Miriam often tells us that one of our main ministries in Kenya is simply the "ministry of presence." Sometimes just being there is all it takes. At Jamii one morning this was true for me.
Instead of going to the playing field with the students and the rest of our education team, I felt the need to simply stay and check out the scene at the medical clinic to see if I could help in some way. After our chai break, I walked toward the clinic.
Our medical team was in full swing, crowded lines were formed in various directions, Sanna and Colin were huddled around small groups doing intake, Ginger was shuttling back and forth helping our pharmacist Lisa fill a myriad of orders, and our doctors were intently examining patients. Just as I entered the gate to the clinic, two people holding up a very sick woman between them, passed right in front of me. She was shaking, feverish, barely able to stand on her own, ...and she had no papers. Her friends carefully found her a place to sit under the umbrella, and then walked away.
With no papers in hand, I wondered whether she had even been through intake. I pointed her out to Ginger and to Sanna, neither of them had seen her come through. After describing how sick she seemed to be, Sanna alerted Dr. Bob and she was moved up the line. After a quick assessment it was determined her need for IV fluids was critical. With Kizimani funds in hand, our Eldoret support man Kigo drove her to the hospital and stayed with her as she was seen. Bob later reported to us that she would have died without fluids and the immediate medical intervention she received that day. In the crush of waiting patients and intense attention to the tasks at hand, her presence under the umbrella may have gone unnoticed for quite some time...perhaps too much time.
Sometimes just being there is all it takes. I am thankful to God for the opportunity to be present, to just be there to notice just one person, and to make a difference.
At New Dawn High School in the Huruma slum outside Nairobi, I was able to reconnect with Kasey, who the year before, had shared with me her tragic story. Her father died when she was very young, and his family shunned her and her mother. During the election violence of 2007 in Eldoret, Kasey's mother was shot and killed before her eyes. Thankfully her aunt who lives in Nairobi took her in and she later found her way to New Dawn, for which she is very grateful. Kasey recognized me from the art classes the year before, and when I gave her a hug, she simply would not let go. It brought tears to my eyes that the little bit of listening from last year would have had such an impact.
Kasey is a remarkably resilient young woman with an incredible gift of writing poetry. Although she is smiling above, her deep sense of loss, grief, and anger mixed with seeking God's redemption, love, and forgiveness come through every line of her verses. I encouraged her to keep writing and to use her gift as a way to bring healing for herself. In just one sitting while we were there, Kasey wrote two poems and gave them to me. They are powerful and profound. As we said our farewells again this year, the hugs were again long and tear filled, and she simply said, "Thank you for being my friend."
Some might ask, what difference can you possibly make over there? What is it that you can offer when faced with so much pain and suffering, so many needs that go unmet, Sometimes it is just the ministry of presence that we offer. Sometimes, just being there is all it takes.
Thank you friends and family for helping Kizimani make a difference, once community at a time, and one person at a time. Thank you for supporting our 2013 Kenya Team with donations, books, supplies, and especially prayers. They were felt and much needed.
Asante Sana
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