Transforming Mission: Sharing

A Sudanese Refugee woman grinding her family's flour in Kakuma.

We returned last night from a wonderful visit with the Faith Evangelical Baptist Churches (FEBAC) in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in the Northwest corner of Kenya. We had traveled there with our Canadian Baptist Ministries' colleague Lenny Mbogo, who serves as CBM's program officer for Africa. Together we had the pleasure of monitoring the joint CBM/FEBAC projects in the camp.

Lenny Mbogo and Rev. Saphano Riak Chol sharing 

with the FEBAC congregation in Kakuma Camp 3.

Kakuma is a massive camp for over 186,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya's Turkana County, bordering South Sudan. With the huge influx of South Sudanese refugees fleeing violence north of the border, the FEBAC churches within the camps are growing. The congregations have been proactive in caring for new arrivals and providing valuable services to the refugee community. 

Lenny speaking to the congregation

Along with times of prayer and sharing, it was encouraging to see the love of God in action as the people of FEBAC respond to the needs of the vulnerable people around them. The generosity and open-handedness of the FEBAC people is humbling to witness.

Refugees line their bags of raw wheat, millet, 

and sorghum in front of a FEBAC posho mill

Families settled in the Kakuma receive rations of unmilled cereals such as millet, sorghum, and wheat. Bags of raw grains are difficult for a family to use. It takes great effort with a mortar and pestle for a mother to make flour to cook for her children.

Last year, FEBAC approached CBM to help them provide a valuable service to their community. With the help of Canadian Baptist churches, FEBAC purchased supplies and built two posho mills that they use as a free ministry to their neighbours.  

Raw grains are brought to the mill each day

A young man from the church operated the posho mill 

and feeds the hopper for the line of women and children outside.

A refugee mother carrying her milled flour home from the mill

Lenny and Erica with Rev. Saphano in Kakuma

"God has given us two hands - one to receive with and the other to give with. We are not cisterns made for hoarding; we are channels made for sharing."

Billy Graham

Thank you for your support of the ministries of CBM and our partners. You can learn more about the work of CBM in Africa and around the world at www.cbmin.org