Shakira

Last fall I introduced you to a friend of ours, her name is Shakira. Her story is one of the kind you read in books and it has yet to reach the climax I believe! Shakira was orphaned young, sent from relative to friend to relative, struggling to get an education, let alone to be loved and wanted. As a teenager she ended up on the streets & without her consent, trapped in prostitution. She was able to escape that life, but now found herself stranded in a Kampala slum with another burden to bear: she was HIV+. At this point, she also found herself in a relationship that actually brought some life back to her – a man who wanted to care for her and be with her. They began attending the local church, taking Christ as their Hope and vowing to remain faithful to each other.* Upon further testing, Shakira was now found to be HIV-, and has tested so ever since…a testimony she praises the Lord for daily even still! The two built a humble life together, and within 4 years had 2 small children, Ema & Esther. Her husband, Joseph, had a consistent job working in construction. Quite an upswing in Shakira’s life!

Then, tragedy hits again. Joseph falls from a roof, injuring his head, at work & is now in the local hospital, Mulago, and the family has no provision. Soon, Shakira finds herself locked out of her house after not making the rent payment – which is where James, our friend who works alongside the Thread of Life sewing shop by recruiting ladies from the slum, found her – alone, despairing, in the rain, without a home for herself & two small children!

Seriously, I can’t make this stuff up…sounds like a movie scene, and yet for this young mother, it was real and vicious and hopeless. James asked her what was wrong & she spilled her story to him. CLD was able to help Shakira in the beginning to pay her rent and not go without food. With time, as we came to know her more and realize how brilliant and strong this woman was, CLD supported her in buying a plot of land and building a house there in the slum. She was then able to live in one room and rent two others out, creating an income for herself. Eventually Joseph came home, but not without some health issues that hung on. He was unable to hold down a job, to provide for his family.

Now, I wasn’t around during this time, so I can’t say that I’ve got all the details exact or timing correct. But sometime after this, Shakira approaches the guys at CLD with a proposal for a business. This proposal was for a chicken business – a chicken coop with hens laying eggs to sell or broiler chickens to sell for meat. Having worked with chickens when she was young, she already held a lot of knowledge and also knew of a class she could take to help her prepare to care for the chicks and run this business. The goal was to create enough profit that the business would eventually fund the micro-loans that CLD was beginning to offer to some women in the slum!

*photo by Jeff Guerrero

The plan was brilliant and so fund-raising began to purchase some land and build a house and coop outside of the city for Shakira and her family to move to. This past fall, the family moved out of the slum to their new home in Namusera – a gorgeous plot overlooking a valley of pastureland! In January, Shakira began with her first round of chickens, 250. She tirelessly cared for them & by March they were ready to be sold. She had some potential buyers from around the area come to look at the chickens and found a few that wanted to purchase all the chickens the next day. Then, the misfortune struck again: deep in the night, thieves came and stole 100 of the chickens! It seems this had happened before in the neighborhood, so we found out after the fact. This was a definite low-point, but after the drama of getting the story straight and clearing Shakira of any wrong-doing, we continued on and she was able to sell the remaining chickens by Easter. Now Shakira is excited to start with a new wave of chicks and has been researching many new ideas for lowering costs, increasing quality of the chickens and providing a more steady income.

The story is full of Hope, but I only wish you could actually sit and talk with this woman! She has become a friend to me, someone whom I find encouragement and inspiration through every time we talk. Around every bend there is a new challenge to face for Shakira: her husband doesn’t want to anything to do with living in the village and working with chickens, there are school fees, empty stomachs, rags for clothing, etc. Her life isn’t magically perfect. Yet she perseveres, ever with her heart focused on her faithful God. In just six months she has created such a community of friends around her in this new village. When I visit her there, everyone who passes greet her with smiles, friends bring by gifts of food or herbs to her. Her compassionate spirit and patient resolve draw people to her. She has huge hopes for the future, always thinking about how they can create more business so that she can help the other women in the slum out of their poverty! This woman with a dark and disheveled past, speaking now with authority, confidence, and conviction is 26 years old!

I share Shakira’s (abridged) story with you to honor her and to honor our faithful God who truly lifts the oppressed to places of glory. You could also pray with me for Shakira & her family. She is expecting baby #3 this summer and is glowing with anticipation. Her husband comes and goes, but does not do any work to help with the business, nor does he bring anything home to provide for the family.

In the midst of a few steps forward and, seemingly, a hundred steps back some days, Shakira’s smile and faith are reminders of why I’m here – of what God is doing among his people! Thanks for being part of this with me, and with Shakira!

* Marriage in this culture is very different than ours. A traditional or church wedding both carry huge burdens of finances as bride price and huge parties are expected by both families. Thus, many couples find themselves committed to each other for a number of years before even being able to ‘officially’ wed.

