Nebraska Synod ELCA

First Lutheran Church’s (FLC) Partnership with the African Inland Church (AIC) at Chuluni, Kenya, has Reached 1,000+ HIV Families via the Gifts-of-Hope Initiative

By S. Kay Rockwell, First Lutheran, Lincoln Member

It was with mixed emotions that I made my first trip to Kenya in 2005. As a volunteer for the Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program in USAID, I was assigned to a project at the Catholic Dioceses of Kitui’s Educational Unit. As I travelled by auto from metropolitan Nairobi to Kitui, about 100 miles away, I was struck by the stark difference between metropolitan Nairobi and the rural countryside. I better understood why Kenya is considered a developing country.  And little did I know that this would be the first of ten trips to Kenya, and how Kitui would be impacted by the Gifts of Hope Market Place offered annually by my church, First Lutheran in Lincoln.

My host in Kenya, Shadrack Matuku was employed by the Catholic Dioceses, but he and his family worshiped at the African Inland Protestant Church (AIC) near Chuluni (close to Kitui).  With ties to both the Protestants and Catholics, the stage was set for our gifts of hope.                                                    

Through the course of my F2F program I met with the Kitui Governor and his staff, the Catholic Bishop and the Sisters at the Diocese, the Extension Educators, subsistence farmers eking out a living, those living with HIV and their care givers, and many children in both primary and secondary schools. I saw a society that had many critical needs but cared for each other through social programs, taught each other, had support groups, and welcomed me into their midst.

As I became better acquainted with Shadrack Matuku and his family, and better understood the challenges faced by rural families, we formed an informal partnership to provide humanitarian projects to address some of the more pressing social needs. Over several years we first built a preschool at the Inland Protestant Church at Chuleni, giving the children a “leg up” before they entered school. Next, we built a community library that also served as a parsonage for the church.

Goats for HIV Orphans

Our FLC Gifts of Hope is held the first weekend in December. The Lincoln community is invited to participate in our marketplace by purchasing alternative gifts for loved ones. Many families have purchased goats as a gift to HIV orphans. Drinking nutritious goat milk improves the health of HIV positive (HIV+) orphans. Selling goat milk also brings in resources to purchase school uniforms, shoes and other items children need to attend school.  And goats survive on the brush in the infertile soil.

Our Gifts-of-Hope Initiative reached 1,000⁺ HIV families in 15 years. As a ‘Thank-You’ for receiving goats, each family is committed to give one goat to a neighboring family. Consequently, the standard of living for all families is raised and they become a prosperous community. 

Harvesting Rainwater Classroom

Kenya is considered a water scarce country. Kenya’s per capita water availability is less than 600 cubic meters, well below the global threshold of 1,000 cubic meters per capita. But capturing the roof water in the rainy season and storing it in tanks will provide fresh, safe water for domestic use in the dry season. Despite these advances, slow implementation and low technology adoption is hampering its realization. Water scarcity is a critical constraint to the country’s socio-economic development and is exacerbated by climate change and increasing water demand due to population growth and urbanization.

Demonstration Classroom

The Lincoln church-based Gifts of Hope Marketplace raised funds to construct a demonstration classroom on AIC Kithukulu Primary School’s campus. The goal of the demonstration classroom is to teach 8th grade youth the value of harvesting rainwater for domestic use in both rural and urban neighborhoods. In addition, the funds supported designing the classroom’s curriculum along with a brochure for students to use as they teach their families and others about implementing and using the process. The classroom can also be used as a demonstration site for other educational groups or organizations in the community. And it serves as a model for other agencies and organizations.

Each of these projects would not have been possible without the relatively small investment by FLC and all the families who participate in the Gifts of Hope.  Sadly, my friend Shadrack died in December 2021.  However, the humanitarian projects we jointly developed will serve as a lasting memorial to Shadrack and his commitment to his native Kitui.