Leonida was married to a man who was involved in criminal activities, but she didn’t know that until he was killed in her presence by gang members. Her mother died several years ago and she was never told who her father was. Here she is with her 9 month old baby…it’s 11 pm, she is sitting out in the cold at the Luanda market and has nowhere to go.
You say….
– she should go to a family member…there are no relatives.
– she should go to the church….unfortunately I have yet to see a church in Kenya where they are more concerned about their neighbors than putting money in their pockets. Forgive me if you are one and I pray you continue to fight this earthly battle with God’s continued and sufficient grace.
– she should get help from the government….my question “have you lived in Kenya?” There are no social services, no food stamps, no temporary homeless shelters, nowhere for her to go with her baby.
– she should get a job….40% unemployment and even if she found a job she might be told to work and then never paid or severely underpaid…it happens all the time folks. (Here you can read more info on this and why it’s such a major issue for all Kenyans)
Many women in this situation will turn to prostitution in order to feed their family. You ask ‘how could she?’ I turn it back to you and ask ‘what other option is she given?’ Or the family man (discussed in the news article linked above) may eventually just give up on his family and leave (I pray for those men who stick it out with their families)….this happens all too often and the mothers are left figuring out how to feed their children and many, as mentioned above, turn to prostitution or simply abandon their children.
C4KK Benevolence works one on one with vulnerable children, their care givers and communities as a whole. By providing a bed, mattress, school fees, medicine, or clean water source people are asking ‘why are you doing this?’ To which we are able to answer ‘because of the love of Jesus Christ, who sustains us and asks us to go and do likewise.’ Christ is being preached through actions, hope is seen through a small gesture and love is being felt by those children, caregivers and members of communities.
In this particular area where Leonida is we are working towards building a women’s/children’s temporary shelter. We are hopeful a plot of land will soon be donated and put into C4KK’s name where this shelter would be built. Mom’s with children or abandoned children would find temporary shelter here until permanent arrangements can be made. We are also planning on having a chicken farm so the shelter can be self sufficient.
I know it’s hard to imagine especially for those of us from a society where help is available but what would we do if we were in this type of situation? Wouldn’t you pray someone would take notice and assist? Want to be part of extending hope to Leonida and others like her? We are all called to do something, what that something may be is different for each of us, but if you feel called to assist this ministry in helping the least of these please visit C4KK website (this will take you to our Community Benevolence Projects page) for more information and how to get involved.
Thank you for your prayerful consideration and your prayer support….it is definitely appreciated!