LET THEM EAT CAKE!

DURING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION in 1789-99 the populace of Paris were starving, and clamouring angrily at the gates of the Palace of the French King, Louis XVI. There was no food in the City, not even bread, the most common commodity. And the people cried out for Bread. Queen Marie Antoinette, Louis' wife is reported to have asked what all the clamour was about, and on being told that the crowd were shouting for the want of Bread, she replied 'Then let them eat Cake!' Cake was even more expensive, though there was plenty of it in the Palace. If the people were too poor to pay for the little bread available it was unlikely they would afford the food of the rich. She is therefore credited with being both ignorant and unfeeling, almost oblivious of t1he plight of the starving masses of her people living on her doorstep. She and her husband, Louis, had their heads Guillotined by the masses just a few months later. According to the latest historical comment, however, it would seem that Marie Antoinette might never have said those words - but someone DID. And the sentiment so expressed has not really altered over the last two hundred years. It seems the People and the Rulers rarely understand each other.

The truth remains that those who HAVE money easily forget how it is to have NONE!

HERE IS A CHAIR!

It is not an ordinary chair, although it looks cheap enough. THIS chair costs Kenya Shillings 200,000/- (approximately £1430 OR US$2220 per chair) BUT these chairs are special. They are to be the NEW chairs planned for installation into the 're-furbished' Parliament Chamber, hoped to be completed in March 2012.

It seems that this NO 'casual' receptical for the backside of a Member of Parliament. According to a recent Press Release THIS chair, and those like it, (about 35o of them) will be made of 'State of the Art' materials which will be the best that money can buy. It will have an expected life of more than sixty years, being impervious to wear and tear. This chair is also FIREPROOF - in case, perchance, the occupant becomes overheated! It is adjustable, but unable to be moved or lifted from the floor - in case some irritated 'Member' might want to pick it up and throw it at an adversary! It is maintenance free, and will never need cleaning or even dusting! ORIGINALLY these amazing chairs were to cost DOUBLE the current advertised cost of Ksh.200.000/-. Realising, however, that this might seem a little TOO expensive, the Government turned to the Kenya Prison Service to take on their manufacture - instead of the specialised company first approached. Kenya Prisons use the prisoners to make, amongst other things, furniture of all kinds for sale, as an aid to funding the cost of the Prisons daily running. But how well-made will these chairs turn out to be? Will they be worth the money they are asking of £1400 a chair? Or may be the chairs will finally be made in China for a mere fraction of the advertised cost.

BUT PERHAPS, after all, it is JUST A PIECE OF CAKE!

Something beyond the reach or understanding of the ordinary Kenyan who barely has enough today for even a loaf of bread. Something to UNDERSCORE, the almost total insensitivity and irresponsibility of the Government for its people. The MP is paid £5,000 or so a month to SIT in Parliament, and will SIT on an appropriately VALUABLE chair worth almost a quarter of a million shillings paid for from Taxes demanded from the already poverty stricken populace.

The average wage of a common single labourer, domestic, or clerk is around £42 a month. The rent for the room he lives in might have to be anything from £7 to £14 a month. His food - just basically - up to £25 minimally. Not much left then to buy clothing, pay for medicine, transport to work and all the other unexpected expenses that might arise. - AND REMEMBER more than 60% of the available workforce is UNEMPLOYED to start with. The GAP between the common man or woman, and their Rulers is immense and growing all the time. Do not the Rulers SEE - do they not CARE? Can they really be so willing, as the Roman Emperor NERO was, to just sit and while away time, watching Rome BURN without lifting a finger to help? Well Kenya is just a little piece of planet earth, one of the least of the Nations - but what is happening here is, in fact, happening everywhere - and the peoples of our world, more and more, begin to ROAR like the SEA, rising up to revenge themselves and to overwhelm their rulers.

THIS INNOCUOUS CHAIR IS A SCANDALOUS CHAIR!.......It has shocked the common man who has in this current year suffered more and more economic disasters, one after another.

One Reporter has commented -

'Not too long ago, the Kenya Shilling lost its value

by the biggest margin ever.

This has led to sky rocketing fuel and common commodity

prices.

The cost of living has risen so high that one wonders how

ordinary Kenyans survive.

The life of the common man has deteriorated in so many

ways that many see no hope of survival in fact.

This is already leading to crime and social unrest.'

On the other hand we should probably not feel to bad about. It could be much worse! Just today I came across another expensive chair. I include a photo of it to the right. It is an entwined Fork and Spoon. It is quite innovative and probably most apt for an M.P. who for the most part SITS in order to feed him / her self. It only costs £48,000 or US$75000!!! However it seems you can get it for less - just depends where you shop! I saw another wood and leather chair as well selling for between 2 and 3 million EUROS!!

THE TEN UPHOLSTERED circa 1950 Club chairs that I purchased from Eldoret Club in 1974 cost me only one hundred shillings each - they were quite elderly already, but have continued to provide homely and comfortable seating for innumerable children and adults right up to the present day!! NOT made from anything very expensive or pretentious.

LAST NIGHT, FRIDAY, we had our quarterly Board Meeting, We have twelve members of the Board. Esther, Me and Daryl plus Anthony Ndungu the School Principle and EIGHT

others who are from our locality, and all Christian educationalists and businessmen. Last night the School was under discussion and the upshot was that it was agreed by all that in the next twelve months we will hope to BUILD four new Classrooms. This will permit our High School to add a further academic stream of classes, making TWO streams all-together. It has been very costly to run the school on four classes only due to the number of teachers that are needed. The same number can service eight classes just as easily as four, and hopefully the income will be that much greater with more students. The School as you know is open to the public who must pay for a child of theirs to be accommodated. The Homes' children go FREE.

The current buildings were all put up in 1987. They still look good and in good shape. BUT, yes there is a but ..... all the floors were covered with a vinyl tile that both cracked and

wore badly. All the floors have now become an embarrassment to our general testimony of care. SO we obtained permission to relay ALL the classrooms and office block, commencing with almost immediate effect. We hve come a cross a DUNLOP Vinyl & Quartze tile which is both supple and hardy. The School of course is paying for all this, hopefully, from expected incoming fees. But of course we have no guarantee as to how many children will be with us at any one time - they come and go......! SO there is also a large element of FAITH involved in all this as well. But the School has become very popular because of its good academic performance. Please pray for Daryl who, as the new CEO will for the most part be up front and responsible for the progress of these projects. Pray for Kenya too as 2012 arrives and proceeds toward the expected Election at the end of the year.

THE RAIN at last seems to have given way to sunshine, at least for the moment BUT it is still quite chilly.

Currently a Prayer Conference is going on in the School, and a large number of our older children have taken themselves off to it. From the sound of it they are being Blessed. Thank you Lord!

NEXT WEEK a group of 18 small boys will be circumcised, but we think they will be bouncing around by Christmas just the same. Generally, with few exceptions, it is a cultural tradition that boys are circumcised - usually around the age of 13 and under. This is done at our local Teaching Hospital.

Decorations will go up next week. Christmas is still invisible to the naked eye, but SOON it will be seen to spring forth with JOY to the world bursting all around us. NEW Hope is also on the way, and with it strength to come out of our sorrows and defeats into a WIDER PLACE of new opportunity and expectations. Continue to pray for us.

God will walk with you in the days ahead. Endeavour to keep focused and not to be sidetracked by the world and all its glitz.

We love you all

John and Esther