Practice What We Teach -

Practice What We Teach

November 11, 2019

Tomorrow we travel to Mombasa to hold a meeting with the Director and staff members of Reachout Center Trust. RCT is a Drug and Addiction Treatment Center. RCT offers help to those recovering from psychiatric disorders, as well. We had a brief phone conversation with Mr. Taib, who runs the Center. He told us that among the different programs they have at the Center, one of them is geared towards sexual and reproductive health for women who are addicted to drugs. They have been working with these girls for several years and those that have stayed on are now being taught how to manage finances and are being linked to microfinance organizations that will offer them small loans for business start-ups. RTC also has youth programs that run throughout the year. We look forward to visiting the various departments they offer and to learn more from them.

This past week, we took it upon ourselves to practice what we teach. I have been urging my young cousins and their friends to make sure they help out at home as much as possible so that they don’t spend all their time on social media and TV. Parents are already complaining about the mischief the kids are getting into since schools closed.

There is an elderly couple in my village who live with their 5 great-grandchildren. The mother of the children is rarely at home, so the elderly grandmother makes sure that the kids get up on time, prepares tea for their breakfast, and sends them off to school. We happened on this couple by accident, and since we’ve gotten to know them, we check on them as often as we can. Most of the time they barely have enough food to eat, and they appreciate whatever help they get. The old man is too frail to work, and the wife, though she is actually older than her husband, tills the land and ensures the family doesn’t go hungry. She is very dedicated to the great-grandchildren and the youngest of these follows her everywhere she goes. He has not started going to school yet, so he is home with her all the time. Despite the poverty they live in, the kids look well fed and always have a smile on their face.

The old man fought for Kenya’s Independence, and he has very captivating stories to tell. Despite his age, he has a wealth of knowledge and recollects events as if they happened yesterday. He tries to speak like the British (Kenya was a British colony) and remembers a few words of English. He amused me by saluting when we entered his compound and said a few English words to me; we always have a good laugh. We sit with him for some time, and whenever it is time for us to leave, he reminds us to come back and see him again. He will shed a tear every so often asking himself why God brought u. He claims we must be angels because he can’t understand why we are so concerned about them though we are not related by blood. My response to him always is that God loves him, and so do we.

My old friend, myself and one of his great-grandchildren