Sunday, May 18, 2008
Endings
I have a heavy heart. This week I learned that the HCC Board is disbanding because of conflicts with Zablon. Bishop Mambo has stepped down as chairman, and although I think he and the other board members have tried very hard to create more accountability with the management of HCC, ultimately that has proved elusive. I'm not sure if the political situation in Kenya exacerbated an already challenging situation between Zablon and the other board members, or if Zablon never was willing to take direction from a board of elders. The situation was complex and confusing at times. Much of what I know is through an email that Jim forwarded to me earlier this week from Bishop Mambo, which is in itself disheartening. I wish that Bishop Mambo had sent it to both of us, but it is a patriarchal society (on both sides of the globe), and I'm a woman.
I wrote Bishop Mambo earlier this week and asked him for his recommendation of how to best utilize the funds I had raised from the latest card sales. He said he was stepping away from HCC but he would recommend anti-malarial medications, disinfectants and other more generic medical supplies. Dr. Jeremy stepped away some months ago to work on second degree in epidemiology, so I do not want to send the money to directly to Dr. Jeremy. I did not get any sort of reassurance from Bishop Mambo that medical supplies would actually go to the orphans. From the other email Jim forwarded to me from Bishop Mambo, I think there are things going on with Zablon and the HCC Board that have jeopardized the HCC Board's authority to assure us of where our money is going.
So, it is with a very heavy heart I have decided to step away from HCC. I feel disillusionment and betrayal, of course. I think trust is fragile thing and easily broken from 10,000 miles away. I'm trying to see that our efforts were not in vain for these kids. I know that when I was in Kenya the past three years the work I was able to do with the children was real, the medical care I was able to secure for them was real, the games, books and soccer balls were real, and the joy they felt when they painted was real. I tried my very hardest to keep their world safe and healthy. I hope I was able to do that, but in the end it is the people in Kenya who were caring for the children that may or may not have been honest. I'm not sure I will ever know all the answers. I do know that I helped to make a lot of children smile and their art work was beautiful.
I thank those of you who supported me in this effort, and gave so generously of your hearts and your funds.
The funds ($150) that I raised in April and May from card sales cannot go to people I no longer trust to provide care for the children. So I have searched my heart and prayed about what to do. I decided to send the money to other organizations that I trust to do good work in Africa. I have sent $100 to Africa Bridge, a grassroots Portland-based organization working in Tanzania run by a friend. I know they are doing some amazing and creative work and have somehow overcome the community politics which make this all so difficult. I sent $50 to AIDS-Free World, an organization that Stephen Lewis runs. It is my sincere wish that I could somehow give it to the HCC orphans, but with Jim also stepping back (he is going to Kenya in July, but to work with churches) I can not feel trust that the money will be used for what it was intended.
If you have any questions about this, please email at kirstencarpentier@hotmail.com
All of this grieves me in ways I cannot describe on a blog. My heart was deeply touched by these kids. I trust and pray that their resilient spirits will somehow get them through their childhoods.
With sorrow,
Mama Kirsten
I wrote Bishop Mambo earlier this week and asked him for his recommendation of how to best utilize the funds I had raised from the latest card sales. He said he was stepping away from HCC but he would recommend anti-malarial medications, disinfectants and other more generic medical supplies. Dr. Jeremy stepped away some months ago to work on second degree in epidemiology, so I do not want to send the money to directly to Dr. Jeremy. I did not get any sort of reassurance from Bishop Mambo that medical supplies would actually go to the orphans. From the other email Jim forwarded to me from Bishop Mambo, I think there are things going on with Zablon and the HCC Board that have jeopardized the HCC Board's authority to assure us of where our money is going.
