Project Learning Tree

The Kenyan home educators and others in Kenya are interested in environmental education. They want to make applications to help live a healthy life and to start small "green" businesses to support their families. Sue Wintering, coordinator of Project Learning Tree at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has provided me with a curriculum to take along on our trip. Since a lot of people reading this are looking for educational resources for next school year I thought I would put in the link to Project Learning Tree.

Geofrey Odanga is an artist that lives near Kakamega. I met him over a year ago when I first went to Kenya. I was visiting Geofrey and his wife, Rose, in their mud hut teaching them how to make corn husk dolls and learning how to make banana leaf pictures. The young children gathered into the hut to get their first look at a person with Caucasian skin. Some of the braver children shook hands and the crowd squealed with delight.

I saw a picture on the wall that Geofrey had drawn. The picture was compelling. I was able to bring the picture back. My daughter, Anna, got it professionally scanned. David Bair, an American artist friend and a printer for The Chapel on Fir Hill in Akron, OH, got permission to use the printing press and ink along with some left over paper to get prints of this picture.

Geofrey wants to donate 40% of the proceeds of the sale of this picture to Mission to the Fatherless orphans. He and his wife, Rose attend the church that started as an outgrowth of the orphanage. The picture tells a story about AIDS in the African society. It is called Infected.

The drawing is available on 11x17 (inch) stock, either white, or off-white. When we visit him this summer, we will ask Geoffrey to sign some of the prints.

You can view a video we made about AIDS in Kenya. It includes Geofrey's comments about his picture, and a companion picture called Affected. The children you will see reciting the poem are orphans living at Mission to the Fatherless in Oyugis, Kenya. They do not have AIDS but are orphaned as a result of their parents dying of the disease. The poem was written by Douglas, the director of the orphanage.

If you are interested in buying a limited edition print of Infected go to www.missiontothefatherless.net and look under "Picture Project" to make a purchase.

Each print will come with a copy of Geofrey's intrepretation. Signed prints will be available sometime after June 2009.

Blessings

The days are ticking away. Soon we will have to start packing.

I wanted to share a little about our friend Evey who is also going to Kenya with us. Evey is involved in designing and carrying out a pilot research project for women with disabilities in Kenya. She has received a lot of interest in this project from people at her school (Kent State University) and from others. Evey and her husband are directors of BAMCO, and inner city youth ministry in Akron, OH.

Evey, my wife, Gail, and her friend Naomy Ruth from Kenya, have been working hard to arrange a series of mini conferences to train women leaders in Kenya as well as gather information related to Evey's research. Naomy Ruth had requested we bring copies of a specific resource book to be distributed to these leaders. Over the last two weeks, women at our fellowship have been writing personal notes to be placed in these books. They are committing themselves to pray for those receiving the books and others they will help in the future. Our fellowship is also helping financially to cover the costs of the conferences. It is exciting to see so many people getting involved in this project.

Plans for the end of the trip

Our hope is to spend about one week in Mombasa. We will be taking Timothy and Christine with us so they can have a vacation and visit family and friends. Timothy is the pastor of Gambogi Fellowship Centre. We will probably travel to Mombasa by bus, but hope to take the train, the Jambo Kenya Deluxe for the return trip -- sleeping compartments, dining car, and so on. In Mombassa, we are planning to stay at a cottage near the beach.

Margush's Going To Kenya

The Margush's are going to Kenya. We will be leaving May 11, 2009, and returning June 21, 2009.

Who does this include? Kayla, David, Sarah, Gail, and Tim.

What will we be doing? Our trip will be in four parts. We plan to start with a week in Nairobi visiting Gail's friend, Mary, who is head of a homeschooling community. After that we will be joined by our friend Evey and daughter Lisa, and the next 2-3 weeks we will primarily be at the Mission to the Fatherless orphanage in Kakamega, with plenty of side trips as we are able. The last 2 weeks we hope to spend with Emily Dwyer at ACTS for Messiah, in Tororo, Uganda, and Timothy and Christine in Mombasa.

Does this sound like an adventure? We hope to post updates here, so stay tuned.