Final update from Malawi (it's almost time to go...)

Ah, Malawi...it is great to FINALLY be here after hearing about the land and its beautiful people. On Wednesday we all piled in the minivan and headed to a squatter community outside Lilongwe, Malawi's capital. It is amazing how these communities are layed out...the boundaries have small brick homes, dirt roads and no electricity or plumbing, but still seem livable. But as you go one foot deeper into them, you realize these are the upper class suburbs, the poor are in the heart of the communities...and living in unimaginable conditions.

To understand the poverty (one of the poorest countries in Africa): there are 7,500 university spots for a population of 13 million. But in the midst of this, Opportunity International is bringing real hope and dignity.

The Opportunity lending group (Trust Bank) met outside under a tree and, as soon as they saw us, the 15 or so women jumped up and began to dance & sing in their native tongue. We sat with them while they talked about their businesses. They also shared how their loans from Opportunity had helped them build homes and put their children in school.

Beatrice was a real favorite of mine. She has 4 children and my son, Edward, played frisbee with one of them. In the midst of the crowded and dirty marketplace (at the center of the community), she sells tomatoes, cabbage, garlic, potatoes, etc. off a mat. Yet, despite these conditions, she takes time to really display her items...making pyramids out of her tomatoes, slicing her cabbage and bordering her little 6x6 mat with potatoes. I think there is a little Martha Stewart in every woman and it was fun to see! I told her that if I was at home, I would buy everything she sold and make soup for my family. We enjoyed a good laugh and a warm hug.

Pastor Keith loves being with these people of need and is encouraged by their faith. Around here, when he says he is a pastor they clap and cheer. He has prayed with many and has encouraged them in their businesses & lives.

We love how the poor have access to ATMs through Opportunity's "smart card" technology. Just adjacent to this deplorable slum, is one of Opportunity's satellite offices. It has green grass, lovely landscaping, electricity and plumbing. The poor are welcomed there and treated with the dignity they deserve. It is a great testimony to their unfathomable worth in God's eyes. Since many are illiterate, they access their accounts (that have as little as $3 in them) by putting their thumb on the scanner to identify themselves. Incredible.

They love their Opportunity bank and it is evident that the staff cares deeply for them. They call Opportunity International Bank of Malawi (OIBM) "banki yanga"-- MY bank! The poor in Malawi have a place to save their money, and to receive business loans, as well as other services. They have hope!

-Michele Ruby
(The picture on top is of the SmartCard that uses the client's fingerprint to enable access to the individual's money)

Flashback to Kenya...

The Lott family made it home safely, so thank you for your prayers! Karen was kind enough to send along some photos of their time with the entire group in Kenya. Please enjoy (and thank you, Karen!):

The beauty of Malawi

In a village that OIBM (Opportunity International's partner in Malawi) serves.

Opportunity International, Malawi

In Malawi, the group is experiencing a "full" Insight Trip. What Opportunity supporters TYPICALLY get to do on these trips: meet with the Executive Director of the partner organization in the country (OIBM-Opportunity International Bank Malawi, in this case), get an overview of the operations, then spend a day or two out in the field.

"The Field" experience involves meeting several loan recipients (or, clients) and learning about their businesses and families first-hand. There is usually a chance to attend a "Trust Bank" meeting. A Trust Bank is a group of entrepreneurs that meet weekly for training and serve as a support to one another (for more on how the Trust Bank works, please visit www.opportunity.org/ What We Do/Trust Banks/How Trust Banks Work). At the meeting, one can witness clients receiving their loan, which is always a time of celebration! Look for stories of clients the group meets in the near future...

Below is a brief overview of this Opportunity partner:

"OIBM (Opportunity International Bank of Malawi) is a commercial bank, which targets the poor in underserved areas, including the rural areas that are demographically diverse, economically active, but yet have a significant incidence of poverty. Over time, savings deposits of the clients will provide the bank with the necessary loan funds to keep the program growing. The Bank’s vision is guided by the Opportunity International Network commitment to a “Triple-Bottom Line” comprised of large-scale outreach, viability, and client transformation. OIBM’s approach is to provide access to multiple rural financial services in the deprived communities within the areas of operation.
The focus of the OIBM is to provide sustainable but flexible savings as a key service and loan products that take the needs of the poor into consideration. OIBM is using fingerprint identification technology to identify clients who have opened an account with the bank. The fingerprint data is stored on their Malswitch Cards and they are only able to access their accounts by having their fingerprints scanned. The success of this technology is that it enables identification without the inconvenience of carrying ID cards or remembering PINs or passwords."

As of March 2006, OIBM served 5,443 clients and loaned $732,475.

