WHO 'THEY' ARE
"They" are the children for whom we are making this journey. "They" are the children of
Mathare
Valley, a slum of 850,000 people in the capital city of Nairobi, Kenya, in
East Africa. Approximately 1/4th [or 212,000] are school aged children. The land area of
Mathare
Valley is about 480 acres which is roughly half the size of Central Park in
New York City. Do the math and you get 1,770 people per acre.
The majority of children living here have almost nothing except the clothes on their backs and hope in their hearts. They’ve been exposed to the darkest poverty imaginable. Many do not have parents, some have lost their siblings, about a thousand have only American sponsors to call their family. Many children live in group houses. When I say houses I mean a ten feet, by ten feet, one room dirt floor shack constructed of mud walls and a tin roof – kind of like the sheds we use to store lawn equipment. The shacks often shelter more than a dozen people. There is no running water, toilet or electricity. Imagine ten thousand of these shacks propped up against the other and a foot deep-hand dug muddy gutter outside which serves a variety of purposes, mostly sewage run off. The streets are hard packed dirt littered with all types of waste. Babies crawl along these dirt walk ways. Many of the children are left alone each day while the caring adult goes out in search of food or work. The children who are not sponsored are left to fend for themselves for meals. This is the harsh reality for 95% of the children of
Mathare
Valley.
There are numerous missionary groups who live close to the valley. These dedicated people invest their time, energy and skills in teaching the people how to provide for themselves by establishing small businesses, growing food, and taking care of their families. I’m positive I am not adequately describing the daily functions of missionaries but I know this much; without our help there would be no healthcare, no new fruit trees planted, no new schools built, no hope for a better future.
Do you care enough to help these people? Some of the children who captured my heart...maybe they'll touch you too.
