The main road into the Korogocho slum in northern Nairobi is littered with garbage, goats milling around eating vegetables and hens running about. On either side of the road is a small trench with dirty water and sometimes sewage. Dusty, makeshift shopping stalls and kiosks stand along the road. Sometimes crime is rampant and other times it is less incident. Child prostitution is common. Poor and jobless youth mill around with no hope and purpose of tomorrow, trying to make it through this day. It is in this informal settlement that I met with Reverend Moses Otunga of New Living International church. He had much to share about how the Lord met him and how he got a call to serve in this slum.
Rev. Moses Otunga is married to Elizabeth and they have 3 children- 2 are married and one is in Makerere University in Uganda. He attended a VISION Conference conducted by Samaritan strategy in Korogocho in the year 2005. This was the turning point of his ministry. The lessons on the Transforming Story and Seed Projects had a major impact in him and strongly affirmed his vision to serve in the Korogocho community. Rev Moses initially believed that it is through donors and big churches which have lots of money that transformation can come to the slums. He discovered that God uses our faith and rewards it. It is here that the burden of discouragement was lifted. A sigh of relief come over him, and he went and shared with his wife his experience. They decided to move from Huruma area where they were then staying and 7 km away to Korogocho.
Rev. Moses realised that education was a great need and he was challenged by many people to do something- he started the ‘Kao La Tumaini Mission’- which means “Centre of Hope”. It is through this centre that he begun to apply what he had learnt in the VISION Conference about having faith in God. As he was looking for a venue in which to hold worship services, he come across a big hall that had been vacated by another congregation due to insecurity. He rented the premises for KSh. 2,000 (around US$30) monthly and started a worship service. A few neighbours started streaming in fearful of being mugged as they left church.
The situation was puzzling to Rev. Moses who started to interact with all sorts of people around the church. How did young people attack their neighbours who would be coming from a church n the neighbourhood? One Muslim man found him to be a pastor who tries to make real relationships with people around him. He also began relating with the young people, some of who engage in crime in the neighborhood. A majority of them responded and became friends with the pastor. Rev. Moses would sometimes provide lunch for them.
Rev. Moses started a nursery school as an act of love toward the children in this slum. On the first day, there were 5 children. Today, over 75 children attend every morning. The need for education is high due to the growing population. On seeing that the nursery school was succeeding, some parents and members of the community encouraged Rev. Moses to begin a primary and even a secondary school. The number of mature boys and girls who have not joined secondary school due to lack of school fees is growing each year. The local area chief and elders agreed to give him a piece of land for the secondary school.
On the opening day 80 Form 1 students enrolled. The Form 2 were 23 whereas the Form three 5 students. Each student pays KSh. 500 monthly. The money helps purchase school supplies. A majority of the parents in the community prefer to take their boy and girls to this school.
The school has a feeding programme, providing porridge to the young children. Most of the students come to school hungry, since there is no food at home. The face of the little children tells of their hunger.
The Project has several objectives:
• To increase access to education for the children in the slum.
• To provide the children with vocation training skills.
• To improve the nutritional status of the children.
• To promote the consumption of cheap, natural, high-nutrient value food.
To achieve these objectives the school is ready to work in collaboration with the government and the other agencies working for similar goals in this community.
PROGRAMMES
Nutrition Programme:
The goal of this programme is to reduce the number of deaths that occur among the children in the slums. A nutritionist and a pediatrician oversee the implementation of this project. The Nutrition programme consists of:
• A day-feeding centre
• Stores of subsidised high nutrient food supplement rations
• A food distribution centre
• Breast feeding and childcare advisory centre.
Education and Vocational training:
In this programme, students get equipped with vocational training skills. They also get to discover and explore their talents and abilities, and get empowered with life-skills around their specific gifts. Carpentry and metal work are the main vocational courses that are taught.
Income Generating Activities:
One of the IGAs they have begun is making a detergent for sale. The proceeds from the sales help them with providing for their daily needs. The marketing of this soap has been difficult is currently still on a small scale. The group wants to begin a new project of making candles.
Conclusion
The Kao La Tumaini is an agent of change, a symbol of transformation and an island of hope in this community. People have a hope that their children will live. Rev. Moses is appealing to the faith-based community for support, encouragement and prayers for this ministry. They are looking for volunteers who can provide manpower for the work.
In everything, they give Yahweh all the glory and thanks for what has been accomplished so far. Rev. Moses is very encouraged and thankful. |