The FARDC

Last week i wrote about the visit of Sir John Holmes to Dungu and why exactly the UN mission should not withdraw from Congo. The FARDC, the Congolese military, are another reason why the UN mission needs to reamin to stabilise the country.

The FARDC (Les Forces Armees de la Republique du Congo), unfortunately are not a viable force that will provide this country with the stability and security it needs. Where to begin in describing the problems of the FARDC? As part of the agreement to re-integrate many militia into daily life, they were given positions within the FARDC. This policy was initially supported by the UN, but many of these militia men have continued their old habits. In North and South Kivu, FARDC soldiers have themselves been responsible for massacres and atrocities, rape is widespread, infact the levels of sexual violence in Eastern Congo are just appaling.

Due to the severe levels of abuse committed by FARDC forces in the Kivu`s region, it was decided that one batallion from this region would be sent to Dungu in December 2009. The UN also announced it would stop supporting any FARDC elements continuing to commit abuses. The violence and aggression continues against the population though. Just 2 weeks ago I saw a drunken soldier chasing a civilian and threatening him with his gun, This was in the middle of the afternoon.

As you might expect in the DRC, corruption is another serious problem for the FARDC. The military here is top heavy with generals, and the forces here in Dungu have not been paid for 4 months. They demonstrated in Dungu this week and have threatened to pillage the town. How can you expect a force who have not been paid for 4 months to fight the LRA? They are underequipped, not paid and there are huge problems with morale. Soldiers are often forced to turn to crime to make a livng.

The FARDC, in its current state, is not ready and able to manage and co-ordinate security in the DR Congo.

Mercy Childcare Ministries

Check out Mercy kids house new website - its so cool! These are the kids that inspire every project Come, Let's Dance does!! 

www.mercychildcare.org

Community is where humility and glory touch...

The Mosaic That Shows Us the Face of God

A mosaic consists of thousands of little stones. Some are blue, some are green, some are yellow, some are gold. When we bring our faces close to the mosaic, we can admire the beauty of each stone. But as we step back from it, we can see that all these little stones reveal to us a beautiful picture, telling a story none of these stones can tell by itself.

That is what our life in community is about. Each of us is like a little stone, but together we reveal the face of God to the world. Nobody can say: "I make God visible." But others who see us together can say: "They make God visible." Community is where humility and glory touch.

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Share your thoughts on this reflection. These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

Read the latest Nouwen release: Home Tonight. Watch Home Tonight with Henri Nouwen video.

Visit HenriNouwen.org for more inspiration!

this is from a daily email I get - I love reading the wisdom of Henri Nouwen, his life and words inspire me. 


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My meeting with John Holmes

Who is Sir John Holmes? He is the under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Co-ordination. He is also a former British diplomat who he used to be the British ambassador to France. Yesterday he came to Dungu as part of a 5 day visit to the DR Congo. We, the NGO community were invited to speak with him for over 1 hour to discuss current humanitarian needs in Congo and the presence of MONUC (the UN force present in Congo).

Having spoken to several high ranking UN officals who arrived in Dungu in the days leading up to the visit, I had high expectations of meeting Sir John in person, that he was really somebody willing to listen and had ideas to change and implement action, and that he was not somebody who who was very political and would get bogged down in the many agendas of all the UN Members. Maybe im naive, but all the UN officials I met suggested here was a high ranking diplomat who has a sincere interest in serving the best needs of the Congolese people.

High on the agenda was the possibility of a UN witdrawal from Congo. The Congolese government has been putting pressure on MONUC to leave Congo by August 2011. While nobody expects MONUC to stay here forever, it is absoloutely impossible for them to withdraw in the next 12 months. There is a huge need in Province Oriental, especially in the Bas Uele province. This area has been hugely affected by the LRA crisis, but also suffers from having a very poor infrastructure and there is a huge problem, both logistically and security wise, in tewrms of accessibility to thousands of displaced people. Even in Bunia, in Ituri province, the peace there is very fragile. About 60 km away from Bunia in Gety, there is a very forgotten conflict still continuing with over 100,ooo people displaced and Bunia itself could very easily slip back into a serious war. There remains a lot of banditry and insecurity around the town, a complete UN withdrawal would be disastrous for ituri province.

As Medair have an emergency health programme here, I also had the opportunity to talk a little about some of the difficulties we are currently facing in this domain.

Overall, Sir John seemed to engage in the issues, but the meeting was short. He will return to New York and directly advise the Security Council on what he has heard. Certainly, in Dungu, he saw that the LRA conflict is far from over. It remains to be seen whether his visit will have any impact, but I remain hopeful. Please continue to pray for the people fo the Congo.