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Gordon
Bramall
has received
the following email letter and photographs from Peter Davey who
heads up 'Rags to Riches', a charity of which St.Chad's Church
subscribes to.
At a St. Chads Fellowship meeting, the Rev. John Daimond presented
to Linda Davey, a cheque of £1000 towards the work of the
'Rags to Riches' organisation in Kenya. |
December
2008
A very happy and blessed Christmas to you and all those dear
to you.
 As promised I am writing
to bring you up to date with the work of the ministry in Kenya
after my latest trip over there in the land of sunshine. I had
a busy time of it during the two weeks I was there at the beginning
of this month, what with spending time with our children, charity
society meetings, staff meetings and riveting times with our
lawyer!
It had been six months since my last visit and I was surprised
to see how things had settled down, at least superficially. When
I was in Kenya in May I felt as though the whole situation might
explode again at any moment, people were disorientated and angry,
displaced people were everywhere and so many ordinary people
to whom I spoke had a tale to tell about how the crisis had affected
them. So, on landing in Nairobi, it was with some relief that
I found taxi drivers and acquaintances sounding remarkably optimistic
and positive about the future. Of course the country still faces
enormous challenges if it is advance over the hurdle of tribalism.
So many have been harmed and so many wealthy and powerful people
implicated in the violence that it will take a real effort of
will on the part of leaders across the country for the culprits
to be finally brought to justice. A lot has been forgiven, but
the memories remain and with them a cloud that hangs heavily
over future elections, due in 4 years time.
 Our group of displaced
people have all been resettled back in their home areas or have
been assisted to settle in and around Nakuru. Our team did a
great job in very difficult circumstances, often facing the challenge
of trying to cater for large numbers of their own extended families
who had taken shelter with them in Nakuru. Our churches have
all suffered from the instability; one has been forced to close
after all but 2 of its members fled during the worst of the violence
in January, another, in one of the most severely affected rural
areas was similarly affected. Its entire congregation was chased
away, houses and property stolen or destroyed and the church
evicted from its building. However the young Pastor continued
to visit people throughout the violence and gained a reputation
for his genuine concern. Although they remain desperately short
of resources the church has now grown back every member it lost
and is a beacon of care in that devastated community.
 For the first half
of the year our team of trainers led by Pastor Samuel was unable
to move easily about the country and so it was only as the year
went on that they were able to respond to some of the many requests
from church leaders across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. In that
time of fear and instability when most people avoided travelling
to unfamiliar and perhaps hostile areas the team were welcomed
most warmly and their work appreciated. We hope that finance
will allow them to continue this year, this work is always the
last in line for any cash but it is amazing what they do with
so little.
 In Hilton it has been
a delight to see how that community has weathered the storm.
None of this seems to have affected the Saturday morning crowd
of about 150 kids. We've been able to improve the compound, grassing
it and building some play equipment. I was so surprised and pleased
to see how this large group of scruffy kids play together so
happily in various groups inside and outside the building. Our
group of about 20 grannies have really come together. They used
to be so tribalistic that they didn't even sit together. This
year has seen them continuing with their knitting and pig rearing
projects. In the coming months we hope to rearing our second
litter of piglets, and hopefully financing the group to start
a small shop, and then there's talk of chicken rearing............!
The children have excelled themselves this year. They've all
completed another year at school apart from Eunice who is having
a baby! Two more have finished at the local Primary School and
we plan to send them to Secondary Boarding School for their 4
years of secondary education. The Primary School Certificate
exams are very competitive but Joseph and Mary have worked hard
and wwe confident that they will merit their places. Our staff
continue to provide a hot lunch for the children and keep an
eye on their general welfare, the programmes has now been running
more than 6 years so it's a well oiled operation and runs without
too many hitches. We have three children in Secondary School;
Catherine is finishing her 3rd year and continues to apply herself
with good results, Anthony and Richard have both finished their
first year and they are catching up with their more privileged
class mates. Faith has now finished her pharmacy course at college
and after one final placement, she will be looking for a job
at Easter time. She has really applied herself and will graduate
at the top of her class. It's so encouraging to see our young
people appreciating and making the most of these opportunities
that have been provided.
 Of course trying to
administer a project from a distance always brings a few problems,
but probably no more than would have surfaced if we were living
just down the road. It was great to see the team working so hard
and after some earlier problems of unity it now seems that we
will be able to rely upon a united and trustworthy team under
the leadership of Josephine our very capable administrator. For
many of us the current financial situation is making life more
difficult and we continue to trust God that He will meet the
needs of the Ministry. At this time of year we are particularly
concerned with finding sponsors for our new secondary school
students and I want to bring them to your attention. Thanks to
the generosity of other sponsors, we have been able to meet the
costs of existing students and so we are very much hoping that
the same will forthcoming for Joseph and Mary.
 Linda and I are settling
in to Portugal, you might be surprised to know that it's almost
as cold here as England, without the benefits of central heating!
We're looking forward to spending Christmas together with our
daughter Philippa and some new found friends.
We wish you a very Happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous
2009.
With our love
Peter and Linda
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