Our CBM colleague Aisha Hussein helping members of the
Hormud Self Help Group in Eastleigh, Nairobi.
March has brought much-needed rain to Kenya and most of East Africa. It is custom here for farmers to start planting immediately. "As soon as the rains begin, seeds go in!" chimes our friend and colleague Andai. The mood shifts when people see good rains in Africa.
The rains also bring relief from the long hot days of January and February. Our colleague Ruth Munyao, CBM's food security specialist, shared how the rains make life so much easier in her home area where the first few months of the year feel "so long and unbearable".
March has also been a great time of spiritual refreshment as we have had time with all of our CBM team in both Kenya and Rwanda. It has been encouraging to share successes and challenges and to come together for prayer and fellowship.
Visiting the home of SHG members in Eastleigh, with CP Raju.
It has also been a gift to have our colleague CP Raju visiting with us from CBM's India program. A highlight for us was bringing CP through the labyrinth of muddy streets and alleys to visit with one of the Self Help Groups that Erica works with, in Eastleigh.
Hormud group members making tye-dye scarves.
As one of the contributing groups in the CBM 323Collective, Hormud is hand dying and creating hand twisted fringe on their beautiful scarves. Along with selling the scarves in Canada they have found other local markets from Nairobi to the Kakuma refugee camp for their creations.
Erica with Aisha and Laura.
It was wonderful to hear from the group members about the impact that this simple business has had in increasing their household incomes and improving the health of their families. Witnessing the pride on their faces was such an incredible gift!
Visiting with the Hormud SHG.
You can learn more about this program and find the creations
of Hormud and other self help groups at 323collective.org
A great few days with our colleagues in Rwanda.
We are also very grateful for the opportunity to be with our Rwandan field staff Andre Sibomana, Laura Lee & Darrell Bustin, and Wendy & Ken Derksen. During our two days of strategic planning, we spent significant time evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the CBM program in Rwanda and seeking God's direction for the next steps of the work here with the Association of Rwandan Baptist Churches.
Please join us in praying for the upcoming denominational elections that will be taking place within the AEBR at the beginning of this April.
We also pray for the over 714 local churches that had their doors chained shut by the Rwandan government this past week. An unannounced closure of churches was executed by government officials that accuse many churches of lacking respectable facilities with proper soundproofing, hygienic toilets, or running water. After the initial closures, more churches were shut down yesterday. A close friend of ours who pastors a small church in Kigali received a call at 4:00 am informing him that his church would be locked in the second wave of closures.
We pray for our colleagues they work with local churches to address social and spiritual needs in their communities.
Erica, Laura Lee, and Wendy.
Please join us in praying for our colleague Ruth Munyao and the work she oversees helping farmers and churches overcome food insecurity in Eastern DR Congo, Rwanda, and Kenya. We also pray for the current food relief projects that Ruth is assisting with our partner in South Sudan.
We pray especially for the community of Narus that suffered an attack by armed raiders this past weekend. We thank God for the courageous security guard that repelled the three gunmen and are thankful for the additional security that is being provided for the community. We pray for peace and for renewed resiliency for the people of Narus and all of South Sudan.
CP, Ruth, and Aaron in Thika, Kenya.
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