Opportunity International, Kenya

July 4th- Today is also Rwanda's "Liberation Day," the end of the 1994 genocide. The group was honored to meet Rwanda's President Paul Kagame before returning to Kenya for the night.
Dinner this evening, (July 4th) was shared with Patrick Oteng of Opportunity's start-up program in Kenya. Read on, for the background of this program:

"Opportunity International Begins in Kenya
As dawn’s warmth brings life to Kenya’s Lake Victoria, Opportunity International’s activities in the surrounding area, called the “lake zone”, have also taken birth, bringing new life to the microcredit activities that were once delivered by Wedco Ltd.
Wedco Ltd, a former project of Care International Kenya, has been acquired by Opportunity International and revitalized to serve the economically active poor in the region of Kenya that is most economically depressed, as well as most greatly impacted by HIV/AIDS. Opportunity has acquired a network of fifteen operation sites and over 35 qualified staff members. In addition, approximately 1,500 clients of WEDCO have become Opportunity clients. This has enabled Opportunity International to enter Kenya with an established client base and expand its client assistance activities to even more people looking to improve their lives.
Opportunity’s services give life to the hopes and dreams that its clients have for themselves as well as their children.

Jane M. Akinyi Gilo
Jane has been a loan client with WEDCO for 8 years. She is currently on her 8th loan as part of the Kibuye Church Junction Women Group, and is now a client of Opportunity International.
Jane’s tailoring business is based in Kibuye and in an open air market in Kisumu. Jane is a unique entrepreneur who sees an opportunity in almost every problem she encounters. Through her personal skills and microcredit financing, she has been able to expand her tailoring business to three additional sites. She has also managed to train numerous young seamstresses, providing them with their own future opportunities. Some of them have even started their own tailoring shops.
Beyond educating and providing for her family of three (her daughter is currently studying medicine in college), Jane cares for several orphans in her community. Jane’s access to microcredit has enabled her to exercise her benevolence and entrepreneurial skills in ways she could never have dreamed about in the past. She is excited about Opportunity International’s arrival and the larger possibilities this may create for her in the near future."
- www.opportunity.org

On Wednesday, the team flies over to hear about Opportunity's thriving program in Malawi, the second poorest country in the world.

International Justice Mission

Today (July 4th) the group flew back to Kenya, and were soon after received by the International Justice Mission staff in their Nairobi office. This is an extraordinary ministry that Saratoga Federated Church supports.

International Justice Mission (IJM) is a human rights ministry that rescues victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery, and oppression. In Kenya, the staff mainly work on cases of land grabbing, sexual assault, illegal detention, and police abuse.

Here is a little more background on the International Justice Mission:
"Founded in 1997, IJM began operations after a group of human rights professionals, lawyers and public officials launched an extensive study of the injustices witnessed by overseas missionaries and relief and development workers. This study, surveying more than 65 organizations and representing 40,000 overseas workers, uncovered a nearly unanimous awareness of abuses of power by police and other authorities in the communities where they served. Without the resources or expertise to confront the abuse and to bring rescue to the victims, these overseas workers required the assistance of trained public justice professionals.
When the poor are hungry, homeless or alienated, the Church has come to their aid by providing food, shelter and missionaries to meet the pressing needs. But when the poor have been oppressed, treated unjustly and suffered under the hand of someone more powerful, little was done on their behalf.
Accordingly, IJM was established to help fill this void, acting as an organization that stands in the gap for victims when they are left without an advocate. IJM staff members (human rights experts, attorneys and law enforcement professionals) receive case referrals from, and work in conjunction with, other non-governmental organizations and casework alliances abroad."
-www.ijm.org

For more information, please visit: www.ijm.org.

Sonrise School Vision and Mission

"When Bishop John Rucyahana assumed responsibility for the Shyira Diocese of northwest Rwanda in 1997, he returned home to a devastated country. The 1994 genocide and years of following violence had destroyed almost every element of society. But in the midst of all this pain, Bishop John saw hope in the children of Rwanda. He envisioned the potential of a new generation of leaders trained in excellence, service to others and the teachings of Jesus.
Addressing Rwanda’s estimated 400,000 orphans and decimated education system, Bishop John founded the Sonrise School to be a “light on a hill” and a demonstration to everyone in Rwanda as to what is possible. The school’s mission is to set the standard for academic excellence and servant leadership, while at the same time, demonstrating that with love and education, the country’s neediest children are redeemable and can be developed into leaders. The majority of the Sonrise School’s students are genocide/AIDS orphans chosen because they were the neediest child in their village. "
-http://www.mustardseedproject.org/
-This link leads to an outstanding informational video on the Sonrise School: http://www.mustardseedproject.org/photos.asp
-The photos above: Keith praying with the orphans, talking with Bishop John, and Bishop John with one of the orphans.

