By Dr. Charlie Evans, Lalmba Kenya Medical Director 1988-1990

The first time I travelled to Matoso in December 1988, I was in the front seat of a Land Rover bouncing down the road and holding on to the grab bar to keep from hitting the ceiling.  The last time I was walking with our TNM (Tembea Na Mimi) 2019 group—including 22 camels and hundreds of schoolchildren vibrantly dressed in burgundy, blue, and green uniforms.  Although the road is still rough, the community has transformed.

It was emotional to see this community after 30 years.  When we left in 1990, I knew that HIV was going to ravage the village and I also knew that many more changes would be necessary if the community would be able to survive this 20th century plague.  We worked tirelessly to educate the staff and the community on this coming epidemic, but I feared what it would bring to this bucolic village on the shore of Lake Victoria. I couldn’t see how any community with so little resources could withstand such a disease. It was with these concerns that I anxiously waited to see how the decades had treated Matoso, and if our work there has truly made a difference.

When I walked through the gates in July 2019, under the shade of the 50-foot jacaranda trees that we planted as saplings, tears streamed down my face—tears of joy!  A chaotic scene of celebration, of gratitude, and of success surrounded me.  The loudspeaker announced our arrival with music blaring and drums beating.  I have never felt so welcomed anywhere in my life.  This was a community that had suffered through the HIV epidemic and was emerging on the other side.  Their resilience and their spirit carried the day.

The changes were dramatic.  The original clinic built in 1986 complete with solar system was still there, but adjoining it was a brand new clinic twice the size.  The clinic is staffed entirely by Kenyans, and they actually had electronic medical records for their HIV patients.  I was flabbergasted to see that the provider could actually get on the computer and pull up the most recent labs, including HIV viral loads of their AIDS patients.  This was done in cooperation with the University of Maryland.  Anti-retroviral therapy was also carefully assessed and distributed.  In 1990, we estimated 8 percent of our clinic patients had HIV.  In the mid 90’s this soared to over 30% and now the numbers are down to about 15%.

AIDS has devastated this village and left scores of children without parents.  When we left we knew this was coming.   What we didn’t know was how any community could cope.  Lalmba has led the way, and the community leaders they have chosen have stepped up to provide for all those unable to provide for themselves.  The orphanage started in 1997 and now cares for 40 orphans. It is a shining emerald to see.  But the children are the real jewels: well fed, well dressed with shoes, and articulate, with hope for their futures. But even more impressive is the fact that Lalmba supports more than 1000 AIDS orphans who live with guardians throughout the community.

In 1990, the only motor vehicle around the lake was our Land Rover.   Fishing boats were all dependent on their sails and all transportation was on foot or bicycle.  An ambulance consisted of a chair mounted with leather straps on the back of a bike, or a crude wooden wheelbarrow.   The clinic now has its own bona fide ambulance, and 30 years of investment in this community has seen commerce grow dramatically.  There are now stores, restaurants, hotels, and even a small movie theater, assisted by the cell tower less than a mile from the clinic.  A boatbuilding industry has populated the lake with many vessels for fishing and transportation — many have outboard motors. Motor bikes abound and are the friendliest transport for the rough roads, but cars also grace the village.

The education system has grown dramatically.  I remember only a 1-room schoolhouse with about 30-40 students studying from texts that dated back to the 1950s.  Now there are many schools with hundreds of students. One local school has over 300 students and scored in Kenya’s top decile for standardized testing. The school has access to computer technology and attracts students from Tanzania because of their high marks.

You can see why I was moved to tears of joy! So much progress.  So much to celebrate. And all against overwhelming odds of failure. Perhaps, the biggest success I witnessed was not in the economic growth or the structural growth but in the attitudinal shift of community members and staff.

In the early days, we were so often approached by people asking if we could bail them out of debt or give them something. Of course some of that still exists, but now I see students and staff members working together to take the initiative to make their own lives successful. Lalmba, and the dozens of volunteers who have served, have given these people hope by providing strong leadership, community development, and basic resources for survival—health care, education, and economic opportunity.  Lalmba has helped to create an entire village of leaders, and those leaders are training the next generation of visionaries.  I have no doubt that, against all odds, they will lead themselves down a road to a brighter future.  Clearly, all the long days and endless clinic hours have made a difference.  

