Everyone I know is invited to join me on a mission trip to Kenya from August 28 to September 5 of this year. We plan to provide medical clinics and construction work to improve the lives of orphaned and blind children. I've written previously about our work for Jehovah Jireh orphanage in Nairobi. Now here's a bit about the home for blind children.
St. Luke's is located in the small town of Kitui about a two hour drive outside Nairobi. There are currently more than 120 children living at St. Luke's, a residential facility that cares for blind and partially sighted children ranging in age from five to eighteen years old. More than 20 of the children are albinos as one of the symptoms of albinism is vision impairment. During our visit last year we discovered that, due to a lack of adequate funding, the children often do not receive sufficient medical attention. Many...if not all...currently suffer or have in the past suffered from malaria. Some have contracted cerebral malaria. All of them have worms. One little boy had suffered a severe burn on his leg that had been treated initially but had not been properly tended to. We were able to care for his wound and improve his condition.
Reliant on charitable dollars and fees from what few parents are able to pay, the home is terribly underfunded. The charitable dollars have been dwindling in the current global economic downturn. The manager of the home and his staff have gone as long as five months at a stretch without pay. They struggle to keep food in the pantry on a consistent basis.
The reason the school exists is to provide a place where blind children can stay as they're mainstreamed into the school system. Kitui has the only schools in the region with teachers equipped to work with children with disabilities. Without the opportunity for an education there is no hope for blind children in Kenya. More children arrive at St. Luke's all the time in order to seek a better life. The dedicated teaching staff there do all they can to prepare the younger ones to enter the regular school system. There are adults supervising dormitory buildings for girls and boys. They provide three meals a day...though often it's just a simple fare of beans and rice.
For the albino children St. Luke's also offers security. In the East African culture albinos are prized for their body parts. Those who practice native religions and mysticism believe the body parts of albinos have magic powers so they are routinely kidnapped, killed, dismembered and sold off in pieces. It's a horrible thing to share with you, but this is the reality of life for the children at St. Luke's in Kitui.
Join us in August and change the lives of these children. We need doctors and nurses who can provide basic medical checkups. We need donations of medicines that can be left with the local doctor who does his best to attend to at least the most urgent cases. We need workers to help set-up a sustainable, income producing business venture for the home so they don't need to rely solely on donor dollars. We need you. If you can't join the team yourself consider sponsoring someone from your church. Invite your doctor to join the team. Spread the word among medical professionals in your town. Please do what you can to see that we have a team of at least 20 people who can make a difference for the children of Kenya. Read my previous posts for all the trip details.
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