Rwanda: A message from Pastor Keith

Greetings, friends back home!

Our trip has been rich and shows all the marks of answered prayer. Thanks for partnering with us.

We started in Kenya, met up with the Lott family. Their efforts in Malawi (a new film resource for awareness and fundraising) went well and we were glad to join them and hear stories. We had some helpful exposures to life and ministries around Nairobi. Then we traveled east, through the Rift Valley to the land of the Maasai. Along with some delightful time on safari (yes, giraffes, elephants, zebras, hyenas and a number of other classic animals from the bushlands of the Maasai Mara/Serengeti), we also had our first personal exposures to the Maasai people.

That unique and ancient people are still practicing so many of their longstanding pastoral ways, with cows, goats and sheep as their primary unit of wealth and diet. It's a hard life for girls/women, who marry young and, frankly, do most of the work. The boys tend to the herds, then become warriors at 13 (with circumcision...ouch!). Finally, at 25, they can marry and become tribal elders, where their role becomes...talking about things and making decisions. But the women (also circumcised as young as nine and prepared for marriage, build and tend the house (made of cow dung), cook and clean, nurture the young, carry the water and wood... pretty much everything. Still, the bright garb and moving chants and dances, along with their craftwork and overall resourcefulness, make this an enchanting, though often troubling, exposure.

After returning to Nairobi, we met more missionary friends from the Christian Blind Mission. These are a surgeon and his family from Portland, OR who work in concert with Kenyan doctors to provide surgical eye care for the poor. Excellent people and a great ministry. Their children matched in age and interest so well with the Ruby kids. Then, we saw the Lotts off for their return trip.

We've moved on from Kenya to Rwanda. Now our greater purposes begin. We connected immediately with Opportunity International representatives and heard about the startup work here. Our invested and talented teammates had so many good dialogues, both learning and contributing to this great enterprise. We're hoping that the Opportunity Bank will be open to the poor as early as November and for loans shortly thereafter. A wonderful family with two children from Little Rock, Arkansas, has moved here to begin this work. He is a banker with startup experience who felt called to partner with Opportunity as a kind of "second half" career.

We were also moved by our interractions with Bishop John, a rather famous pastor in the highlands of Rwanda(close to 10,000 feet, with surrounding peaks over 13,000). He was one of the first to re-enter Rwanda after the awful genocide 12 years ago. One million people were killed in one hundred days; from a population of only 8 million. It was an effort at ethnic cleansing by hardline Hutus against all Tutsis and sympathetic Hutus. The movie Hotel Rwanda tells only part of this horrific story. I'll certainly have much more to say about this later. Bishop John came back from exile in Uganda and in his seven years has rebuilt his cathedral, opened a visitor center and built the Sonrise School for orphans of the genocide. We met these kids, saw this remarkable school and witnessed the hope and health of these amazing children. This is a relationship that we want to sustain.

We visited another orphanage -- a place of warmth and love, but very raw and under-resourced. We fear that it is like most orphanages in Rwanda, and hope that the model of Bishop John can raise the bar and be replicated around the country. The children, of course, are beautiful and were thrilled to have some adults hold them and celebrate their songs and dance.

The team has worked marvelously together. Michelle and Tom Ruby are our guides and their children have been up for every adventure. Dennis and Stacey Barsema have a thousand good questions and some real experience in the non-profit world. The Lotts, kids included, were so fun to be with, and we wished that they could be with us for all of our journey. We've had some sweet devotional times and so many worthy conversations, between very interesting foods and never quite enough sleep. Fortunately, we're staying in very nice hotels on this trip, which has helped us to rebound physically and emotionally each day.

Tomorrow, we fly back to Kenya, and then jump to Malawi to see the very well-developed work of Opportunity in Lilongwe. We'll also pause long enough to meet the representatives from International Justice Mission in Nairobi and encourage their work.

While we haven't had much physical work, the emotional and relational energies are well-applied and well-taxed. Most of all, we're watching, listening, praying and trying to keep our eyes peeled for God sightings and people in need of a special touch.

More to come.

Much love to you all!

Keith and "the team"

(The image above is of the Sonrise School flag)

Christian Blind Mission

Providing affordable medical care and training is one of the most urgent needs of African families. In 1990, Tom and Michele Ruby met and became friends with Dan and Sally Gradin, who attended church with them in San Francisco. Dan was a medical resident planning to be an opthamologist, and eventually he and Sally felt called by God to serve East Africans in desperate need of eyecare. Through Christian Blind Mission's base here in Nairobi(http://www.cbmiusa.org/), Dan, Sally, and their 4 children, provide a tangible way to express Christ’s love for the poor, literally helping the blind to see! The attached photos are of the Gradin family, and the work being done through Christian Blind Mission in East Africa.

