Picking up where I left off...as I've mentioned before, this was not a typical mission trip where we went and "did" something like build a school, run vacation bible school, dig wells, etc. Those things are good, but they are relief and ZOE is about empowerment. So, our role was to be good listeners, build relationships with the children and staff, and learn as much as we could about the program so we can generate interest and support back home. Just our presence and interest in these kids' lives was enough. Each day we would go out into smaller villages to meet with different groups, hear their stories, and visit their businesses. I'm going to focus mostly on the first group that we saw because I can't tell you allllll the details about each group...you just had to be there.
All during the week we were accompanied by members of the ZOE staff. Reegan is the director of the ZOE Kenya program, and a wonderful and God-filled person. He astounded us with his joy and wisdom throughout the week. Perpetual, Caroline, and Doris were other regular "shepherds" throughout the week, answering our endless questions. Perpetual, Doris, and many others are program facilitators, which means that they are in charge of many of the working groups that makes up the main structure of ZOE. We learned most of our answers from the program facilitators who were with us. It took a week to fully understand all of the intricate processes and reasons behind how the program runs.
Reegan is in the orange shirt on the left.
Perpetual
For a little background, the kids' parents mostly died because of sickness. Kenya is a developing country and especially in the rural areas where we were, sanitation, hygiene, and disease prevention is not as prevalent as the US. Malaria is a daily threat, along with fecal contamination and HIV. Tribes are a big deal here and there are societal rules that can be harsh to an outsider looking in. Several children discussed being excommunicated from their tribe once their parents died because the mother or father had married into a different tribe from which they were born and no one wanted to take care of the extra mouths. Child abuse is a reality here. Many of the children we listened to explained that before they joined ZOE they would work as house boys or girls and after a long day of hard labor, the employer just wouldn't pay them, citing sub-par service. Another girl told us that she was working as a house girl alongside another boy. They got into an argument about something and the boy used a knife to chop her hand off. The employer sent them both away, not wanting to deal with squabbling children. If children got no compensation from the work they did, they just went home hungry and hoped for food the next day. These things put my life into perspective, humble me, and inspire me to tell the story and try to make a difference in the lives of others.
Now for some more specifics: working groups are formed with about 25 orphans, who serve as representatives for their families. Each orphan that we met had at least one sibling and many had up to 7 siblings that they were in charge of caring for once their parents died. So, the oldest or most responsible member would join the ZOE working group and start receiving the benefits of the group that they could then share with their siblings. Working groups were located in certain areas so that the children could gather easily to meet and learn and work together. The beauty of forming working groups instead of just doling out help to individuals is that it becomes like a new family for these orphaned children. They have people they can rely on and network with. It's a strong bond that forms quickly and lasts indefinitely. We had the fortune to see the first meeting of kids who were interested in joining ZOE and watch the process of Reegan telling them about what ZOE did and sorting out who would be eligible and who would not. That was fascinating.
A new group coming together for the first time. Reegan is talking to them about what ZOE is and who would be good for the group. You can see how they have been sorted by age. Some of the kids are too young yet and some might have kids already so they won't be eligible.
When a group is first formed, they take some time to do some reflecting and dreaming. Each child fills out a Dream Sheet, which asks them to think about what makes them sad, what makes them happy, what they don't like in their communities, what they do, and how they plan to work toward their vision of their best life. I love this idea and hope to transfer some of that back to my classroom in the fall. Next, the group decides who should be its representatives. They elect a chairperson, who serves as a leader and voice for the group, a secretary, treasurer, and pastor for the group. There are checks and balances in the governance of the group. For example, the treasurer does not hold onto all of the money. They also choose an "aunty" or "uncle", a volunteer from the community who serves as a mentor and are the unsung heroes of the program. We saw many of these aunties in action and they are strong, nurturing, usually the quiet background pillars of the group.
Dream Sheets
Aunty from the first group we visited.
Another unsung hero, the aunty from another group.
The ZOE model implements a 3-year program for the working groups. In the first year, they are given a lot of support by ZOE staff and set up for quick success. They are trained in things like malaria and HIV prevention, agriculture, child rights, hygiene, basic finances and business, and they are introduced to Christianity. ZOE is an empowerment model, which rejects giving out supplies and materials without any input from the receivers. So, orphans have to go through different trainings before the group can get things like malaria nets, water tanks to store water in, materials to build drying racks for cooking utensils, or supplies to build a better toilet for their families. They are also asked if they already have a skill or trade that they could build a business on. If so, ZOE starts offering a start up kit so that those kids can begin their own business to generate income.
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Everything goes through the group and the leaders democratically decide who should be given the materials. There is competition between members and between working groups but it was not a malicious kind of competition. They vied to be the most successful farmer, which means they can help other people whose farms may not have produced quite as much. They worked so hard at their individual businesses so that they could put money into the group funds and help pay for bee hives for the whole group. Matt coined the term "compassionate capitalism" to describe how the groups structured their businesses and finances (don't steal that term, he's going to trademark it :), and how they encouraged each other to do their best for the good of the whole group. It was really amazing to see how quickly they started turning things around. We visited 3-year groups who were nearing the end of their stint with ZOE as well as second- and first-year groups who had just gotten started. There was a marked difference between the first- and third-year groups in terms of food security, business success, knowledge about planting and growing their cash crops, and confidence in where their lives were going.
This is the first group we visited, a third-year working group. We met on George's farm, out in his field of green grams and corn.
When we walked up, the whole group was threshing crops to harvest green grams. It was quite spectacular to come upon, because as they beat the pods, the aunty was chanting a song and the group echoed.
