, it will be much closer and cheaper to meet in Africa than on an island in the Pacific Ocean. Chances are when Andrea is able to visit we might be able to gather in one place for a few days. Then there is our previous experience in Kenya. We have been there twice before. Both times we were in Olitokitok volunteering with Homeless Children International. That means that we know a little bit about the language and culture of Kenya.

Our two possible placements when we get there will be either Kitale or Mombasa. Each one is very different from the other and neither one is even close to Olitokitok. Kitale is located in the west central part of Kenya near Lake Victoria and the Ugandan border while Mombasa is a port city on the Indian Ocean on the south east side near Tanzania. We won't know where we will be placed until we finish language school this spring.

If only I hadn't recycled my notes from the Swahali lessons we took several years ago!

Washington D.C. Here We Come

The Maryknoll Lay Missioner Mission Statement says: MKLM is a Catholic organization inspired by the mission of Jesus to live and work with poor communities in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, responding to basic needs and helping to create a more just and compassionate world. To help the Orientation Class of 2009 begin working toward that goal we are going Washington D.C. This adventure will start tomorrow (Sunday).

We have been given $50 cash to pay for subway and taxi fares for the week. At 7:30 am we are going to be driven to the train station here in Ossining where we have a ticket to Grand Central Station. From there we must find our way to China Town where we will catch a bus to D.C. at 10:50. We have to arrive at our destination in time for dinner at 6:30. Why? To experience what it will be like traveling in our future homes in developing countries.

Our first two days will be spent with two other lay missioners groups: Society for Mission in Africa and the Franciscan Mission Service for a retreat. With our class of 12 it looks like there will be about 20 - 25 people involved.

Wednesday we will be meeting with Maryknollers in D.C. who make up the Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns. Their job is to work with the United Nations, the US government, governments of other countries, international financial institutions and corporations on behalf of peace, social justice and environmental issues.

Thursday we will be visiting with NonGovermental Organizations (NGOs)currently working in the countries where we are assigned.

Friday we have visits scheduled with our congressmen.

We have the option of returning home Friday afternoon or staying over the weekend to do some sightseeing. John and I are planning to stay and see as much as we can in a little over a day.

It sounds like a busy week!