The journey continues...

After another day out at the Mara Sopa Lodge and on safari, the team drove back to Nairobi. Saturday night was an exciting dinner at the Carnivore Restaurant (sounds appetizing, I know) with Dan and Sally Gradin, of Christian Blind Mission.

Pastor Keith - always reaching out to others!

The Maasai

The Maasai, of Eastern Africa, are known as mighty warriors and cattle herders. This majestic people group is recognized by their red attire, feared even by the lions that they hunt to protect the cattle! Keith and the gang will be learning all about the beautiful Maasai during their stay at Mara Sopa.

To learn more about the Masai Culture, please visit: http://www.shoortravel.com/maratribe.html,
http://www.masaikenya.org/masai.html,
or http://www.on-the-matrix.com/africa/masai_people.asp

Masai Mara Game Reserve

Thursday, June 29

Time for more animals! Today the group set off for a safari to help them adjust to the time zone change and get to know more about the Kenyan culture. The drive took them across the Rift Valley escarpment out to the Mara Sopa Lodge, where they will stay before meeting the various ministries on the itinerary. The game drive will end at sunset today, and then they will head out again tomorrow morning.

"Masai Mara: Masai Mara is the most prolific wildlife conservation area in Kenya. This game reserve is home to an amazing collection of wildlife in a natural and basically untouched state. With a rolling savannah landscape dotted with patchy shrubs and bush thickets, Masai Mara is the Kenyan part of the large ecosystem stretching south to Serengeti in Tanzania. The wildlife is quite varied and ranges from large herds of elephant and prides of lions, to families of mongoose and squirrels. A true animal kingdom if there ever was one. "
-http://www.shoortravel.com/masaimara.html

Giraffe Center

"The Langata Giraffe Centre is situated on both the edge of the Nairobi National Park and the edge of the residential area known as Karen. It resides on the grounds of Giraffe Manor, formerly the private home of Jock and Betty Leslie-Melville, now an inn, where guests can expect during lunch to see a giraffe's head swooping in a window in the dining room, begging for food. This is an educational centre and part of AFEW - African Fund for Endangered Wildlife. The Rothschild giraffes were first brought to this spot by the Leslie-Melvilles in 1972, when they learned there were only 130 of this sub-species left, located on a ranch in western Kenya which was about to be subdivided into smaller farms. They captured first one baby giraffe, then later, others, to breed and release into the wild.
The park has a small herd of Rothschild's Giraffe, which are an endangered specie, and at the visitors centre there is a building with a walkway at just below the full height of an adult Giraffe." Here, guests can feed the giraffes!
-www.africansafariair.com

Karen Blixen Museum

The author lived on a coffee estate in a house known as Bogani from 1914 until 1931. This area has now developed into the modern suburb of Karen on the outskirts of Nairobi. The house is now a National Museum, and is maintained for visitors in its original condition.Those who have read the book, or seen the film (which was filmed on location here) will recognize the house with its sprawling tropical garden and views of the nearby Ngong Hills. Efforts have been made to decorate all of the rooms of the house in their original style. The house itself is furnished with a mixture of original decor and props from the 1985 film production. The grounds contain displays of farming equipment from the plantation.
-www.magicalkenya.com

Nairobi Highlights Tour

Wednesday, June 28th

After arriving in Nairobi, the team was taken directly to their hotel for a few hours of rest.
By 2:00 that afternoon, they were loaded up for a tour of the city's highlights.
There was a visit to the Karen Blixen Museum (Ms. Blixen wrote "Out of Africa" about her life in Kenya), and the Giraffe Center. In the evening, Michele led a group orientation over dinner at the hotel. briefing all on the schedule for the next 10 days.

Kenya: Find out more!

"Agriculture is the dominant economic sector in Kenya with over 80% of the population dependent on it for their livelihoods.However the country is ranked as among one the poorest, with the living standards of the majority of its people extremely low. Famine conditions due to crop failure affected parts of the country in 2004. "
-Self Help (A development organization) Website
http://www.selfhelp.ie/selfhelp/Main/Projects2004_Kenya.htm

For details on history, culture, and economics:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya

Also check out:
The World Factbook website on Kenya http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ke.html#Intro

The official Kenya site
http://www.kenyaweb.com/

For the latest Kenyan news
http://allafrica.com/kenya/

Arrival in Nairobi

Patrick Oteng, of Opportunity International's Kenyan start-up program, reported that the team all made it safely to Nairobi. Thank you for praying for safe passage!

Details of their Nairobi Highlights Tour and first day in Kenya will be posted this evening.