They beat their sticks in time as they walked around the tarp. We didn't hesitate to jump in and help. Even though we couldn't really talk with them because of the language barrier, our smiles and gestures said all that was needed. I think we even surprised the group with our enthusiasm. They would beat, step, raise their sticks, beat again, over and over while they sang.
Eventually, the aunty would stop and everyone would dig up the chaff that had been separated and get rid of it. Then the process would start again.
This was an example of the whole group working together to support one member, George, in his business. He sold the green grams along with corn and other crops at a stall in the village.
In this group, George was the chairperson.
Once we finished threshing the seeds, we all sat down in a big circle and the group welcomed us and began to tell their stories. George told us that he used to be very shy, he couldn't talk in front of people, but the group had seen something else and had elected him to be the chairperson. Now, he was confident, looking into people's eyes as he talked, and delegating tasks to others as our meeting went along. His farm was huge and very successful. George was about to earn about $10 a day with his crops and farm products. And that may sound measly to our ears, but when the average daily income in Kenya is $1 you see that George is actually doing very well.
The pastor of the group, John, had 7 siblings, so when he parents died he had a huge responsibility on his shoulders.
He runs a barbershop that we got to visit and through the support of the group and his own efforts, he has been able to send some of his siblings back to school and involve others in his business.
That is the other more invisible aspect of this program - the fact that the knowledge and skills that the participants gain are then taught to siblings, which makes the sphere of influence grow.
We heard from many others in the group and heard how their lives had dramatically changed from living in despair and sadness to having purpose, knowing how to take care of themselves and their families.
After our meeting was over, they invited us to see the rest of the farm and gather for a meal. We saw George's chickens, his bee hives, and his pig, all sources of income for him.
Then they said they had some entertainment for us. We gathered in a big circle in the middle of the yard and a drum (stick on a yellow water jug) struck up a beat and everyone started clapping.
Then commenced the best dance-off I have ever seen. A whistle (filimbe) joined in with the clapping and drum. Two of the group members started dancing to the beat staring at each other.
Eventually, they pulled Chandler and Matt in the middle and the place just fell to pieces with laughter at these muzungus trying to keep up with the dancing skills of our Kenyan friends.
Everyone got a chance to get in the dancing action and it forged our friendships almost instantaneously. There was a lot of joy!
They graciously offered us a meal after that, serving freshly killed chicken cooked right there, and sodas. Soda was a very special thing, like a status symbol. Then, before we left, they offered us gifts to take with us to show their appreciation. That astounded me because these people don't have that much to just give up. What they grow is their livelihood and they wanted to give it to us as a token of their appreciation and love for us.
The basic structure of greeting, meeting, eating, and giving was replicated in most groups that we visited. Greetings were usually done with singing which led to dancing.
One group welcomed us with a dance complete with grass skirts that they had made.
At one group we were given 6 tall stalks of sugar cane, avocados, bananas, and a live chicken!
Reegan was astounded because this was the first he had seen a group give a live chicken. He wasn't sure what we would do with it, and we definitely didn't know, so he expertly redirected the chicken back to the group, asking who the best farmer was. Everyone seemed to know automatically, and the chicken was given to that young man to raise, but the condition was that when the hen laid eggs, they would be given to the other members of the group to sell.
We went to the main street of the village to visit the businesses of some of the group members, and even graduates of the program whose businesses were in the area. After the kids graduate, they remain close to their working group and continue the businesses that they started. Throughout all our visits, we saw hair salons, barber shops, general store owners, kids selling crops, a welder, a restaurant owner.
This boy, Eric, ran a tailor shop and he made Matt a pair of tailored pants.
A strong and beautiful girl who had already graduated from ZOE learned to write poetry and was running an internet cafe and printing business. She came to our hotel and recited some of her poetry for us and we were blown away. She is going to start a college program for writing in a few months.
We heard about one group getting creative and starting a tent and chairs rental business, and even a small movie theater. These businesses were small, but they fit the needs of the community and were lucrative enough to earn enough for a stable living. Matt asked so many questions about the nuances of their business models and plans and while I don't remember all the details, I do know that he was always pleased to hear the answers that he got and was impressed by their sound business policies and practices.
Several people have asked me if ZOE provides housing for the kids in the program. ZOE doesn't provide housing, per se, for the orphans. However, if the group feels that one member needs a better housing situation, the group can decide to use some of its funds to help build a new house for that person. ZOE will provide some of the materials, like concrete and a roof, but the members are responsible for getting the rest of the things they need and for building it. One member of the first group we visited was rebuilding his house using handmade bricks. His group was helping him to build it on the land where he farmed.
This is where he lives now.
Another group had helped a member transition out of a tiny (much smaller than NYC apartments) shack of a house into a brand new house with wood walls, concrete floors, tin roof and real windows.
We got to be there for the house dedication. This was a big deal because the group had helped him build the house; it took them 3 weeks! The chief of the village came out, there were tons of people there to celebrate and Alexis, the pastor from Davidson UMC, got to do the dedication. The young man who was moving in was so moved and said that his heart was so full to have this new place to live with his siblings. It was a wonderful, touching scene to take in.
There is so much more that I could tell, but this is getting long as it is. I will close by saying that this was a truly transforming trip for me. ZOE is doing such good work for so many (they surpassed the 50,000 child mark recently) and it has infused me with excitement and passion to do more. I am thinking about becoming a ZOE advocate and my family is supporting one of the working groups now with a 3-year long financial commitment. If anyone wants to know more or be involved let me know!
Kwaheri!
(Goodbye!)
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