Transforming an Unacceptable Reality

After a 35 year career in teaching at the primary, secondary and post secondary levels of education I had the extraordinary opportunity in 2004 to visit Kenya. During a three month period I taught at Garissa Boys HS in North East Province. At the same time I was conducting research into the effects of the HIV/Aids pandemic on the Kenya school system. That involved interactions with educators at the UNHCR camp at Dadaab, Kaimosi Teacher's College, Kenya Teachers Service Commission,

Ministry of Education and 33 primary and secondary schools throughout Kenya. The plight of orphaned children and the desperate attempts of educators to meet the challenges of teaching were realities that challenged me to action.

I returned to Canada with an intense desire to do something to alleviate the acute poverty I had seen.  The tragic devastation of entire communities and the reality of an estimated 1.2 million youth unable to attend school due to lack of fees was unacceptable to me. The story of CES started with a few friends wanting to do

something...we began with two schools and four students. What has happened since then is nothing short of a miracle.

In 2016 CES Canada partners with CES Kenya and 23 secondary schools. Since 2004 it has offered 2000 education scholarships, built a secondary school, created eight wells, and built classrooms, science and computer labs, dormitories and a kitchen facility. Projects to enhance student health and learning include feminine hygiene PAD, nutrition and de-worming initiatives. In addition, CES has the privilege of feeding 240 students daily.

Most of our focus is in Kakamega County. Impact has also been seen throughout the country. From the extreme north at Manderra to the busy capitol of Nairobi, from the Aberdaire Mountains into the Rift Valley and on to the north east gate of Mt. Kenya and then west to the shores of Lake Victoria and the rural farmlands of, there are students whose lives have been changed.

Many of our 500 CES Alumnus, graduates of the CES secondary school education program are attending college and university and are emerging as teachers, research technologists, doctors, nurses, mechanics. These gifted youth will make a strong contribution to their communities...all will have been given hope for a better day. The alternative of living in desperate circumstances, plagued by poverty, sickness, unemployment, early marriage, and dying prematurely is unacceptable. 

A decade ago I did not consider myself to be a “humanitarian.” I still don't. I am primarily an educator who believes in equal opportunity for all children to learn regardless of their race, culture or geographic location. That said, I began to reflect on what drove a small core of friends to create a network of partnerships now known as CES Canada.

Each time I return to the field there is a renewed sense of urgency. Too many bright students hungry and thirsty for knowledge are left to struggle on their own. School is not an option and for some the daily needs of shelter, food and clothing are not adequately met. It breaks my heart to see students standing outside the school gate looking in. They deserve a chance to sit at the table of learning. The good news is that CES does help some.

Life in Kenya is not easy. Sometimes the weather is hot, the water is limited and often hydro disappears. People suffer all around and there are few luxuries. Roads are tough to navigate and things generally move at a slow pace. Dealing with bureaucracy and elements of corruption at all levels is stressful. It is so easy to fall into the "if these people don't care then why should I" way of thinking. So why carry on business? Good question that demands an answer.

“Do you think you’re making a difference?” I am asked. “Do you think it does any good?” And the more cynical “Why do you bother?” or “Why don’t you spend your time helping people who need it here?” are questions we grapple with. There is no simple or easy response.

Yet I return, time and again. I love Kenya, I love the people and I believe in the power of CES Canada to make a difference. Memories of fatigue wears off, the frustration abates, and within days I am inspired by the friendship, hospitality and fresh opportunities to create new hope.

Inspired by the writings of Mother Teresa and Professor Wangari Maathai, I have come to this conclusion.  Each of us has the capacity to contribute a small amount to the world while we are living in it. We are put in this world for a reason...that being to care for the environment and the people in it.

Our work in Kenya brings perspective to our lives in Canada. As we share the story with others it broadens our unique world views. If our passion inspires someone to help bridge the gap between Canada and Kenya in health and education, that is good. If it helps others to focus their efforts on humanitarian activity, that is even better.

That's what makes CES so special. It's the people…the 60 Canadian volunteers that have traveled to Kenya, donors that sacrifice to give generously, board members and many others who give time and resources to encourage our students. It's people like Angela Kwendo and Deanna O'Neill who were faced with huge health burdens, yet persevered to make their own contribution. That is what keeps us going...that is what motivates...the impact of all working together in a spirit of Harambee is what makes the difference. There is strength in numbers and there a unique joy that comes from working together for a wonderful cause.

