ru·ral : adjective ˈrur-əl
of or relating to the country, country life, or agriculture
Many of you, especially some of our hometown friends from Tennessee, may know what it’s like to live out in the country. Rural life in America often entails driving 30 minutes to get to the grocery store, living in a house you can’t see from the road, and having the pizza man tell you you’re too far out for them to deliver. (I can attest from personal experience, this is heartbreaking news.)
In East Africa, however, rural life means something very different. One of our primary projects in Kenya, the Siaya Community Development Initiative, which includes the Ashburn Ohuru Medical Clinic & Usingo Primary School, are located in a rural region of the Nyanza Province.
The Nyanza Province is one of the most impoverished areas of the country, with nearly two-thirds of the population living on less than $1 a day.
The area in which our community development initiative is located, the Siaya District, is one of the poorest in the province.
Needless to say, the need is great.
We all know that wrapping our minds around faceless statistics can be difficult, but they do plainly expose areas of need. And we at Passion Partners believe that in order to address the need, you’ve got to know the need.
So, here are some numbers….
• Over 90% of rural Kenyan households do not have electricity.
• Over 70% live in houses with floors made of earth, sand, or dung.
• Almost 50% of rural Kenyan households do not have access to an improved source of drinking water….and almost half of those who do, have to walk 30 minutes or more to obtain it. (Ever carried a jeri can full of water?)
• In the Nyanza Province, only 6.4% of females have completed secondary school.
….The need? Invest in clean water projects.
….The need? Enable children & teenagers stay in school.
… The need? Provide low-cost, quality medical care to combat treatable illnesses common in rural areas as well as common water and sanitation related diseases.
Our partners in Kenya are on the ground, every day, leading the way in this effort, fulfilling THEIR Call.
The Siaya Community Development Initiative and the Ashburn Ohuru Medical Clinic are seeking to address these very real and dire needs…not just “statistics about places, but people with faces.”
Our intent is to help meet these practical and pressing needs while working to uncover the giftings of our brothers and sisters in rural Kenya to eventually meet their own needs and fulfill their God-given purposes…
“I know the plans I have for you…and will supply all of your needs.”
Jer 29:11, Phil 4:19
What an amazing privilege to be involved in God’s redemptive work around the world.
Allie
Strategic Development & Project Manager – Africa