---

 

FLOODING IN EAST AFRICA

 

We have several friends in Africa and India who are regulars in our online "Morning Prayers and Readings" at 7 a.m. daily. Our friend Simon in Tanzania has built "Vision Complex" – an orphanage/school center for 50 orphans. They raise crops to help support this complex. Here's a photo from February this year showing their rice fields: at that time there was already heavier than usual rainfall in Tanzania and all of East Africa.

But as of last week, the situation has become much worse: the rains kept coming in Tanzania, Kenya, and Burundi, so much that many places were flooded. I asked our friend Simon today – "How is the situation with the flooding?" And he replied – "On my side I am safe and the rain has stopped almost two days though still network [internet] is not good ... other places in Tanzania the situation is worse but in the town I am living with the school only faced much rain and the roads are what impassable but people are safe to some extent." Then I asked – "How is your rice field? Is the crop OK, or ruined?" He wrote back – "Oh!! Robert, all the crops are ruined... I expect great famine in future... most crops went with flood. I can't tell, very serious...." Pray against famine in Africa! [MAY 5 UPDATE: Simon called us via Skype, saying the cyclone swept away the food for his orphans, so he needs $200 right away, and the loss of their rice crop sets back their budget by $2,000. Our small non-profit, Agape Restoration Society Inc., is sending $200 today for food: can you help replace the rice crop income?]

Things are especially dire in Nairobi, Kenya: the rain and wind has reached cyclone force, and a dam broke and large areas in the southern part of this capitol city were destroyed and over 200 people have lost their lives: see "KENYA FLOODS DEATH TOLL TOPS 200 AS CYCLONE APPROACHES" and "KENYA FLOODS: NAIROBI HOMES DEMOLISHED AS CYCLONE HIDAYA APPROACHES". More than 165,000 people had been uprooted from their homes including Maureen in Nairobi.

Here's a photo from Maureen, our friend in Nairobi and a regular in our "Morning Prayers." She wrote us – "Please, am in need of ksh950 [about $8] for a motorbike guy to help me in transporting the mattress for sleeping and some utensils for use if you can help, please." But I didn't see her message until later that day, and by then it was too late. I wrote back – "Did you save your mattress & other things?" She replied – "We couldn't because the water came inside the house while we were asleep so we saved nothing apart from our lives." They are sleeping in Kayla's school which is a little higher than the water, but have no food, all they have left is the clothes on their backs, so we sent some money for food. [MAY 5 UPDATE: We through ARS Inc. will do what we can to get her some food, clothing, rental housing, and medicine for her grandma. We're waiting hear from her what she needs right now. But she will also need long-term solutions for housing and employment. Can you help?]

Maureen became an orphan in childhood: both of her parents died from AIDS. So her grandma, a widow herself, raised her. Maureen grew up, got married, had a baby girl, and then her grandma became disabled, so Maureen took her into their home. But her husband did not like this situation, so he abandoned the family. This left Maureen to care for grandma and little Kayla, as well as running a stall in the market to support them. Then almost 2 years ago, a fire broke out in the slums of Nairobi and their little house burned down. So we raised funds to help her build another one-room tin house. Now that house has been destroyed, along with her little shop, this time by flooding.

Please help us provide some assistance to these dear people. We in the West live in nice, cozy homes, have plenty to eat (even too much!) and we worry about what outfit to wear at a wedding or even just about the toilet paper not tearing on the perforation. But these people have lost everything!

 

---