New Frontier

 

When a person flies into the city of Nairobi, one cannot help but see the sea of corrugated metal roofs which shelter the inhabitants of Kibera, the largest informal settlement (slum) in Kenya.  More than a million souls call Kibera home, where the streets are filled with violence, the people are desperately poor, and their dwellings are cramped and unsanitary.

In the midst of despair and hopelessness, God sends people to act as his light, to bring hope, to redeem what is rightfully His.  Many organizations and individuals are at work in Kibera.

Bethel Outreach Children's Center is one such organization that is striving to provide safe childcare and education to more than 300 children each day.

Since 2006, Mary Adidna, along with her husband Michael Ooro, have led this mission daily, by faith and in prayer.

Follow this little girl into one of the three classrooms.

The desks are simple, and the construction material is basic.

The teachers work very hard for very little pay (about $85 monthly, and some are volunteers).

The children come eager to learn.

One of the most basic needs is to provide fuel for learning.  The school desires to provide each child a simple but filling breakfast and lunch daily.  This costs about $700 monthly.

Saba, International has begun partnering with Bethel Outreach, with the hope of supplying their basic food expenses.  Would you prayerfully consider joining us as Bethel strives to bring well-nourished education to the children of Kibera?
(to make a donation exclusively to Bethel Outreach, please indicate "Bethel" on the memo line of your check or in your correspondance)

World Changers

I want to introduce you to two young men who graduated with New Dawn's first class of graduate in 2009. John (picture above, bottom right), and Peter (pictured above, bottom left) are brothers who have endured patiently and are experiencing the blessings of following the Master, Jesus, as they reap the fruits of education.   One of their dreams is to be able to financially support their precious "mum" (picture above, center), just as she has prayed for  and encouraged them all these years.

 



John recently completed a diploma course (associate's degree) in Human Resource Management.  He hopes to find work in the field, and to eventually complete a full degree in the field.  John is charismatic and his face usually bears a gigantic infectious smile.  On the day this serious picture was taken, he was spending time with his classmates reflecting on the value of his education at New Dawn.  John's physical circumstances never changed during his four years at New Dawn, as his family continued to live entrenched in poverty.  What changed was how John thinks about poverty.  In a startling declaration, John summed up New Dawn's victory over the evil one when he said, "Poverty has been taken out of my mind."



Peter recently began coursework toward a diploma in medicine, and hopes to carry his studies far enough to become a doctor.  John's and Peter's educations have been sponsored by a family in our Saba, International network, and we join these brothers in praising God for his providence!  Currently there are many graduates of New Dawn who are pursuing additional education, or have completed it, and are gainfully employed (36 of the first 69 grads have acheived some kind of additional education, and only seven are not employed). 

If you look very closely at John's shirt in the above photo (red) you will see that it says "World Changer".  How true that New Dawn School is in the business of developing World Changers, starting with the individual students.  The changes begin to flow into their families and communities, their places of employment and churches.  The story about these World Changers is only in its infancy, so we urge you to stand-by and pray, because God is good and able to accomplish far more than we could ever ask or imagine! 

Saba, International intends to continue sponsoring New Dawn graduates as they pursue addtional education, so I will leave you with encouraging words of thanks from John:

Don't forget to tell all those who participate in supporting me and others from my community that I love you people so much.  May God bless you abundantly because you have made us know that we, the product of our past, we are not the prisoners of it because there is hope in us and a good future ahead of us!

posted by Cathy Woller, for Saba, International