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Go and Do Likewise Newsletter
Physical Changes - Building Community
May 2011
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Greetings!
Each time I sit down to write one of these I ask myself; I wonder if anyone can really become attached to the efforts of the people of Rionchogu without going there to see and touch for themselves? At the very least I hope you will sense the passion on the part of both those in Kenya and those who are working here to continue this journey. Of course there is always in my mind the second question; how can I or what do I do to get someone interested or even excited about traveling with us or taking the steps to support this work being done. Today I ask just a little of your time to read and see both what is here on these pages and all that is working between the lines, if you will; those things which continue day to day, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The people in the village refer to us as missionaries, I prefer to think of us as sojourners, travelers who happen to take the same route each time because of the relationship developed between us. I say this because the real work, that is the daily on going work of change taking place is that which is done by the leaders, the residents and the students who live in the village and surrounding area. Daily, every day, they continue to learn more about the how and definition of priority of what they should do. It is they themselves who are walking the walk on their own feet. With just a little help from their friends. It is folly to think that somehow one or two or even a small group can change the world. I look at large foundations and the money spent and set forth for any number of very important efforts and sincerely I tell you that only One who has come has accomplished such change. BUT, I will also tell you that just one, you, me, someone we know, or not, can change the life on one who can then change the life of one and then that one can change the life of one and so on and so on and so on as a stone thrown into a pond, the ripples in that pond just go and go. So the potential of simple things such as we do to affect change on a large scale is minimized only by our own reluctance to take the step, the risk or have the courage to reach out and just do it. I am thinking of Edward and Kevin of Damcline and Doreen, of Joyce and Divinah and Rachel and Elijah and Chris and Wanjugu and Eric and Emmanuel and David and Peter and Kiefa and Isabella and. . . . even today only a few short years along the path the lives touched have been many and they are going to affect many and these will work together to change those ideas and destructive practices that have bound the future to the past. They will work together to solve the problems the community faces, they will assist each other through the next step. I simply ask you to consider helping us all. We started out thinking that if only we could get a few hundred or maybe even 1000 people, sounds like a lot but not really, especially when you think that what we are asking for is $10.00 a month. Ten dollars a month, the price of regular meal for two at McDonald's. Yet we are still far short; to do this we need a few to take the step and tell their friends. A few to throw the stone of support into the pond and share the potential to change life; Check out our website at www.goanddolikewise.org Just Do It |
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| The school, the library and the next step.
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 This is a picture from the first visit we made to the village. I show it again for reference; the buildings you see at the far end of the line of children are no longer standing. They have been demolished. These were the class rooms for the youngest of the students. Those who were not yet in a grade. These were the class rooms for Early Childhood Development, and the first and second grades. In their place is a new four room building of brick and mortar.
 In this view you can see the missing buildings. You can see how the campus has already changed. You can see the old in the process of being replaced. Yes it is a slow process and for many reasons it must be. yet the day will come when the entire facility will be safe and more able to provide the best potential for learning. The teachers, the adult committee and all the parents are most appreciative. Greatest of these are the students and the teachers.
 This is the new, four rooms, Early Childhood, Library and the first and second grade (standard 1 and 2) occupied and set aside this is the beginning of the rebuilding of Neema Nuru. Next step is to build two class units on the site of the recently demolished class rooms. These new classes will be level and also built of brick and mortar. Our hope is for this to be completed in 2011. Long term our goal is to have all the class rooms replaced before the end of 2012. Education, at all levels, is our highest priority. Highest of this highest priority is this path to establish, within the community, the highest of potential for these rural students to attain high marks and advance to higher levels of education. Our dream, a K through 14, YES 14, that is as two years past High School or Community College level instruction, available in the village area. It can be done, in time, by a few hundred or 1000 people at just a small amount a month, say $10 |
| Funding provided by the travelers
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Nothing, nothing, can replace the life change that accompanies a visit to the village and time spent with the people there. The most valuable outcome, in my opinion, for a visit to the village is the impact it has on those who travel. The opportunity to immerse oneself in the daily life of a people whose life we can not imagine is an unbelievable experience. There is a secondary benefit for us all when we make the decision to go. Our trips are set up so that the travelers, through their regular travel cost, fund projects which are presented by the community leadership. I want to clarify this, the amount of money we charge a traveler provides for the costs of travel, the cost of our stay in the village and also funds projects which are necessary for the development of the community at large. The past two groups have decided which of the projects available were most consistent with their own experience during the visit. We have worked with each group and so this year the projects which received the funding provided by the travelers, through their regular travel expense, are; Kimani public Primary school by providing them 100 classroom desks; and "Cow Project" completing the effort began by 2010 travelers to provide an additional 7 cows for the village . Your travel does more than give you an experience.
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| In the middle of all this
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Was it really Spiritual Warfare
I invite you to click on the above link and visit my blog in which I have described some events of this most recent trip which help, I think, give breadth and depth to the spiritual side of our involvement. We see what we do as holistic community development. Our experience is not without spiritual involvements and experiences.
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| Quick Links...
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www.goanddolikewise.org
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