And that should bring joy, in all its forms, to us all.

Sometimes it’s a tree. Or the roof of a building.  Or the nearest signpost.  Kids everywhere feel the need to climb, to explore, to imagine a world far from their own reality.  In Chiri, Ethiopia, where Lalmba runs a children’s home, kids there don’t even know what a playground is.  Community children have to create their own fun.  As part of our ongoing effort to improve and modernize the Chiri Children’s Home, we’re building the “coolest jungle gym ever” for the sweetest kids you’ll ever meet, the children of Lalmba’s Chiri Children’s Home.

The Chiri Children’s Home was unofficially founded in the early 2000’s, when Lalmba volunteers rented a mud house to provide care for orphaned street children.  By 2005, we had constructed a home (basic kitchen, 2 dormitory-style houses for up to 20 children, and a common house).  Since then, the home has supported dozens of orphaned children who are now working as professionals in the community.

Although Chiri Children’s Home is recognized and supported by the community and local government authorities, it is in need of infrastructure improvements and modernization to ensure that all the children are safe, secure, well-supervised and have ample opportunity to grow, learn and enjoy their childhood.

The first step in this multi-year endeavor is to build them a playground, a place to let their imagination take flight!  In mid to late January 2021, a team of volunteers will travel to Ethiopia, loaded down with building supplies and good will, to construct a playset using locally sourced materials. Do you want to join our team?   If so, please complete our online application: 

If this appeals to you, but you worry you lack construction skills, don’t worry. There will be something for everyone to do. Most importantly, you will be spending quality time with the children, reading to them, sharing songs with them, playing with them, and learning about their lives. That alone is enriching for all of us. 

If you’ve always wanted to see one of our projects, but walking 150 miles across Kenya seems too daunting, this is your chance!

LALMBA FACT SHEET

 Interested in more ‘nuts and bolts’ about this small organization with a big impact?  This past year we created this fact sheet (below) showing our fundraising, spending, and grassroots results  at a glance. We’d like to share it with you, to make sure you know what you are helping us to accomplish.  A few things we are proudest of as an organization:

1. Responsible spending that mirrors our donation income.
2. The simplicity of our grassroots model (as one volunteer put it, “It doesn’t get more grassroots than this!”)
3. Acting as a steady, reliable employer to a team of local staff who have bettered their families’ lives with their years of Lalmba employment.

If you’re interested in having a paper or electronic copy of this, please let us know.   And thank you for your support!

We have so enjoyed hearing from many of you with photos of your Kenyan table runners, Lalmba’s 2019 Christmas gift.  Don’t they look beautiful and unique, reminding you of the empowerment you provide to young widow entrepreneurs in Africa?

The seamstresses we featured in our last newsletter have been so pleased to know that our U.S. supporters have been enjoying their handiwork.  They sent you a little piece of Africa, from their manual, foot-pedaled Singer sewing machines, lovingly constructed in their tiny seamstress shops!

Did you miss your chance to order one?  We have a limited supply left.  If you have a friend or loved one that you think would enjoy one, or you have your eye on a different color scheme for your next runner, include a note in your next donation for ‘runner’ and we will be sure to send you one…until the runners all ‘run out!’

EXTRA!  EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

FOR THE FIRST TIME, LALMBA’S CHRISTMAS GIFT COMES DIRECTLY FROM A LALMBA PROJECT!

I love this striking photo with its collision of cultures, colors and patterns.  To me it symbolizes the Lalmba family: a motley mix of Africans and nationalities from around the globe.  It includes the wealthy, the impoverished, the tireless volunteer, the goodhearted supporter, the infant and the elderly.   Lalmba’s tapestry is not unlike these beautiful quilted table runners, made in Kenya by widowed tailors who received Lalmba microloans to start their businesses.  It all began when a supporter from Canada, Bev Hooper (fourth from right) visited some local tailors on a whim during a visit to Matoso.  Bev noticed a pile of fabric scraps on the floor of one of the tailor’s shop that were going to be thrown away. Bev thought of her best friend back home, Kathy Moore, who is an accomplished quilter, and bought the scraps as a gift for Kathy.  Kathy (middle) received those scraps with great delight and made the stunning quilted table runner that she is holding.  She then gifted her masterpiece to Lalmba, and asked that it grace the dining table of our kitchen in Matoso.  We were touched and honored.