So, it is with a very heavy heart I have decided to step away from HCC. I feel disillusionment and betrayal, of course. I think trust is fragile thing and easily broken from 10,000 miles away. I'm trying to see that our efforts were not in vain for these kids. I know that when I was in Kenya the past three years the work I was able to do with the children was real, the medical care I was able to secure for them was real, the games, books and soccer balls were real, and the joy they felt when they painted was real. I tried my very hardest to keep their world safe and healthy. I hope I was able to do that, but in the end it is the people in Kenya who were caring for the children that may or may not have been honest. I'm not sure I will ever know all the answers. I do know that I helped to make a lot of children smile and their art work was beautiful.
I thank those of you who supported me in this effort, and gave so generously of your hearts and your funds.
The funds ($150) that I raised in April and May from card sales cannot go to people I no longer trust to provide care for the children. So I have searched my heart and prayed about what to do. I decided to send the money to other organizations that I trust to do good work in Africa. I have sent $100 to Africa Bridge, a grassroots Portland-based organization working in Tanzania run by a friend. I know they are doing some amazing and creative work and have somehow overcome the community politics which make this all so difficult. I sent $50 to AIDS-Free World, an organization that Stephen Lewis runs. It is my sincere wish that I could somehow give it to the HCC orphans, but with Jim also stepping back (he is going to Kenya in July, but to work with churches) I can not feel trust that the money will be used for what it was intended.
If you have any questions about this, please email at kirstencarpentier@hotmail.com
All of this grieves me in ways I cannot describe on a blog. My heart was deeply touched by these kids. I trust and pray that their resilient spirits will somehow get them through their childhoods.
With sorrow,
Mama Kirsten
Thursday, May 01, 2008
HCC Exhibit and Update
The past several months my graduate studies and my internship have kept me going at a hectic pace and I've been unable spend any time on the blog. This afternoon has a rare moment when I can do a little catching up and share what has happened at HCC in recent months.
The first news is that Milka has had surgery on one of her ears and I believe Dr. Jeremiah Kiponda was going to take her back to Nairobi to finish the other ear. I'm hoping to hear an update about her situation soon. Rose, the child with sickle cell anemia and a hernia, was scheduled for surgery on April 8, but at the last minute her surgery was canceled because of a hemolytic crisis due to her sickle cell condition. She has been on a special nutritional diet for months and Dr. Jeremy seemed confident that she was strong enough for surgery until the blood tests reveled that she was not strong enough yet. She will be re-evaluated in a month or two for her readiness for surgery. Her situation is complicated by the fact that she is in Malindi which has rather antiquated medical facilities by modern standards and funding prevents her from going to a more sophisticated hospital.
Meanwhile Jim has been sending his monthly food funds to HCC and also sent funds from his church which helped the children get new beds and clothes via Bishop Mambo's wife's women's organization. Jim and I are both studying in intense programs and we haven't communicated as much as we used to. The communication to me from Bishop Mambo, Sophie and others has been a bit spotty. I told everyone that I was not going to be able to spend much time on fundraising between January and June, and I'm sure that some of their silence is due to this. But also there have been power struggles between the HCC board and Director Zablon, and I do not think they have wanted to share how challenging that is. The past few months have been difficult ones for Kenyans because of the political uncertainties, and people are feeling the pinch of food and fuel prices, although their margin for such price hikes is non-existent. Power struggles are part of the outgrowth of scarcity.
Mostly I worry that the kids are feeling a bit neglected. Since I won't be able to afford to go to Kenya this year (unless a miracle happens!) I won't be able to give them the sort of personal attention that feels like it gives us all a lift. I also won't be able to do art with the kids and I know that has given them a lot of joy and pride. But the past three years' trips have been from my own pocket and I can't afford to go again because of grad school expenses. (If an angel wants to send me, let me know. I do have time this summer!) It grieves me but I hope that Jim will be going back to Kenya in July and will give a report of what he sees and experiences.
On the home front there are some activities that are showcasing HCC. At the beginning of April I gave a presentation at Pacific University for the students who were doing an AIDS in Africa awareness campaign. The students were very gracious and generous and bought some of the orphans' cards. They also made cards for the orphans which I plan to send on to Kenya soon. I will be sending their money, along with funds other funds I have collected this past month to HCC after the upcoming Stephen Lewis Event. These funds will go towards the continuing medical care of the orphans.