Does saving one child from poverty or one girl from an early marriage that often includes dying in childbirth make a difference? It does to them. And is doing nothing because one can only do a little, a valid excuse to actually do nothing? Absolutely not.

We have little understanding of the impacts of our actions, even those felt to be small or inconsequential. A child who doesn’t die of malaria or Aids will perhaps be afforded the chance to attend school, become a teacher and contribute to his community. A student with an education is in a far better position to provide for his or her family because of a paying job and a new career path. A girl given an opportunity to go to school will do everything possible to ensure that happens for the next generation.

Too optimistic? Probably...but here is one simple response to those who ask the question "why?"

Besides a heartfelt, "why not?"  we repeat the quote from Mother Teresa, "we cannot all do great things, but we can all do small things with great love."

We are indeed our brother's keeper. And since we are a global community we are no longer isolated. We have a responsibility to help. Together we work to build a better future for Kenya's youth. The foundation for renewed hope is education.

In 2006 Metrine Mayende was invited to join CES as a Form 2 student at Bukhakunga SS. Orphaned and caring for younger siblings she had given up all hope of achieving a secondary school diploma. Metrine stood first in her graduating class and for the next year volunteered as a teaching assistant. In 2009 with the help of a CES post secondary scholarship she studied at Kisumu Medical Training College. Graduating in 2011, gained further training as an intern at Kakamega General Hospital. Today she is a medical nurse, licensed to operate a clinic, dispense medicine and care for the sick. Metrine is also giving back to CES, assisting in the Kakamega de-worming project, IC2Read project and the 2016 Jiggers Campaign.

Others like Metrine are becoming leaders in their community. They too will experience a life changing infusion of hope. Communities where acute poverty reigns supreme will grow stronger. That's the reason CES Canada exists...working in partnership with others to transform an unacceptable reality.

Sustainable Community Development

Community Education Services (CES) Canada

8 Pine Lane RR#1, Barrie Ontario Canada L4M4Y8

www.cescan.ca  705-835-2325

Community Education Services (CES) Canada is a non-profit humanitarian organization dedicated to providing access to education for orphans and other HIV / Aids affected children living in Kenya.

CES Canada Model for Sustainable Community Development 

 “There is no dignity in dependence.  Expressions of humanitarian aid to emergent need does not foster sustainability.  Rather, our mission is rooted in strategic partnerships that strengthen and build communities over time.  CES Canada is committed to reducing poverty and illiteracy by providing access to rural education in Kenya through a model of Sustainable Community Development.”  

Community Development – Terms of reference

Since 2004, CES Canada has been involved in Development assistance in rural western Kenya. It has improved the lives of many of children through programs in health, education, nutrition, access to water and sanitation, and family incomes. However, some children continue to be marginalized from these benefits, including:

*working children

*sexually exploited and trafficked children

*children orphaned or affected by the HIV/Aids pandemic

*children living in extreme poverty

Children remain a disproportionately large number of the poor, and poverty affects them at critical stages in their intellectual and physical development.  Not only can this seriously hinder their own future well-being, productivity, and prosperity, it can undermine efforts to fight poverty in the community at large.

Children, especially girls, face many risks, including exploitation, abuse, discrimination, violence, and neglect.  It is clear however, that even vulnerable and excluded children can be active and contributing members of the community. Many run households, look after younger siblings, earn income, and have children themselves.  With support and encouragement they can have greater freedom to make the positive choices needed to complete their education.  

This results in their taking greater control over their lives and having the capacity to persevere and make a better life for themselves, their family and their community.  Children are fully capable of participating in developing, implementing, and evaluating initiatives meant to benefit them.

The Case for a Sustainable Development Strategy

Development programs empower local people to analyze their own problems and seek their own solutions.  In the case of CES Canada, they help school communities to determine key issues and create a plan that belongs to the community.  

Charity, on the other hand, implies a notion that the outside provider knows best. Well meaning people analyze the situation and act on behalf of the recipients who are reduced to beneficiaries rather than participants. Charity often overlooks the importance of local ownership, contributions and sweat equity in moving a community forward to address issues of poverty.

