Nanyuki Spinners and Weavers

From Claudia Ward - All Saints', Carmel:

In 2001 while in Kenya, a friend discovered Annah Warature and the Nanyuki Spinners and Weavers through a chance encounter. Being a spinner herself she sat and spun with the ladies and when she left she shipped home a bunch of their products which we then sold, returning the proceeds to Africa. My friend and I belong to Anne’s Web, a spinning guild here in Monterey County and since then the guild adopted the ladies in Kenya as a woman to woman project and we have individually and corporately sent them money for several years. We also continue to sell their products which they ship from time to time.

At some point I discovered that Margo Sisler, a fellow member of All Saints, Carmel, was involved with a knitting group in Nanyuki that obtain their yarns from the Spinners. Margo, until recently, has gone to East Africa annually for many, many years. After our serendipitous discovery, she hand carried the money and small gifts to the ladies every time she went. Also, my friend went back two or three more times.

We discovered that Becky Adams, the daughter of the Rev. Wayne Adams, retired pastor of Cypress Community Church in Corral de Tierra, founded and runs an orphanage in Nairobi. Wayne has visited the Nanyuki ladies several times when in Kenya to help his daughter. When All Saints and another church in New Jersey sent money to buy additional grazing land, Mr. Adams handcarried the money, helped Annah, the project director, make the purchase and open a bank account to which we could wire money in the future, making it much easier to help them.

Since the Rev. Adams retired, he has founded an organization called Hands of Hope International. Its main project has been Becky's orphanage but it has other projects as well and one of those is the Nanyuki Spinners and Weavers. The beauty of this arrangement is that any donation through Hands of Hope is tax deductible. They wire funds to Africa at no cost.

Now the story gets better. I am a co-supervisor of the Monterey County Wool Show. For the past several years we have had a display on this African project. At the 2008 fair a man came up to me and told me about his daughter, Megan, going to Kenya that fall on a Rotary scholarship. She is studying how to help women's organizations market themselves.

The big obstacle to financial success for this organization has been their limited access to international markets. Until recently they relied on the safari trade which was decimated after 2001. The political turmoil in Kenya in 2008 and now the world economic situation have continued to exacerbate their problems.

The most exciting news is that Megan is in touch with an organization out of Santa Cruz called Rising International which sells the products of artisans like our group from around the world. I connected Megan with the ladies in Nanyuki. She has been there, met Annah and placed an order which has now been shipped to Rising International. Pray that this organization has success in selling the rugs which have been the staple product of this organization. It is connections like this that will lead to financial success for this women’s cooperative.

If you are interested in being involved with the Nanyuki Spinners and Weavers project or would like to see some of their products, please email Claudia Ward: claudiajo@redshift.com.

New Year's Greeting from Rev. Jacob Nhial Guut

From Rev. Jerry Drino:

Below is a New Year's greeting from the Rev. Jacob Nhial Guut in Nairobi. He does much of the coordination of our program in Kenya and is a deeply gifted spiritual leader.

Dear all Friends, Whatever is warm and inspiring...Whatever means most to you...Whatever makes you smile and brings joy to you... that's what I wish you this New Year 2009. Let all that I am praising the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good thing he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youths is renewed like the eagle's! The Lord gives righteousness and justice to all who are treated unfairly. He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel. The Lord is Compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for our sins; and he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers,we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone- as though we had never been here. But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation exntends to the children's children of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments! The Lord has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything. Praise the Lord, you angels, you might ones who carry out his plans, listening for each of his commands. Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels who serve him and his will! Praise the Lord, everything he has created, everything in all his kingdom. Let all that I am praise the Lord. O Lord my God, how great you are! you are robed with honor and Majesty. You are dressed in a robe of light. You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens; you lay out the rafters of your home in the rain clouds. You placed the world on this foundation so it would never be removed. You clothed the earth floods of water, water that covered even the mountains, At your command, the water fled; at the sound of your thunder, it hurried away. The people go off to their work, where they labor until evening. O Lord, what a variety of things you made! in wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures. Here is the ocean, vast and wide, teeming with life of every kind, both large and small. See ships sailing along, and leviathan, which you made to play in the sea. They all depend on you to give them food as they need it. When you open supply it, they gather it. You open your hand to feed them, and they are richly satified. But if you return away from them, they panic. When you take away their breath, they die and turn again to dust. When you give them your breath, life is created, and you renew the face of the earth. May the glory of the Lord continue with us in New Year 2009 forever!. It was wonderful and joyful for me as I keep time without sleeping until the New Year come and to send you this at the same time. Blessings, Rev. Jacob Nhial Guut.

Web Article: "The Ethics of Aid - One Kenyan's Perspective"

More from Celeste Ventura:

"One more piece that might be of interest to the World Mission Network and also might help to guide us in relationship with Western Tanganyika and Gloucester."

We explore the complex ethics of global aid with a young writer from Kenya, Binyavanga Wainaina. He is among a rising generation of African voices who bring a cautionary perspective to the morality and efficacy behind many Western initiatives to abolish poverty and speed development in Africa.

Read it all here or navigate to http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2008/ethics_of_aid-kenya/. You can also sign up for Speaking of Faith's weekly Podcast; Celeste is a regular listener.