My church is hosting Stephen Lewis (www.stephenlewisfoundation.org) who has been an outspoken and inspirational leader in world awareness of AIDS issues in Africa , first through his work with the U.N. and then later through his foundation and many speeches. It has been a long term goal of the Portland Unitarian Universalists Global AIDS Coalition to have Stephen Lewis speak to us and in no small measure his work inspired my first trip to Kenya in 2005.
As part of the Stephen Lewis event I will have an exhibit of the HCC orphans' art and smiles up at my church fellowship hall. May 7th is World AIDS Orphans' Day and this exhibit and Stephen Lewis' visit is part of our honoring of the various programs at First Unitarian Church which are helping AIDS orphans and their families in Africa.
The first news is that Milka has had surgery on one of her ears and I believe Dr. Jeremiah Kiponda was going to take her back to Nairobi to finish the other ear. I'm hoping to hear an update about her situation soon. Rose, the child with sickle cell anemia and a hernia, was scheduled for surgery on April 8, but at the last minute her surgery was canceled because of a hemolytic crisis due to her sickle cell condition. She has been on a special nutritional diet for months and Dr. Jeremy seemed confident that she was strong enough for surgery until the blood tests reveled that she was not strong enough yet. She will be re-evaluated in a month or two for her readiness for surgery. Her situation is complicated by the fact that she is in Malindi which has rather antiquated medical facilities by modern standards and funding prevents her from going to a more sophisticated hospital.
Meanwhile Jim has been sending his monthly food funds to HCC and also sent funds from his church which helped the children get new beds and clothes via Bishop Mambo's wife's women's organization. Jim and I are both studying in intense programs and we haven't communicated as much as we used to. The communication to me from Bishop Mambo, Sophie and others has been a bit spotty. I told everyone that I was not going to be able to spend much time on fundraising between January and June, and I'm sure that some of their silence is due to this. But also there have been power struggles between the HCC board and Director Zablon, and I do not think they have wanted to share how challenging that is. The past few months have been difficult ones for Kenyans because of the political uncertainties, and people are feeling the pinch of food and fuel prices, although their margin for such price hikes is non-existent. Power struggles are part of the outgrowth of scarcity.
Mostly I worry that the kids are feeling a bit neglected. Since I won't be able to afford to go to Kenya this year (unless a miracle happens!) I won't be able to give them the sort of personal attention that feels like it gives us all a lift. I also won't be able to do art with the kids and I know that has given them a lot of joy and pride. But the past three years' trips have been from my own pocket and I can't afford to go again because of grad school expenses. (If an angel wants to send me, let me know. I do have time this summer!) It grieves me but I hope that Jim will be going back to Kenya in July and will give a report of what he sees and experiences.
On the home front there are some activities that are showcasing HCC. At the beginning of April I gave a presentation at Pacific University for the students who were doing an AIDS in Africa awareness campaign. The students were very gracious and generous and bought some of the orphans' cards. They also made cards for the orphans which I plan to send on to Kenya soon. I will be sending their money, along with funds other funds I have collected this past month to HCC after the upcoming Stephen Lewis Event. These funds will go towards the continuing medical care of the orphans.
My church is hosting Stephen Lewis (www.stephenlewisfoundation.org) who has been an outspoken and inspirational leader in world awareness of AIDS issues in Africa , first through his work with the U.N. and then later through his foundation and many speeches. It has been a long term goal of the Portland Unitarian Universalists Global AIDS Coalition to have Stephen Lewis speak to us and in no small measure his work inspired my first trip to Kenya in 2005.
As part of the Stephen Lewis event I will have an exhibit of the HCC orphans' art and smiles up at my church fellowship hall. May 7th is World AIDS Orphans' Day and this exhibit and Stephen Lewis' visit is part of our honoring of the various programs at First Unitarian Church which are helping AIDS orphans and their families in Africa.
