Thursday 3 January 2008

A friendly appeal for a friend in Kenya

We’ve all been distressed by reports of violence in Kenya over the past week. One of my close friends, a cheerful and good-hearted pastor named Frank Nyameche (pictured), has been right in the midst of all this – so I’m wondering whether you might like to join me in another “friendly appeal.”

I became good friends with Frank when he was studying theology in Australia several years ago. After his studies, he returned to Nairobi in Kenya, and he has been working there in the Kibera slum – the worst and largest slum in Africa, and the site of the worst riots and violence over the past week. Frank leads the Nairobi Believers Mission: he pastors a church in the slum, organises outreach and support for local children, provides micro-loans for the development of new businesses in the slum, and helps to run an orphanage in the neighbouring city of Kisumu.

Frank was able to contact me this morning with some news from the troubled region. With his usual good humour, he remarked that young children in the slum have “interpreted the last seven days of constant gunfire as countless balloons bursting!” Some of the kids from Frank’s orphanage were caught in the conflict, and had to hide “in a tin shed amidst bullets flying over the place” while thugs outside were “making people walk the streets as human shields.”

Although some basic commodities are now becoming available again, the drastic shortage of commodities has led to price hikes, so that it’s difficult to obtain food. And with many shops and businesses burnt down, the food supply to the orphanage has been cut. In addition, many micro-businesses in the Kibera slums have been looted and burnt, so that Frank will need to start again from scratch with the financing of these businesses.

Anyway, I’ll be sending Frank some funds to help him out – not as condescending “charity,” but just as a gesture of friendship and concern. If you’d like to join me in this friendly gesture, then please feel free to make a small donation by clicking the PayPal icon below. And you can learn more about Frank’s work in Kibera here.



2 Comments:

T.B. Vick said...

You've got my support. Be looking for a donation. G?od Bless

Ben Myers said...

Many thanks, T.B. — and thanks to all those who have been donating!

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