On 4th March 2022, 8 days before the start of the DVBS in Mt. Elgon, we gathered at Mama Mirriam’s place to discuss the planning progress. There was palpable anxiety and uncertainty in the room. Sentences were short, responses were measured and updates on the points of action were unsurely muttered. Everyone was thinking about one thing but no one had the courage to say it. Would the DVBS happen or not?
Earlier that week, mama Mirriam, the founder of Mt. Elgon Children ministries had come straight from the prayer mountain and got admitted in hospital. She was feeling weak and dizzy but on investigating no specific illness was found.
At the same time, we were struggling to raise funds. Out of a budget of Kshs. 250,000, we only had 20,000 in the account. Continue reading Mt. Elgon DVBS 2022 – A Journey of Faith →
During the daily debriefs at the Children’s outreach in Mt. Elgon, one man stood out. He gave the reports of his class in unadulterated Swahili, much to the amazement of the group. He used some words like, ‘mshike mshike, mawaa, bugtha’ and many more that some of us had not heard in a while and only thought they belonged in inshas. But they were not just words thrown in sentences to sound good, there was flow and cadence and order in his speech that was immaculate.
It’s not like when someone brought up in some upcountry village trying to speak Swahili with the coastal accent and you just want to close your ears. No, this guy had it. Did you know that Continue reading The Broken Vessel →
In December 2018 I travelled to Kapsokwony in Mt. Elgon to attend a daily vacation bible school (DVBS) organized by Mt. Elgon Children Ministries in conjunction with local pastors. I arrived in Kimilili at around 7am and took a boda boda up the mountain.
The ascend from Kimilili to Kapsokwony is a very telling one. Once you get off the tarmac and start climbing on the murram road, you get the feeling of abandonment. Even if no one explains it, you would feel like you are entering a different territory. It is a steep climb just near Kapsokwony. I would later know that the children I saw walking up were going to the DVBS.
I had heard quite a bit about the DVBS but experiencing it for myself was something else, it was like becoming a child again. With children its Continue reading Reaching out to Mt. Elgon Children →
People. Stories. Life lessons