Spinning in Kibera

After our first few nights, I think we are finally recovered from our jetlag. Today has been a low-key sort of day. We have enjoyed sitting in the Kenyan sun laughing and playing cards as we gear-up for next week's work and bond as team.

Beacon is fantastic. We spent yesterday touring the facilities with some of the staff and hanging out with some of the kids in the preschool. I am very impressed by the way everything at Beacon is so well run. There seems to be so much going on all at once within the different divisions. In a single day, the clinic sees upwards of 100 patients, the school teachers work with almost 150 students and dozens of women are taught handiworks by vocational professors. It is quite incredible to experience the consistent buzz around Beacon.

I think I was most intrigued by the clinic. They charge about 50 cents to be seen by a doctor and receive any necessary medications. However, if a patient tests HIV positive all further treatment is free. This includes social work services, counseling, ARV medications and future CD4 (immune cell) counts. It is fantastic to see how much Beacon is doing in the area.

This morning we went to go visit a few women who spin the wool for the rugs made at Beacon of Hope. Both women live in Kibera, a slum in Nairobi. Kibera is a community of one million plus people living on only a few square kilometers of land in small homes made out of corrugated metal and mud. It is unlike anywhere in the United States. The pathways between houses are small, windy and scattered with raw sewage. Dale one of our team members, describes Kibera as “a harsh reality, but not an unhappy place”. He could not speak more truthful words. Joyce and Esther, the two wool spinners exemplify this idea perfectly.

Joyce has been spinning for Beacon for many years. She works in a group of 7 women who all share profits and work together on projects. Through their spinning, all 7 women are able to support their families and send the children and grandchildren to school. Joyce welcomed us into her home to show us her spinning room and share her story. We also walked over to Esther's house to learn how to card wool with two large brushes. We had a few sad attempts at trying to get the wool ready for spinning, and I'm fairly certain that Esther has already re-done our work to get the wool up to standards. We all had a lot of fun watching her work and attempting (or watching others attempt) to make the wool into long, soft bushels ready for spinning.

Joyce and Esther were so full of joy. Their love for God shows through their attitudes and all that they do. I am so glad we were able to meet them and learn just a little about their lives. It is important to focus not on the surroundings in which these women live, but the inspiring lives they live and the joy that radiates from within them.

-Sarah