Kirsten's Updates about the H.C.C. in Kenya

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