I do not know the words to adequately describe what I experienced the other day in rural Kenya. It seemed almost surreal yet it was as real as life can get. It was in a small unlit room that a group of single women with children met to work out some difficult issues that had arisen within the group in their attempt to switch from making and selling illegal “brew” to establishing alternative incomes and leave brewing forever.
They had done so much already. They had created small businesses in order to replace the income they chose to lose when they determined that brewing was not what they wanted for their lives or how they wanted to impact the people and youth of their area. They had captured the hearts of many in the world with their efforts to create something positive out of virtually nothing. They had stated to some their dream of one day creating a dairy business to positively change the lives of their children and community around them. And when people around the world heard of their courage and dream, they responded by donating to buy the first cows for their future herd.
It was at that moment when everything changed. What was a dream was becoming a reality. The contempt and being looked down upon of the past had seemingly overnight changed to respect and appreciation of what they were attempting to do and the role models they were becoming for women, youth and yes, even men. Overnight it seems their lives changed from no one caring to almost everyone watching and caring what they did in their daily lives.
Of course there were people who did their best to help prepare the women for what was about to happen, yet no one can be totally prepared for something they have never experienced before. This I know from my own experiences. I remember people trying to prepare me for the changes my life would have when I was appointed to be a state senator and when I was chosen as a teacher of the year. Yet as others tried to prepare me I can tell you that the actual experience was nothing I was prepared for. I struggled mightily, made mistakes, and learned some tough but valuable lessons… just as these women are now beginning to experience, struggle and learn.
So there we all were in that small unlighted room one afternoon as a steady rain came down making walking difficult along the mud roads and pathways. There had been challenges. There had been mistakes made. There was a need to clear the air and find some stable ground again. And when the sharing began no one held back and the truth of their challenges and lives flowed freely and earnestly.
For me it was an experience in many ways I will cherish forever. It was in that small unlit room where the insidious effects of inflation, the fact that there was little money in the area and businesses everywhere were down, the increasing challenges of paying school fees for children getting older, children and relatives in desperate need of health care and of the huge tasks and individual effort facing all of them in getting their now six cows through the dry season… effort that was needed immediately but would not bear fruit for another 3 or 4 years. To a person, every woman knew the value of their efforts to maintain the herd for what the future would hold for them and their families. Yet how to survive in the prevailing economic conditions until that time was weighing heavily on their minds and hearts.
It was a sharing I shall never forget. It was a sharing of individual struggle. It was a sharing that found comfort and support from the others within the group and it was a sharing where the real challenges of surviving for most of the people in the world came into clear focus and light. And throughout it all, I grew to respect these women so much more and yes I love each of them for what they are attempting to do. They are attempting to do the right thing for their lives and for others when everything around them is seemingly pushing them to go against what they know in their hearts to be true. The survival mentality is strong in everyone and the sense of doing what one must whether right or wrong to survive another day can become overwhelming.
In the room that day there was pain. There were tears and a sharing that held nothing back. And in that room was great courage and still a sense of hope. It was there that the realness of life and the deciding of how to respond and create something new and not just react and repeat the past came front and center. It was so very real and not just something to write about in theory. It was as real as it can get.
Yet, these women know what they want for their lives and are doing everything they can to support each other, to be strong, to be firm when needed and to somehow find a way. It was an amazing thing to see and experience and it reaffirmed within my spirit the true power we all have within our internal spirit if we dare to dream, act to create, and most of all believe that we can change our future and become who we wish to be.
In the end, they all recommitted to where they wished to go, who they wished to be and that it would be by their actions that they would be successful… or not. They reinforced how they would help each other and put in stronger enforcement of where they are going along with strict accountability for each member.
And with that the community also responded. The District Chief of Law Enforcement, community Elders and many others within the community offered to help the group with a “Harambee” or community fund raiser with the proceeds to help solidify the small businesses the women began almost a year ago. For it is the view of the community leaders that if these women can succeed, everything will potentially change. Women will be more empowered, youth will see that just because there are no jobs doesn’t mean jobs cannot be created, and there will be income over time from the dairy farm that will benefit all including education and health care.
The Harambee will take place on December 1st. If you feel you would like to be supportive of this community in rural Kenya and their fight to create something different for their future, you can send a check to me, David Bernard-Stevens at: 501 Hazelwood Drive, Lincoln Nebraska, 68510. Put “Harambee” in the notation section and any amount will have an impact. When your donation is received it will be put into the appropriate account where I will withdraw all proceeds in Kenyan Shillings via ATM services here in Nairobi. I will then send the proceeds to the women’s group as a contribution to the Harambee from the world community. Please understand that your donation will not be tax deductible.
Finally, the women too know that they must show their own support for the Harambee besides what they have already done and are currently doing. They are assessing themselves and putting that money into the Harambee as they know they must be part of the solution and not just receivers of good will. In a time where every shilling is valuable, each has pledged 500 shillings or about 5 US dollars for the Harambee. It may not seem like much, but in life here, it is everything.
May each of you have the most blessed of Holiday Seasons.
David
