More from Africa

Dear friends,

it's been a while since i last wrote. my days have been packed with SO
much - the days feel like months, the hours like days. God has blessed
me with incredible hosts who have really allowed me to see the impact
Blood:Water Mission is having on individual lives over here, an ocean
away. I have also been satiated with the reality of the continued
suffering from disease adn poverty. the enormity of the problem is
paralyzing. it's so hard to put into words. you just have to be here
to truly understand it.

my last few days in kisumu were wonderful. i was able to visit all
wells already built by blood:water funds and then visit the projected
sites for this upcoming year. i wish we could fund every single
project. there's just so much to be done out here. i spent a
considerable amount of time with people who have really been affected
by AIDS. i would have hour-long conversations with orphans and widows
and people who had the courage to tell me that they were hiv positive.

joseph otieno is 14 years old. he's very quiet and a little unsure of
himself. he was 8 years old when his parents died from AIDS. he and
his little brother are being taken care of by his 80 year old
grandfather. joseph goes and collects water twice in the morning
before school and then twice in the evening after school. he cooks and
does all the domestic responsibilities to help his ailing grandfather.
his grandfather weaves baskets and tries to sell them to support his
two grandchildren. if he is lucky, he makes 70 shillings in a day
(about 90 cents US). joseph has white scabs all over his arms and
legs. they come and go, and he's had these ones for 3 weeks now. i
imagine he is being affected by the filthy water that he drinks - or
he, too, may be hiv positive. joseph says he is quiet and often spends
his time thinking about his parents. i asked him what makes him smile.
he said he can't really think of anything - and he doesn't like jokes.
older kids beat and punch him often and he wishes that they would
stop. i asked joseph what he would do if he were given a lot of money.
"i would go to the hospital. and then buy a shirt (his has been worn
daily for the last 2 years) and some food." joseph wants to be a
doctor, but he will never be able to afford to go on to secondary
school.

i followed joseph and his grandfather to their home. it's a hut made
from mud mixed with cow dung. the floor is dirt. there is one single
bed for four children. so two sleep on the floor and two sleep on the
ground. the grandfather sleeps in a separate shelter - much worse than
the other. the place is horrible. our dogs in america live better than
joseph and his family do here. my heart just broke.

i interact with this reality a lot, but it hit me today. take joseph's
story and multiply it by 14 MILLION. that's how many orphans are here
now in Africa as a result of AIDS. i was overwhelmed with the
suffering and the hardship for these children. i can't even imagine
what this is like for them. i can't even pretend to understand -
because i don't. it is so contrary to the way that God intended life
to be.

i went with joseph and some other children and women to walk with them
to get water. we walked to a small pond that was filled with mud,
filth and brown icky stuff. i'm not kidding you, i'm a pretty
adventurous person, but i wouldn't have been comfortable to even step
foot in the pond -- let alone drink the water. i filled my big yellow
bucket, put a cloth on my head and placed the bucket on top. i raised
my arms to hold on to the sloshing bucket of disease-filled water and
proceeded to walk with the women and children back to the village. it
was hard. it helped me appreciate the women and the work that they
do...even for something as worthless as dirty water. it just makes the
urgency for all of this so much greater when you're here seeing the
horrific conditions. the amazing thing is this: with blood:water
funds, i imagine we will be able to provide joseph and his community
with a new well this july. please pray that money comes through
($3000)

personally, i am doing much better. i am now in nakuru, kenya with a
new partner organization called lifewater kenya. david, the head of
the organization is this amazing pastor and director and i am living
in his home with his family - and i really do feel comfortable here.
the homesickness has died down a bit, and i am thankful to be here.
it's hard work - and it really doesn't ever end, but i am learning so
much - and i can speak so honestly that the funds we are sending out
here are going to amazing places and making a huge difference.

i hope you're all well. sorry to write a novel. i think of you often
and keep you in my prayers. thank you too, for your encouraging emails
and your prayers as well.

much love,

jena