Category: Director’s Blog

Special people save lives: Update on Silver Valley Medical Center, Bungoma, Kenya

Special people save lives: Update on Silver Valley Medical Center, Bungoma, Kenya

For a long time the cities, beaches and wilderness of Kenya have been identified as being some of the best in all of Africa. Many tourists have been deeply touched by the rich lands and outpouring of love from virtually every corner of Kenya.  And the beauty of Kenya extends even out to the Villages.

Although they are the perfect places to get introduced to local culture and lifestyle, you also get to experience the reality of poverty, the ravages of AIDS , orphans, widows, and untreated sicknesses due to lack of medical treatment or high medical expenses. Infact, someone said, “In other Developed countries, you have everything (Advanced medical facilities money, food, clothing, shelter etc).  In Africa when one gets sick, it’s believe God or die!”

Sicknesses such as malaria kill children and mothers before they even get bus fare to a hospital located hundreds of miles away from the villages.

Heart For the Land had a vision to build a Medical Centre in Musikoma Village, Bungoma, Kenya, to help alleviate these challenges for hundreds of thousands of poor people living in Bungoma.

With one of the highest rates of population growth in the world, 50% of the population living on less than a dollar a day and 700 people are dying daily from HIV/AIDS.  Kenya needs all the help it can get.

In the summer of 2017, a team of 10 members from Worship Center church in Silver Valley Idaho came to do some work on building foundation of the Silver Valley Medical Center in Bungoma.  During their free time they visited with orphan children at Compassion House , an orphanage in Bungoma also under the Heart for the land organization. They took walks with the kids in the community, gave gifts, and shared in communal dinners.


As indicated earlier on our posts, the decision to build a medical centre in Bungoma was based upon the dire need in Kenya for such facilities. Kenya has one of the highest population growth rates worldwide, combined with fifty percent of the population living below the poverty line and an HIV/AIDS pandemic that is decimating a whole generation.
Bungoma county alone has a population of over 1 Million people. This medical center. once completed, will serve several counties with hundreds of villages in Western Kenya.

According to a recent UNDP Human Development Index, which assesses standard of living, life expectancy and knowledge, Kenya ranks 153 out of 175 countries polled worldwide. HIV/AIDS and a lack of investment in education and healthcare are major contributory factors.

When it comes to trying to change the culture, bring enough support to fix the problems, or find solutions to very complex problems here, the needs feel overwhelming.  Certainly, we are seeking God’s help in this work which we set our hands too, but if we think of it as serving the culture, saving lives, fulfilling our call, or doing our part, we are confident that we can and we do make a difference in this part of the world. We will continue to serve, providing the best support and guidance that we can.

It’s sometimes the hardest thing to endure seeing sick or wounded people in the back of a bicycle or in a wheelbarrow. If they’re bleeding they are literally pushed on the wheelbarrow, bicycles, or driven in motorbikes for 45 minutes or an hour to get to the nearest paved road — then flag down a bus “Matatu.” Sometimes, it would take two hours to get to the hospital.  As long as we all open our hearts to stand with our people, we shall save many lives.

We have began this work by faith trusting that God will open more doors for the work to be completed.
Heart for the land is also grateful to Silver Valley Worship Center in Idaho for the partnership to build Silver Valley Medical Center in Bungoma, Kenya. The initial development of the project took place in December of 2011 with a desire to help meet the medical needs of children in Bungoma.

In 2017, amidst all struggles, we continue to trust God for funding to elevate the facility from foundation to completion.  If you would like to make a donation today to the Medical Center, please visit our online giving partner ClearGive.  Donations can be made to Heart For the Land and Memo “Silver Valley Medical Center.”


The projection for the first phase of the project is estimated to cost $40,000.00. The overall cost of the whole project will cost an estimated $140,000.00

Silver valley medical center project.
Contact person: Michael Bushebi Heartfortheland@gmail.com,
phone is 509-483-1130 (Fellowship Church office)
Office Address
Heart for The land
2102 E. Everett Avenue
Spokane, Wa. 99207

Visit our sponsoring ministry, Fellowship Church, or make a donation today to Medical Center by visiting our online giving partner ClearGive.  Donations can be made to Heart For the Land and Memo “Silver Valley Medical Center.”

