Thinking Allowed: Helping hands

We have thought a lot over our month in Kenya about what it means to help. Kenya is a country with a rich history- and within that a rich history of missionaries. For years Westerners could feel they had a life purpose in roaming around the African continent bringing their religion to the natives. This always feels like a tricky life pursuit. On the one hand, missionaries have brought a lot of good through schools and hospitals and other resources to far-flung communities. On the other hand, the good was granted as a means to garner trust as a means to convince them over to their own religion. Missionary work was highly effective in Kenya, where 85% of the population is some form of Christian. The religion, though initially insisted upon, is a great and loved part of society. There are churches everywhere. Kenyans have built on the Christianity concept by creating their own churches and forms of Christianity. In usual Kenyan fashion, their churches have much more colourful names (things like The Mountain of Hope) and have more extravagant services (think flashing lights and full-bodied singing). The new worry regarding Christianity seems to stem entirely from grassroots ministers taking advantage of their power and has nothing to do with the missionary past. Kenyans seem to adore their new religion, so, does that make missionaries in the right? Is good still good when there are other intentions? Is manipulation the right strategy if the outcome is then exulted?

We were lucky to also get to see firsthand a non-missionary kind of helping. We visited a home for children whose mothers are in prison. This was a happy, busy home. The children welcomed us in with open arms and were glad for the new playmates and conversation buddies. Many of the children did not speak English, but children are adept at understanding actions and interacting through play. This visit led to an interesting conversation with my kids about whether children's homes are better than foster care - they all agreed they would rather live in a children's home (a glowing review for the children's home we visited!) We also visited a home for teenage mothers and a home for abandoned or orphaned babies. We were all in awe at how calm and cheery the baby staff were in caring for over three dozen infants. They are my new heroes. These were private homes run on donations. The government of course offers similar services, but the standard is such that even the government officials prefer to use the private version. I wonder, if there were no private contributors, would the government step up to the task? On a bigger scale - do foreign help and aid practices empower or disempower a country? How about in the case of corrupt countries? Good intentions can get so complicated! Still, offering good care to women and children seems about as good as it gets and I am grateful that there are people who take on the task. If anyone is looking to contribute to a noble pursuit that I can vouch for, I am happy to share the details.

Our time in Nairobi wasn't all that contemplative. Really, we also spent a lot of time playing. The children made great use out of the backyard trampolines available, the gymnastics centre, and the trampoline centre to crush some new skills. Tova can now flip and flip and flip again without much effort. Even Zadie who is hesitant of acrobatics can now do a front flip.

Asante Kenya for a great time and for the kindness shown to us. Countries that love children hold a special place in my heart. Perhaps we will meet again!