So far, I’ve been sharing a few stories from my trip to Kenya and have been focusing mostly on the things I have been processing as a result. I don’t think I am going to do that today. Today I simply want to tell you a part of the story of one woman we met who will forever remain in my memory. I want you to know her too.
A few days after arriving in Kipkaren, we met Dina during one of our home visits. We drove for about 45 minutes along very bumpy dirt roads, wet from recent rains, to get to her. We passed Olympic runners training on the way…and then they passed us as we stopped in front of Dina’s house.
A few years ago, when I was living in inner-city Fresno, I remember meeting poverty – true poverty – for the first time in a woman named Carmen. In her I discovered the struggle and the defeat that can come despite a strong work ethic and desire. I was deeply touched by seeing in the flesh what had only been statistics to me before. If Carmen was poverty in inner-city America, then Dina is her international equivalent. She is, no doubt, someone to think of when you hear “the poorest of the poor.”
At 25 years old, she is a single mother of three, due with her fourth at any moment now, and HIV positive. She’s the second from the right in the picture above. Dina is nearly blind. Until recently, she had no way of seeing, but a chance connection with ELI’s health center has given her glasses so she can be more independent. Dina is a bundle of joy, though you wouldn’t expect it from her circumstances. The 10×10 mud hut you see behind us is her home, divided into two rooms. The bedroom fits a bed and about three feet of walking space. The living area fits a small table the size of a coffee table and a few stools. She lives there with two of her children, and though she was seven months pregnant when we saw her, she slept on the floor so her children could sleep on the bed. Dina does not own any land so she gleans what she can from her neighbors and family, and because she is already a single mother, in her culture she will likely never remarry.
As we sat in her home, Julie, ELI’s nurse, counseled her about her upcoming birth. As she reviewed the list of Dina’s HIV medications, she quickly discovered that Dina was likely iron deficient, and told her she would need to add a supplement to correct the deficiency. We soon learned that Dina had been eating the soil for many months as a natural way to fix the problem – her body craved the iron in it. And, once she gives birth, she will not be able to breast feed in order to protect her child from HIV, but this is looked down upon in village culture. Instead, she will have to mix powder formula with water to feed the child. Except Dina does not have access to clean water; she will have to walk miles to get it, carry it back each day, and then boil it to make sure it’s clean.
The development theories in textbooks are a long way from Dina. She needs a job, a supportive community, healing and sustenance. Still, we sat in her hut and worshipped God. She requested we sing a particular song, one in Swahili. And then we prayed for her. She asked us to pray that God would provide her next meal – she did not know where it was coming from.
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise up the former devastations; And they will repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks, and foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers. But you will be called the priests of the LORD; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God, you will eat the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land, everlasting joy will be theirs.”
When I think of Dina I remember her humble state, and I pray for her needs, but I mostly remember her quiet giggles and excited smiles. She is truly a treasure hidden in a hut in the hills of Kenya. Pray that one day soon her giggles turn to strong shouts of joy, that her feet will stand secure in the soil of God’s blessing, and that her feast will be a double portion beyond what she has ever known.
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