NEWS

SUNDAY 3rd FEBRUARY 2008

ABOUT 7a.m. our time this morning the Manager of a Children's Home on the other side of Eldoret phoned to say that in the early hours they had been invade by a gang of people and their entire complex - School and Home - burned to the ground.   Mercifully the 130 children and 13 Staff were all unhurt.     Nothing material was left of either the timber or stone buildings.     Nothing of the their contents survived either.    Many of the children in this Home are under 6 years, the majority are rehabilitated Street Children.

Many of them just ran into the bushes during the attack and have not been located yet.  The rest have been put up in a Presbyterian Church in central town.    I will be there in the morning to see what we may be able to do to help them out.   I am sure many of the FORUM Members will be there with me, AND the District Children's Officer who also phoned a few minutes ago in great distress at what has happened.    The Home is known as the PCEA (Presbyterian Church of Eastern Africa) MUNSINGEN Children's Home  -  (Munsingen being a town in Germany that has helped them).     We had only met this last Wednesday together with some of the management at the Forum Meeting.      VERY DISTRESSING indeed.

WHY have they been so invaded?      The area in which the Home is situate is in the midst of a Kanlenjin society - a very depressed area.     They people have long taken exception to the fact that the PCEA had BOUGHT land there, and that they have not only imported children from other tribes to their own, but also staffed the place with non kalenjin staff.     BUT they had no one qualified enough from amongst themselves of course, so really what could the PCEA have done?   Well it seems they should have just KEPT themselves away.      The majority of Kenyans belonging to this the Presbyterian Church are Kikuyu!     Churches denominationally commenced historically in particular regions in a general sense.    The Presbyterians in Central Province the home of the Kikuyu, the Anglican Church in Western the home of the Luhyia and Luo,

the Quakers in and  good number of Pentecostal groups in Western as well.       The Africa Inland Church has attracted the Kalenjin and Nandi peoples.      Only the Catholics seem to have spread themselves all over without concentrating on particular area.     THUS even the Churches have a 'tribal history and background'.       

AND TALKING OF CHURCHES another Pentecostal Church was also burned down yesterday, situated right in the Town Centre near the main road bridge into town.   Again at night so no one was hurt.

 

SO where is the Security - where is the protection?      My brother at the Children's Home said only two policemen turned up and did not either help them or show any particular interest.    Will they actually find out who did this?    Perhaps.     If they do though one wonders if they will be punished in this day when the world has been slowly turning against strong discipline.      No wonder the violence is not ceasing when it seems there is nothing being done to deter it or even put it to flight.       If you lived here and had to listen to all the foreign media and political pundits telling us our police are too heavy handed and we should not involve the army to assist in keeping order, you might hopefully feel as we do - ANNOYED AND IRRITATED.         What are we to do as a Nation when we see our homes and our neighbours lives being burned, pulled down, ruined and destroyed - just rap the perpetrators on the knuckle and say 'You bad boys, don't do that again because we are not allowed to stop you.'      Those that know me will understand that I would not condone such weak kneed, ineffective and irresponsible methods of keeping order in a society in chaos.

 

As our PEACEMAKERS AND leaders sit around still in five star hotels well away from any sign of disturbance or discomfort, the VIOLENCE NATIONALLY IS CONTINUING, PERHAPS INCREASING.

Consider the following extracts from today's DAILY NATION -

 

The front page Headline reads

VIOLENCE

TEN MORE KILLED IN FRESH CLASHES

 

              ODM takes offence at Kibaki's remarks                                                                                                                      Protect activists, say Amnesty International

 

Whilst blood continues to flow and property burns all over the State,  the LEADERS comfortably and imperturbably throw insult and cynicism at each other at the Country's further EXPENSE, and foreign busybodies tell us to recognise Human Rights - especially those of the empty headed criminals who are realising havoc in the land.    ALL this is so very unreal - yet if we have been watching the Films and Cartoons that have been the visual entertainment of ourselves and our children for years one should not be surprised.      They have now become REAL LIFE and no longer a fantasy.

 

Our Sunday Service was again packed out.        Much Praise and Testimony of His Faithfulness amongst us all - even in the midst of such evil news as recorded above.      Our children all in good voice and innocent happiness - the two NEW children brought in yesterday already smiling and apparently adjusted to their new life.

 

WILL we have one eye open as we sleep tonight?   NO, I think not.     It has been very sad to see the way things are turning, and we are aware that things may indeed become worse, BUT we are not looking at the earthly evidence of Satan's activities, but rather looking UP to where HE is seated in Majesty and Power.     We ARE hid in Him.     EVEN IF we ourselves were to suffer as our friends suffered last night we will not flinch or flee from it, and are confidence of His Presence .....

 

TOMORROW we shall - if He wills - and commence another day, another week.        

Pray for us, and for all the people of God in this disrupted Country.

 

John and Esther.