Reflections on the Kenya 2020 Lemayian Trip
“Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by accidents of time, or place, or circumstance, are brought into closer connection with you.” -St Augustine
By Molly Norton, Philanthropic Advisor
As I was sitting outside the maternity ward at Ruben Center, a young, pregnant woman came and sat outside on the bench beside me. We smiled and said hello. She seemed to be calmly waiting for a checkup. Suddenly she stood up and ran the few steps into the nurse’s station, and about 30 seconds later I heard a baby crying. It couldn’t be hers, I thought. Is that even possible? But sure enough, the nurse came out and said she had just delivered prematurely, and the mom and baby would soon be transferred to a nearby hospital.
I couldn’t help but feel a bit desperate about what had just happened: a mom giving birth early and alone; a new baby born in Mukuru, which is already home to more than an estimated 600,000 people, most of whom lack access to basic sanitation, water and health. It’s a dire situation, but the presence of this maternity ward, which opened in 2018 and has already provided safe deliveries to almost 1,500 babies, certainly created a buffer from what might have happened to them if the mom delivered in one of the single-room corrugated iron shacks that most people inhabit.
Because of the Ruben Center, this mother-child duo has a chance: a chance to attend the day care while mom receives job training; a chance meeting with doctors, nutrition consultants, and lactation aids; a chance to attend primary school and have access to dance and music through the RISE program that The Brighton Jones Richer Life Foundation supports with the help of travelers like you. My mind quickly went from despair, to hope.
The enormity of the world’s challenges can paralyze us, but once we start seeing the change we can create by connecting with one life at a time, we realize that every bit matters. Every visit is a chance to share moments of kindness and understanding and to build relationships that make a difference.
Our 2020 Lemayian trip was filled with moments like these: small interactions that made me realize that potential is everywhere. While the scope of the world’s problems is large, if we take St. Augustine’s words to heart, what we do really matters. Here are some opportunities – big and small – to make a difference.
Ruben Centre
Ruben Centre is located in the heart of the Mukuru community and offers peace and hope to its neighbors. Offering over 30 unique direct services and programs to the community, Ruben Centre serves as a springboard to teach, train, inspire, and empower individuals of all ages. From their maternity ward, baby care clinic, and 3,000-student primary school to their vocational training, microfinance, and public radio station, Ruben Centre’s programs are designed by Mukuru residents for Mukuru residents. Often, individuals who have reached success through college return to work at Ruben Centre, knowing firsthand how much the services can help those who truly need it.
Goal: $80,000 to fulfill our annual commitment to sustain the primary school’s RISE Program (Ruben Improved Scheme of Education). This program is designed to infuse arts, culture, and fun into the curriculum, which is notoriously rote in Kenya. Through this program, Ruben Centre is able to hire specialists and teachers, purchase supplies for art, gymnastics, music, physical education, and much more. The RISE program has increased daily attendance numbers and graduation rates since its launch in 2019.
Kajiado Child Care Centre
Kajiado Childcare Centre is a home for physically disabled children, mostly from the Maasai community, and provides support to their mothers who have often been isolated because of stigma in the community. Without KCC, most of the kids would not have survived or would be begging in the streets. As Daniel, the founder who had polio as a child says: “we give them the chance to prove that disability is not inability…and even though our limbs are weak, our minds are perfect.”
Goal: $10,000 to support Kajiado Child Care Centre’s Socioeconomic Empowerment Program (SEP). This program was designed with the belief that by empowering impoverished, often single mothers of children with disabilities, the impact is multiplied as they are better able to support their children with disabilities and other family members. Through the SEP, mothers are educated on agriculture and farming practices and provided employment, a living wage, and ultimately the confidence and peace of mind that they can provide for their household.
GRACE Nanana
GRACE Nanana is a rescue center where Maasai girls can escape the illegal but still practiced customs of early marriage and female genital mutilation in order to pursue education. Full-time housing and care is provided on-site, and GRACE works to educate and empower girls to choose the life they want to live.
Goal: $10,000 to sponsor education costs for girls through GRACE Nanana. The sponsorship funding program works in three ways: It funds outreach and onboarding for girls seeking protection, refuge and education; it provides tuition, room, and board for students who are already at GRACE Nanana; it covers tuition for individuals who have been accepted to secondary school after they graduate from GRACE but would otherwise have no way to pay.
The strength of our community is the ability to raise awareness, compassion, and funds as a group for these organizations. By pooling efforts to sustain and advance the work of Ruben Centre, Kajiado Child Care Centre, and GRACE Nanana, our net impact can far outweigh the sum of our individual contributions.
Looking for the right way for you to help support these grassroots projects? Interested in joining our January, 2021 trip? Reach out to our philanthropic advisor and trip leader, Molly Norton, at molly.norton@brightonjones.com.