Fostering Hope and Optimism. Thank you our Sponsors!

Fostering Hope and Optimism. Thank you our Sponsors!

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A big thank you to all that have supported the work in Kiminini, Kenya from CEO (Child Empowerment Outreach).  One small action can transform a child’s life. Every week, we are involved in helping the needy children to have food, clothing, shelter, good health, and education.   Almost all the children come from down trodden communities, slums, and villages. They come without proper clothing. Their backgrounds are so sad and pathetic to listen.
These children often feel lonely  and are in need for care and love. We try to make and keep them happy and their lives better. It’s because of you, our esteemed sponsors that the work has been going on.
Located in Kiminini, Kenya, (West Central boarder of Kenya) the Heart For the Land Child Empowerment Outreach is a support ministry currently caring for 40+ children of various ages. Up until early February of 2012, the children were all living on the dirt floor of SHIM Church in Kiminini Kenya and had practically nothing for food, clothes, school or much else.
 

Whenever a child is sick, we take them to hospital. They are treated at a high cost too. One of the most essential needs is education and we are glad to see most of the children attending school and taking education seriously. All you have to do to see is, look into the smiles and laughter of their thriving lives. We continually manage to pay their school fees and the children are doing fabulous because of your Love and Support. Thank you for every gift you have given us. They all have been used wisely and productively to bless the children’s Lives.

1. C.E.O children receiving their personal greetings and happy birthday cards sent by Connie meyer.

2. Sharon Nice

3. Robinson Juma saying thank you. Edina’s trip this time around was to ensure all the children are back in school, tuition is paid for both private and public schools, and also purchase and distribute necessary supplies like detergent, soaps, cooking oil, corn, school supplies etc

4. Stella and Elizabeth will be moving to live near the school, with a teacher because their living conditions at home with their brother and sister in law is becoming unbearable. the head teacher has been supportive and initiated the process.

Michael Bushebi, a native Kenyan is one of the directors with the board who oversees Heart for the land projects including CEO in Kiminini, Kenya:
“Currently, there is not enough funding to house the children as a part of the ministry so we are operating a foster care program. We diligently check on the children weekly to provide things like clothing, food and school supplies.” He says.
One blessing is that we have hired a Social Worker Edina Nagawa to support the efforts of coordinating the Child Empowerment Outreach ministry. She is able to regularly visit each child and monitors all progress. With God’s blessings, the dream would be to one day purchase property and build a center that is available to house the children of the Heart For the Land Ministry.
Our previous trips to Kiminini (Transnzoia county) had to be pushed several times due to election season tensions. The situation is still volatile, and seems like it’s getting worse day by day. Our prayer is that as it gets worse, God’s glory will overtake the darkness that is seeking to creep in Kenya and life becomes normal again.
Celebrating one of our own

Celebrating one of our own

WE CELEBRATE THIS WEEK FOR A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT.  As Heart for the Land family, we would like to celebrate one of the major achievement by its own family member of Vision Compassion House-Bungoma. Edina, (pictured on the left) being the eldest of the beneficiaries, has proven that the vision can be achieved, through God’s grace, blessing, support from committed sponsors and hard work by the sponsored.

On May 26th,2017 Edina officially graduated from her Social work Diploma program at SIST, while still pursuing her Degree in Sociology at a government University. In addition, Edina continues to direct and administrate Vision Child Empowerment Outreach-Kiminini. She is not only striving to better herself, but selflessly giving back through empowering others. What a role model. Kudos Lady Nagawa.

 

Fellowship Church Visits Kenya

Fellowship Church Visits Kenya

Fellowship Church of Spokane, Wa did a two week mission trip with Heart For the Land to visit a mission they sponsor in Kiminini Kenya called CEO Children’s Ministries.  The trip took place in July 2016 with a team of 6 traveling to see the work they have been supporting for many years.

