Keeping the Conversation Going

In late January, we met with some people who had participated in our Conversations for Social Change program last year. This group has chosen to continue meeting as a group every two months, to support one another and share what they have done and seen in their communities.

It has been a year since the post election violence ripped the heart of this country. There is calm but the wounds are still open and as one person shared there has been “pain on pain on pain.” The Grand Coalition government has been tested over and again, scandals have erupted and been squashed, and many promises made to the people of Kenya are still unmet. Rising food prices and food shortages have many Kenyans going hungry. If the wounds, the pain, and the hunger are not addressed, the situation is a time bomb waiting to go off.

Reconciliation has been talked about, called for, and brushed aside. Healing comes slowly without a sense of forgiveness. Who is willing to step up and say “I am sorry.” Surely not the politicians. Our church leaders? Our friends are asking themselves, “Can we step into the gap to apologize” to those who are still struggling, those who are still displaced, those who are still living with the emotional pain. The apology will not feed someone, or provide building material, but it stretches across a gap that may re-humanize a person, help them find the inner strength to move forward. This country needs justice, but as we all wait for that to happen, how can we help each other move forward?

Many new ideas and projects have sprung up from this group. Three of the men have met to consider working with matatu drivers and their conductors. Matatus are privately operated mini vans used as public transportation. They can be a necessary evil to many of the working class in Kenya who rely on them to get to and from work. Matatus are the cheapest form of public transportation and they are the only public transportation available to many areas in and around Nairobi. But they are subject to control by gangs that force drivers to pay them for attracting customers, for clearing the road, or for protection. The passengers are also at risk of being robbed or injured by gang members posing as fellow passengers.

James, Tom, and Efraim have started talking with some of the drivers and conductors to reach out to their peers and gather them for conversations. If they can come together and share their challenges and ideas to improve the situation, they may be very influential in shifting the social environment. Their own behavior, language and interactions with their passengers help shape the mood and character of society. We have heard that they are interested and want to participate in Conversations for Social Change. We need now only to look for the financial means to support the program.

We are so encouraged by these friends of ours that we are now making Conversations for Social Change our primary program. We have started four new groups this year, and are looking to fund programs for the Matatu drivers and possibly a program with church leaders.

Your prayers and support always encourage us in this work. Please stay in touch and send suggestions or ideas about what you have read.