Outreach from a shipping container in the slums

By May 10, 2013

Kenya (INN/MNN) — Kibera is a slum area of 2.5 sq. km in Nairobi, Kenya, and home to more than 800,000 people.

The problems faced by residents are compressed and often include high levels of unemployment, low-quality housing, lack of health-care, hunger, domestic violence, and drug abuse.

The most vulnerable are the children, many of whom are homeless and/or orphaned. These kids are the focus of the I.N. Network Kenya ministry in Kibera. Finding food is a daily struggle for most, and access to education is nearly impossible for a child who must pay school fees and buy school supplies, including a desk, in order to enter school.

Through child sponsorships, I.N. Network Kenya shows love to children by providing for their daily needs and acting as advocates for them when they don't have anybody else. This access to education can mean the difference between staying in poverty for the rest of a child's life and breaking free of the cycle of poverty to live a life of dignity and purpose.

The program is taking off, which is a good thing. However, growth needs space. Right now, filling out reports, tracking statistics, and communicating with sponsors happens right on the edge of Kibera from the plain metal container which serves as the office.

What's that work out to? The average 40' long (12.2m) shipping container is 8 ft. wide (2.44m) and 8'6" inches high (2.59m). Four staff members share this small space, and they have reached the point where they need some basic tools and improvements to keep the ministry moving forward efficiently.

The I.N. Kenya staff work hard to administer a sponsorship program that changes children's lives, but they have very little to work with. Computers are old and slow, internet connections are unreliable. Space in the office–well, there isn't much!

I.N. empowers local churches and their leaders with resources so they can bring the Gospel alive in their communities. Will you help?

 

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