CONNECTED CHURCH ADS, Kenya

THE MIRACLE OF UMOJA Summer 2017

What’s the longest walk you have ever been on? Notes to leader: Use this question as a way to get people engaged in the update. Ask people to talk to the person next to them, and then feedback to you.

Mercy’s village is isolated and forgotten Mercy’s village is isolated and forgotten. With no access to water or electricity, daily life is struggle. My name is Mercy Njiru. Before Umoja came to my village, my life was very difficult. Struggling just to survive each day, I felt tired and alone. But then I met ADSMKE through my church, and now everything looks different. One of the biggest challenges in rural Kenyan villages like mine, is access to water. The last time it rained here was two years ago. The other challenge is lack of electricity. Despite our village being right next to the Kiambere Dam which supplies electricity to the National Grid, we are not connected. This picture of stark injustice is my everyday reality. Our land serves the rich whilst we the poor are forgotten. Isolated, without water or electricity means that the simple act of surviving each day is tough. I had to walk four hours a day for water, which by itself left me exhausted. Added to the daily responsibilities of being a mother to three children, I was struggling to get by.

‘We thought we had no way out’ My family and I could only afford to eat maize. Poor nutrition from such an unbalanced diet took its toll on our health and my children were often sick, needing to be taken to hospital regularly. This was costly and meant a 7km walk there and back again. We thought we had no way out. Our crops, the only source of income we had, would never produce enough. My husband and I were forced to look for manual labour, which on top of everything else nearly broke us. Our family was falling apart.

Umoja helped Mercy change her life Umoja helped Mercy change her life. She had access to water, healthy food and a reliable source of income. It was 2015 when Umoja came to our village. With encouragement and direction from ADSMKE staff, the Umoja programme led to us working together as a village to lay water pipes, providing water the the local primary school and people’s homes. This meant I no longer had to walk four hours a day for water! My health has improved no end and I finally feel like I have time to be a proper mother. The water also means my crops are healthy. I am producing enough to provide for my family, at last, we have food security! I was also able to plant peas and other vegetables to provide a more balanced diet and make sure we get all the nutrients we need. Since I introduced the new diet, not one of my children has needed a visit to the hospital. It truly is a miracle!

‘Umoja is the best thing to have ever happened to our village ‘Umoja is the best thing to have ever happened to our village. Please ask God to keep sharing this wonderful gift across the world.’ My family are now healthy and happy. Spiritually there has been a change too. I used to miss church regularly, but now I go to church every Sunday, and am first to arrive! We are now able to give money and produce to the offering, knowing it will be used to help those less fortunate in our community. God has blessed us and we want to bless others in the same way. Umoja is the best thing to have ever happened to our village. Please ask God to keep sharing this wonderful gift of love across the world.

PRAYER Mercy’s family and income God to protect her children from peer pressure at school Rain and healthy crops Peaceful elections There’s no stopping Mercy! She plans to increase her poultry farming to over 100 birds, and build a pond as another water source for her family. As she puts these plans into practice, Mercy asks for your prayers: Pray for my family, especially the plans we have to improve our income Pray for God to bless my children in school and protect them from peer pressure Pray for sufficient rain, so that our crops will continue to grow well Pray for peaceful elections in Kenya this August