Some work in Gemena

Wow! It has been some crazy days here for us at the CECU center here in Gemena.We have recovered from our exhausting journey and been focusing more on the task at hand.

We have attended the pastors conference that is currently going on here as well as visiting Elikya, the project to help older orphans and widows to learn a means to provide for themselves. What is so exciting about all of this is that it so new, the first buildings here only went up last year and they were build for the director, and one for the training. While we are here they are finishing up a storage building or depot, they have two shipping containers to use, are working on the foundations for a new school, are renovating two old houses to be used as dorms and also planting a huge garden to support themselves and to raise an income. As we have been there, the director, Mowa’s, wife has made some pretty tastey  food for us, including Pundue–a spinach, goat meat, rice, and plantanies–a large banana.

We sometimes get a ride to these places, but more often end up walking the mile or so routes through the town, where all eyes are on the strange white people with cameras walking down the road. Here, the larger vehicle has the right of way, so if you hear a horn or a vehicle coming, you have to jump out of they way or risk getting hit.

The stories we have heard here so far are exciting, hopeful, painful, and heartbreaking. There is so much suffering here, yet in the midst of it, there is a lot of hope and a lot of great things being done to overcome it. We have committed to sponsoring an orphan and will hopefully get the chance to meet him or her before we leave. We have seen the impact that the $25 a month donation can do and what it means to the child, their family and community. This provides for medical expenses, food and nutrition, school, a uniform, shoes, and a book bag and it is incredible to see how this revolutionizes life one child at a time.

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