Ava very proud of her first Spring Performance
at Rosslyn Academy
This year’s Spring production for Rosslyn Academy Elementary was titled
AFRICA a Celebration of Music and Culture
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Rosslyn Middle School Banquet 2013
Rosslyn Middle School 2013 Banquet
"Spanish Night Lights with a Latin American Twist"
Last night was the annual Middle School banquet at Rosslyn Academy, Emma and the other members of student council worked for many months in preparation for the big night. Hand made Spanish pinatas and colourful decorations adorned the banquet as the students arrived for a fun night of music and food. Here are a few fun candid shots from a great evening!
Tristan, Ezra and Floris
Hannah, Emma, Raelyn, and Caroline
Robert, Ezra, Floris, TK, and Benjamin
Excited for a great evening under the stars!
The boys at the banquet
Looking dapper!
Chaperoning the fun Erica and Melissa
Emma and Diane preforming "Good Time”
“The Belly Button Song”
preformed by the Belly Button Boys
(Michael, Reagan, TK, and Ezra)
Erica and I were both blessed to be able to participate in the banquet as chaperons for Emma’s first Middle School banquet and Tristan’s last, as he begins High School this coming August. We can’t believe how quickly they are growing up!
Emma and Diana
The boys!
Our beautiful Emma
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Praying for a better future
Self Help Group members and their children
meeting in Nairobi, Kenya
Sharing with our friend Aisha and some of the leaders from the SHGs, it is interesting to hear their perspective on how fear and insecurity are affecting the lives of women. “Life is very hard for the women in our groups, they often have to fight for their independence, especially now.” shared our friend. “Just last week one of the groups was broken up by an angry man. He didn’t agree with women meeting together. He was violent and upset. He took his wife from the group and forbids her from going outside now.... this is not uncommon.”
Often in times of great upheaval, people retreat into what they know. Traditional values and patterns of life are seen as safe and secure. It is no wonder that young women interested in more non-traditional roles within their culture experience resistance and opposition. Interesting that around this past national election, there have been greater incidence of intergenerational division and conflict, than along tribal or ethnic lines. We have a friend who is leading peace building work throughout Kenya who also sees youth culture and youth movements as far more significant than old tribal division and interest.
It is encouraging to see SHG groups standing up for one another. This month, the groups have chosen 25 children (mostly young girls) within the groups to sponsor for school. “Education is so important,” shared Aisha. “It is a door to the future.” The women of the SHG program have great dreams and hopes for their children. Hopes for a new generation of young women that will experience life of peace and freedom.
Certainly the understanding of the rights and equality of women is a major issue among youth in Eastleigh and beyond. Lack of education, low literacy rates, prevalence of early arranged marriage and early child-bearing, high maternal mortality, and domestic violence are all pieces to the greater picture. One of the central pillars of the SHG program is helping women to address issues that affect their families and community. As they recognize and value each other, the SHG members are empowered to speak up for their sisters and for their families. Together they have a powerful voice!
Please continue to pray for the women of Eastleigh and their families. You can read more about the situation in their community in a recent Aljazeera Article describing the challenges facing the community of Eastleigh.
Monday, March 11, 2013
March 2013
Our Beautiful Girls!!
having some fun on sunny Sunday afternoon
March has felt like a full month already with our children home from school last week for the Kenya National elections and many of our project teams travelling throughout the country to be in their home ridings. On Sunday, our church gave thanks for the peaceful election process, but many of our friends admitted that it was an anxious time as people monitored local media and avoided any unnecessary travel.
On Saturday, Kenya’s next president was announced after a long week of ballot counting. Uhuru Kenyatta narrowly won with 50.7% of the vote, avoiding an April run-off. We are interested to see how the coming months look as Uhuru, and his running mate William Ruto, are both on trial at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity in the aftermath of the 2007 Kenyan election (Ruto stands trial on May 28th and Kenyatta on July 9th). We thank God that there was only isolated trouble this time around, but continue to pray for the communities of Marsabit, Garissa and Coast Province, where both violence and fatalities resulted from tensions and disputes around last week’s election.
Thank you for keeping Kenya in your prayers.
We recently sent out our March Update Letter to friends, churches and individual supporters. If you haven’t received it, please check it out online at www.cbmin.org or use this link:
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