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Two Saturday’s ago, our team were witnesses to the strength of the human spirit and the power of community. For the first time in Maai Mahiu the five major tribes of this village came together to celebrate Unity in Diversity. Nearly 1000 Maasai, Turkana, Kamba, Luo, and Kikuyu people came to dance and sing and be witnesses to how important standing together as a community is for the future of Kenya.
For the past year CTC has sponsored an Ubuntu Day once a month. Ubuntu is a Zulu word that translates, "I am because we are." CTC was able to bring these groups together because of long-term cultivated relationships. One person and family at a time. There were no handouts at this gathering, no empty aid with strings attached, no free rides; simply a promise from CTC to walk with the people and to seek solutions to their struggles in relationship, together.
The day began with the Environmental Club from Ngea Primary along with children from other local schools planting trees along the highway that runs through Maai Mahiu. What followed was a day of dancing, singing, laughter and fun.
The new Art, Culture, and Peace Center at CTC was officially dedicated by the tribal groups, an amazing goat stew was prepared by the ShoSho’s (grandmothers), and all was supported by Jeremiah, Rocky, Bernard, and the whole CTC staff. They did an amazing job.
The day ended with a football (soccer) tournament between teams from CTC/Maai Mahiu, Maasai, and IDP (Internally Displaced Persons). 100’s of people, mostly kids, circled the field to watch the side take a run at each other. As the sun was setting and a storm was moving into the valley, on the eighth penalty kick CTC defeated IDP 2-1. The World Cup final had nothing on this “beautiful game.”
As dusk was turning to dark, the kids gathered and asked Jeremiah to bless them with words as they had blessed us. A Beautiful Day concluded with the Beautiful Game. If there is a better way to embody Ubuntu, I don’t know what it is.
“I am because we are!”
peace,
Ken
Note: The Faith and Community team has completed its trip to Kenya. This journal entry and the ones to follow document a piece of our experience.
Adventures come in all shapes and forms. Some are grand and epic, about which books are written and tales told. Others happen in the imagination of a child and only require space to play and to dream. But, no matter what kind of adventure, the common element is separation. Separation from the normal, everyday, run-of-the-mill happenings of life, and diving into a new reality is how all adventures begin.
The journey began for our Faith and Community team back in November 2009. Several of us with connections to CTC gathered at Mozart’s Coffee Shop in Austin, Texas to talk about coming together as a team to travel to Kenya and experience for ourselves what Zane had been telling us about for years.
At that first meeting we decided we did not want to focus on a particular project or element of CTC, we wanted to focus on relationship. A common belief that all people are created in the image of God drew us together, and a common experience of the power of community brought us to Kenya. Relationship.
Money was raised (easier than most people think), bags packed, tears shed, and 24 plane-airport-taxi hours later we were in Nairobi!
The excitement of our arrival temporarily overcame any notion of jetlag (an 8 hour time difference). As I drifted in and out of sleep that first night, I was startled awake by the sound of two monkeys arguing (how can you tell?) in a tree outside my window. Yep, we are in Kenya!
The next morning we headed north out of the city toward the town of Maai Mahiu. As the road swung to the right on the edge of the Rift Escarpment the whole beautiful, amazing, Rift Valley opened before us. Its scale defies description. Beth, Sandy, Sam, Judy, Lysle, Emily, I let out a collective, “Wow.” Definitely a new reality! Separation.
Peace,
Ken
Note: The Faith and Community team has completed its trip to Kenya. This journal entry and the ones to follow document a piece of our experience.
Everything here is moving on very well and Kenyan students have worked very hard to finish their history essays competition and they are now eagerly waiting for their results and not forgetting about prizes that will be awarded to the best students in this competition.
Students at Longonot secondary have been posting information on their blog on weekly bases at http://longonotsecondary.blogspot.com and they are very excited in this, also not forgetting our little kids at Ngeya who had no laptops are now again back to their Rafiki link activities and they are also excited that they will be learning computer skills again. They have been able to post little information on their blog at http://ngeyaprimary.blogspot.com
It has also been a pleasure for us to receive a team of 6 people from the USA who are spending time with our students at Maai- Mahiu secondary sharing about girl child life experiences since they want to look for ways that they can use to empower Kenyan girl child, we are praying for them and wishing them all the best in what they are doing.
Rafiki link main site rafikilink.blogspot.com will be updated twice per month, follow up with us to see what is happening.
Lastly, we are not forgetting to remind you to vote for CTC on the Chase community giving challenge on facebook, click on this link to vote for CTC http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/412123008-ctc-international-inc

Well, things are good here in Kenya, We have been enjoying a good climate as it raining quite regularly. We are hoping that the community will have a good harvest this year if it continues like this.
We had an educative trip to Gilgil last Friday; it was a national field day in Kenya where we were able to demonstrate what CTC is doing to over 5000 people from different parts of our country. We were also able to learn what other people are doing and we achieved and it was a great learning experience.
Malaika mum’s, youth program, caretakers and environmental club members had a wonderful time. They were able to visit over 40 different programs that were being exhibited in the site. The theme for that day was sustainable resource use for social-economic development.
On other programs : The Shosho shamba is doing good and they are ready to train others. This is shown by what they are doing back at their homes and at the demonstration garden. The ministry of agriculture is impressed with what we are doing and they want to partner with us and work with environmental club at Ngeya primary school and at the demonstration garden. We are glad to be able to do something that the government officials appreciate and recommend to people in the community.
Thanks for your support