The following are some closing thoughts from Pastor Cary of Fellowship Church about their trip.

Michael Bushebi, our guide from Heart For the Land, told us that missionaries have three purposes to keep in mind…

  • Learn the culture
  • Serve the culture
  • Live to tell the story

Well we have done our best to do all three of those things (and we are maybe especially thankful for number 3 being true.)

So I guess my thoughts will be centered on those areas.

Learn the Culture

I don’t think you can learn a culture in just 10 days.  There are things that we did learn, differences that we noted, but to say we understand it all would be very far from accurate.  We did learn some things however and trying to compare and contrast these observations with our own culture gave me interesting things to ponder.  For one thing, the abundance of need and lack of resources seems to have created a real negative type of competition.  There is a type of competition that actually helps a person aspire towards greater things.  Two racers in a competition push each other faster and faster.  Two businesses across the street from each other in competition for market share can help both the customer and the businesses by improving products, innovating creative solutions or increasing customer service.

But the kind of competition we experienced in Kenya seemed to be created by too many people all fighting against each other to get their portion before anyone else might take it.  We noticed it in the market place, the neighborhoods and even in schools, churches and ministries.  Just driving down the street was a battle with almost no organization what-so-ever.  Each driver was fighting for their position on the road with no regard to laws, pedestrians, right-of-way or traffic signals.  As we visited the community it seemed like everyone we met was trying to work some angle on us to get money.  I said it felt like a two-week long time-share presentation.  Edina told us many stories of schools constantly hassling her for money for school fees even though they cannot produce fee schedules, account balances or receipts.  Corruption, lying, theft and price gouging is daily life and considered normal.  We watched as Edina caught a school principle in lies for money.  Michael told us that people like to start churches because they can collect offerings not because they are called into ministry.   Even the orphanage we visited with the 80 children fell victim to a man that worked with them for several months then suddenly pulled out and took everything he could including their farming tractor.  It is unthinkable.

There was a lot of beauty to the culture, their love for their country, the tradition and history, the bright colors in their clothing and dance in their music.  But it seems like they will always struggle until they find ways to work together, work smarter and work harder instead of the selfish taking what they can before some other guy gets it.

Serve the Culture

In the short time we were there I’m not sure what we did to serve the culture other than show up.  They are a very relational culture so we shook thousands of hands, greeted more people than we could ever account and had an almost daily schedule of home visits and meals.  Other than visiting the children of the SHIM project we did not have any time to do any work, have meetings, or clean up the neighborhood as we brainstormed that we might do.  Still I’m very confident that we served the culture.  It might not have been our idea or agenda but that is the point.  We entered into relationships.  We met together, broke bread together, heard and told stories together, prayed together, shared ideas and tried to leave blessing and thankfulness everywhere we went.

When it comes to trying to change the culture, bring enough support to fix the problems, or find solutions to very complex problems it felt a little like we are trying to sink a battleship with a BB gun.  Certainly we are seeking God’s help in any work we might set our hands too but still the needs are overwhelming.  But if we think of it as serving the culture, just doing our part, I am confident that we can and we did make a difference.  We will continue to serve, providing the best support and guidance that we can.

Live to Tell the Story

We are on our way home now.  The time went so quickly and we can’t believe it is over.  Two years of preparation, work and then the long trip…and now it is over.  But we have much to share.  We have the stories, the pictures, the memories and more but what we bring back is so much more than the retelling of the adventure.  We bring passion, renewed commitment and even a stronger sense of God’s hand guiding and providing in our lives and in this work.  We saw His heart as our eyes where opened to His work and we even saw miracles that helped us along the journey.

Now we hope to share the moments that we captured but also the living presence of God that we encountered.  It would be my prayer that as we share our story it would ignite in others this kind of service unto the Lord in the calling He has placed on each hearer.