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Micah Juma, a volunteer with New Dawn Education Centre, attended a VISION Conference in the year 2006 which was organised by Pastor Luke Jakoywa, a trainer with Samarian Strategy Africa. The lessons of the training greatly stirred his heart. Through the ABCs of Culture lesson, he learnt that we can use our local resources to transform lives around us. Micah being an agriculturalist, realised that there is so much we can do in making our environment cleaner and healthier while also boosting food production.
Micah attends Karura Community Chapel, a church near the centre that is committed to community involvement. Karura Chapel organised a conference on ‘Forty Days of Community and Purpose”. Here he learnt how community can be changed by the truths of God’s word and how Christians are agents of transformation. David who was visiting the church engaged a lot with Micah after they met. David leads a fellowship among the Maasai, a major pastoralist community, in the southern parts of Kenya. Micah and David taught the truth of God’s word to the Maasai community and especially the aspects of a Biblical worldview. They began to have a different view of themselves and what they could be involved in to earn a decent living. The community realised they in addition to pastoralism, could also venture into farming.
Any prolonged season of drought leaves the Maasai community with a hard experience of losing much of their livestock. Many are not in a position to feed their growing families when it is dry, so farming provides an alternative food source. Micah had an opportunity to help them understand the importance of farming and shared with them practical skills. He trained them on how to plant different types of trees and other crops that would do well in that climatic region. The community was eager and begun with a few crops on a little land.
After a few months, they decided to increase the acreage and planted red chilies, whose demand is massive and growing. They are applying tested techniques and have qualified personnel to helping them develop their skills. The truth of transforming cultures has brought a new dawn to the Maasai community in the Kajiado area. They believe God has a good purpose and intentions for their lives and are committed to live and walk in this knowledge. They are ready to learn and experience God’s Kingdom in a new way for their community’s transformation. Micah is walking alongside the community as they chart a new path into the future, where they live in the face of God daily in all their activities.
Story by Ken Mwangi, SSA
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