For development programs to succeed, it is critical that the local community be part of the planning well before outside funds are utilized.  Development programs are concerned with root causes of poverty rather than the symptoms.  Poverty is complex and communities require an integrated strategy that may include such initiatives such as water, crop production, economic development strategies and community health services.  There is seldom a “one approach fits all” solution.  Development Programs aim at transformational change that can be monitored and evaluated.  

Charity generally overlooks the complexity and offers only a temporary alleviation of a symptom of poverty. While meeting an immediate need, it is unable to provide base line research that will ultimately provide recommendations to change or eradicate systemic problems that exist.

CES Canada Implementation Strategy

CES Canada’s mandate is to alleviate poverty by providing access to secondary education, primarily for youth orphaned by the HIV/Aids pandemic. Through scholarships for needy students and infrastructure projects that strengthen school communities, CES Canada seeks to demonstrate the following ideals:

*to advocate for the rights of all children, particularly those in need of protection

*to demonstrate the fundamental belief that all children have a right to be educated

*to build capacity for the local school community to implement commitments to their children

*to promote Project PREPARE (Program to Reduce Poverty and Provide Access to Rural Education) through the four key foundations of Education, Water, Healthcare and Economic Development 

 *to ensure participation with all stakeholders in policy dialogue, research and project implementation

*to promote the participation of youth in the development, implementation, and evaluation of initiatives designed to help them

Bearing Witness Makes a Difference

I recently heard a phenomenal story http://m-gat.es/2dy21no @TheMoth on the healing power of bearing witness. In it, South African writer and activist Sisonke Msimang states:

“Bearing witness is a form of action — sometimes the single most important thing we can do in order to fix everything within us that is broken. And I realized that you can’t do anything — you certainly can’t change the world — unless you’ve learned how to sit, how to be with people, in silence.” 

With over a dozen visits and a year of my life breathing Kenyan air, I am of the opinion that poverty and injustice in developing countries will not be erased in our lifetime. With due respect to the initiatives of the MDGs(2015) and the SDGs(2030), they are but guidelines to be achieved when all political, social and environmental factors are in sync. Service providers show amazing resilience and courage, often going well beyond their own parameters of safety and security. They too are limited by external factors beyond their control. There are no easy solutions, no quick fixes. 

I once asked a veteran of humanitarian aid what he did to measure the success in his work. Ron Ward worked in Kenya for four decades in a number of health, education and nutrition outreach programs. His answer was “I hang around.” In his view it was more important to first be accepted by local elders and chiefs. Furthermore, he believed strongly that to meet a humanitarian need through a western mindset was a recipe for disaster. So hanging out meant meeting people in their world, getting to know them as human beings; and by doing so, breaking down barriers of mistrust.

CES Canada Patron Ron Ward built hospitals, schools and provided access to education for thousands of needy children. He was a doer, but first he learned the principle of coming alongside, acknowledging the reality of pain and then acting in ways that were progressive and inclusive. 

I have learned the value of spending time with people in mud huts, at their shambas, in the village and at the local school. This is where the heart is softened, even broken. These are the places where true understanding happens. 

The urge to do something needs to be suppressed in favour of first “bearing witness.” When people get together, have a meal or a cup of tea, there is something that stirs deep within. There is a realization that we are more alike than we are different. 

Canadian Senem Ozkin recently volunteered for CES Canada in Kenya. They were part of a CES Canada/Kenya team that provided relief and medical aid for children in rural Kenya suffering from Jiggers. Senem applied the principle of “bearing witness”.  Her perspective on humanitarian aid was altered as she washed those little feet, held their tender frames and “hung out” with them.

She concluded, “After hundreds of kids had gone through the process of being de-jiggered, their feet soaked in sodium bicarbonate to close up their wounds, on they went - many of them without shoes - to their homes. Facing the reality of leaving these kids behind and wondering how these brave little souls handled themselves in such a grown-up way was almost too much to comprehend.  What could we do to give them back their innocence? So little really when compared to what they gave us.” 

By feeling the hurt and acknowledging where people suffer the most, we come to realize that but for a different set of geographic circumstances, we too could be in this place. As a result we become better people, display greater empathy and often re-discover our humanity. It is perhaps at this point our most effective humanitarian work can be done.