tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8422440891734776890.post6871768564677893092..comments2023-10-24T15:11:00.901+03:00Comments on Sukuma Kenya: WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT NOWSukuma Kenyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13997867977694132300noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8422440891734776890.post-84351420307849220472008-01-30T03:17:00.000+03:002008-01-30T03:17:00.000+03:00Surely, I can donate $32 today to help feed 100 ch...Surely, I can donate $32 today to help feed 100 children. My god, it is the least I can do and I so wish that I could be there with you on the ground actually helping to distribute items and comfort these people that are in so much need at the moment. Thank you for all that you are doing. It truly is amazing work. LisaLisa Hickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09301585658182895681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8422440891734776890.post-21766126166508013382008-01-07T08:59:00.000+03:002008-01-07T08:59:00.000+03:00As I stood on the sidelines watching the Red Cross...As I stood on the sidelines watching the Red Cross hand out little survival packs in Jamhuri Park..I couldn't believe this was my country..this was down the road from where I live...these were people I passed on the street each day as they made their way to work. How quickly we arrived here..to this place where hundreds of thousands have been reduced to squabbling in a queue for a little parcel. <BR/><BR/>Myself and a friend were assigned to the store. Lorna worked with the counselling team. Maria & I were told that the children desperately needed fruit and vegetables..they needed sufurias to cook in and firewood. So - we grabbed the money we had and send out messages to all our friends. Out of the 20 messages I sent to those in Nairobi, only 5 responded. It's hard not to be judgemental at a time like this. Unfortunately (for him), I bumped into a friend that is highly opinionated...an intellectual that knows what Kenya should and shouldn't do. He gave me a sheepish "how are you"...and not that much more. I claim no rights to judge...but I cannot help but ask..to those of us that live in the leafy suburbs..surely there must be a lesson in all this. Surely it must tell us that it's no longer enough to hide away in our comfort zones intellectualising over dinner about the occasional newspiece we happen to read? <BR/><BR/>But...there is always joy & hope in every situation. By the end of the day, the store was full. People came from all over to contribute ..sukuma, diapers...I even watched a little girl hand over her teddy bear. <BR/><BR/>I try hard not to think too far into the future..not to dwell too much on the storied Lorna told me from her sessions with the displaced women. The questions they asked about "tomorrow"...about starting all over again. I try not to think about the Kisii woman who's been sleeping in the bushes because she couldn't figure out how to get a registration card that would give her access to food and medical attention. Or those who haven't been able to get supplies for days because others have taken more than they should have.<BR/><BR/>I focus instead on the charcoal and beans I need to get this morning. I focus on the civil society group that simply refuses to be silenced into accepting the injustice that sparked this madness. I focus on the need to slowly, bit by bit ..drop by drop help to rebuild our country..our hope.MPabarihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12603421450861053585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8422440891734776890.post-51008597663712319912008-01-06T23:17:00.000+03:002008-01-06T23:17:00.000+03:00We have just received our first donation! Thank yo...We have just received our first donation! Thank you so much Feiko and Penny and family who lived in Kisumu for several years and more importantly made me coffee and kicked my butt at scrabble. Let's hope we can do that again under a mango tree...thank you.Sukuma Kenyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13997867977694132300noreply@blogger.com