Another strong positive invitation has come to return to Kenya and teach Pastors and Leaders. When I see the massive needs there it is difficult not to decide to go. The final decision for 2008 has not as yet been made. Leaders who are so genuine and sincere need constant encouragement, particularly where they find so many things so very hard - politically and physically.
Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and a few other central African countries should be rich and comfortable but many are living on the equivalent of around one dollar a day. This is partially because of the legacy of colonialism, bad government and global injustice.
The G8 Summit is currently speaking about the world shortage of food and the wastage of food while sitting down to a sumptuous banquet. How incongruous!
The slums around Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu house some very fine people who want to do something positive for their area and nation, but discouragement and red tape meets them at every turning. Yet, on they go, persevering to improve the conditions under which millions have to live.
Two years ago I listened to an informed interview on BBC World Service Radio while in Kenya stating that it would be around 40 years before the slums around Nairobi would probably have sanitation and running water. That should not be.
Education is costly in all kinds of ways but the boys and girls I met and spoke with are so keen to do well and are willing to fight against all the odds. When I think of the educational opportunities wasted in the United Kingdom, such injustice makes me angry.
When speaking with those who farm and work their allotments I am told that the big decisions regarding agriculture are made by those who sit in offices. This too speaks of injustice.
Fertiliser costs are escalating and access to global markets is so limited. This is further injustice.
There are those who want to do well but the system is presently against them. Is there someone reading this who can do something practical to alleviate their plight?
Disease and pests and climate change confront those whose lives are a constant struggle and they need all the help and encouragement that is possible. We are nowhere near that limit!
In various districts there is a very real threat of being evicted from the land as soon as it shows signs of prosperity and possibility of becoming profitable. Further injustice.
Are you in a position to sow seeds of justice? Can you use your education talents and abilities to help those who feel so helpless, let down, and who are being treated so unfairly? Never mind feathering your own nest. Consider those whose lives are continually uphill.
If I do manage to return to Kenya in November I will be out in the slums of Nairobi and the jungle clearings around Kisumu. May aim will be to teach the Word of God and in turn these leaders will be strengthened to encourage others who may in turn influence their nation.
Sandy Shaw
Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children’s Panel in Scotland, and has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya, ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.
He broadcasts regularly on WSHO radio out of New Orleans, and writes a weekly commentary at http://www.studylight.org entitled “Word from Scotland” on various biblical themes, as well as a weekly newspaper column.
His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly to maintain a level of physical fitness.
Sandy Shaw
sandyshaw63@yahoo.com
Tags: africa, Agriculture, coaching, conflict, inspiration, Justice, Leadership, motivation, teaching