Kamp Tumaini Preparation

This week we are travelling through the beautiful rolling coffee hills of Thika up into the steep tea country of Gituru to visit with the African Christian Church and Schools (ACC&S). The focus of  our visit is to meet with the local leaders and to see the compound where we will be hosting the August camps for the Guardians of Hope (GOH) orphans and vulnerable children. 

2015 will be the first of a three year pilot for Kamp Tumaini (Camp Hope), a project that will provide support and encouragement for the children of the the CBM/ACC&S GOH program.

Next week, Erica and I will be facilitating the counsellor training of the ACC&S volunteer counsellors who are joining Canadian volunteers that will help make these camps a successful intervention for the first 96 GOH children that are being sponsored to attend camps in 2015. We are excited to share with you a few glimpses of Kamp Tumaini.

Samuel, Erica, Principal John, Laura, Phyllis, and Maureen

The Gituru Secondary School is an historic site for the ACC&S. The establishment of this secondary school marked the genesis of the indigenous Kikuyu denomination as it declared its independence here in the 1940s. The importance of providing education for the children of the church and its community defined the identity of the church which is why "Schools" is included in its name.

Gituru is also the site of the beginnings of the CBM partnership with the ACC&S. It was here in 1970, that the first eight Canadian missionaries to work in Kenya entered the Central Highlands to serve with the denomination. Ron Ward had taught school in these very classrooms, and Joan Ward worked in setting up the library which fills the repurposed chapel at the centre of the school.

It is exciting to return to this breezy hilltop for the launch of this new initiative! This summer Canadian and Kenyan volunteer leaders will play games, sing songs, and share their faith under these great old trees. 

The flag pole at the centre of the school 

will also be the central meeting place for Kamp Tumaini

Erica and Maureen

Preparation for the new camping ministry has been a huge effort over the past few years. Erica and I are so grateful to our friend and colleague Maureen Morgan who has been working on the logistic details. We will miss her and Wayne this summer as they return to Canada.

Dormitories

As the camps will take place during the August school break, the campers will be bunking in the school dormitories. We are very thankful for generous support of Canadian Churches and individuals who are contributing to the short term mission costs of the Canadian Counsellors, included in this budget are funds that will provide for 5 children to attend camp for each Canadian volunteer. 

A part of those funds will provide each child with a camp kit that they will be able to take home after their time at Kamp Tumaini. The kits include a Bible, note book and pen, camp t-shirt, sleeping bag, towel, wash bucket, toiletries, and lots of little treats!

Samuel and Phyllis

Representing the ACC&S in the leadership team of Kamp Tumaini are Rev. Samuel the youth ministries director of the denomination, and Phyllis the project officer for the Guardians of Hope HIV and AIDS ministry. They are both looking forward to meeting the Canadian volunteers who will be serving with us. This will be their first time to experience camping ministry first hand, but they are both ready to jump in.

Please pray for the preparation of Kamp Tumaini. 

We think of the Canadian volunteers who are actively raising funds. Canadian Baptist Ministries is also receiving donations that will be used for the Kamp Tumaini Ministry. You can learn more about how you can be involved by clicking here or contacting CBM directly.

We are praying for the ACC&S as they finalize the selection of campers and complete the preparations of logistics for transporting almost a hundred children from across Kenya to the camps.

We especially pray for the volunteer counsellors who will be coming to next week's training. It is our hope that they will be free of any anxiety and that God will shine through their lives as they serve the children this summer.