As I spread the runner across our dining table in Kenya, I told our children’s director Jenipher (third from right) and children’s home director Linder (last on right) of its origins from the scrap pile on the tailor shop floor to Kathy’s sewing machine in Victoria, Canada.  Their eyes lit up, and we concocted a plan to bring some of the local tailors to our kitchen to see it. When they saw the table runner, they each took turns holding it and turning it over, mentally dissecting how it was made. I asked them if they could make something like this, and they all said, no problem, hakuna matata!  When I asked if they could each make 100 of them, their eyes got big.  Now that’s a big project!  Well, they succeeded, and these table runners mark a milestone for Lalmba, as they are the very first Christmas item that comes directly from people who were empowered by our services.  THIS IS SPECIAL!

The story is almost like the quilt, isn’t it?  Different people with diverse life stories and colors coming together into one cohesive pattern.  Now I want to introduce you to the special ladies who made these table runners. In each case their husbands died young, leaving them impoverished and unemployed, with hungry children at home in need of education. They each at one time or another approached Lalmba for help, for education support for their children and for health care. In 2014, when Lalmba started a new microloan program to help widowed mothers, each of these women received a small loan, started or expanded an independent tailoring business, and began to walk that glorious path towards independence … and they reached it!

Please let me introduce you to the women of the Empowered Seamstresses of Lalmba cooperative.  They chose their group’s name themselves, and each wrote us a brief life story to share with you.   Although they share a similar story, they are each unique and talented mothers who love their families, and are fighting to better their lives.

Lalmba’s 2019 Christmas item comes straight from the hands of these 5 women. Please know them by name.

Merry Christmas and God bless all of you!

Hellen Achieng Thomas

Hellen’s life started idyllically. She had an intact family, with a hard-working father who afforded her the privilege of an education.  In 1992 she beganå secondary school, with big dreams to be one of the first high school graduates in her family.

But her dreams were dashed just 2 years later when her father died.  School fees were suddenly unaffordable, and Hellen had to drop out. So Hellen did what many young women do here when education becomes an impossibility: she got married and started a family. It didn’t feel like a compromise; she felt happy and blessed, for they had 3 beautiful children and a happy marriage.

Sadly, in 2003, history repeated itself when Hellen’s husband passed away. Being so young, and without any viable way of making an income, she and her children struggled and went hungry.  After 2 years of trying and failing to make ends meet, she went looking for help, and found it in Lalmba’s children’s program.

With her children in school, healthy and nourished, Hellen found an apprentice opportunity, and learned the craft of tailoring. She took her newfound skills and dream of being self-employed and approached Lalmba again, this time about a microloan.  With her loan, she bought a machine and some fabrics, and set up shop in a rented building. She is a gifted seamstress, and we are honored to partner with her for this year’s Christmas gift.

Jackline Awuor Ogor

Jackline’s story is an inspiring example of a widow determined to see her children escape the poverty into which they were born. After her husband died in 2006, Jackline was on the verge of withdrawing her 4 young children from school. She no longer had the means to pay their school fees, and food was getting scarce.

She heard about Lalmba’s RCAR program (Reaching Children at Risk), and taking a chance, she went to see the children’s director for assistance. Soon, Lalmba was providing school and health assistance for her 4 children.

The lifting of this worry gave Jackline time and courage to pursue a career as a tailor. She knew how to sew; her mother had taught her.  But a sewing machine and fabrics were out of financial reach.  Tailoring is a lucrative skill in this rural community. Getting a bank loan for sewing supplies wasn’t possible; she had no credit or guarantors.

But a Lalmba microloan was, and that’s how she started her business.   She specializes in men’s shirts and trousers.  She is the creative force in the group, often coming up with new ideas for items to sell.   “Do you think Lalmba’s supporters might like something like this?” she often asks.

Since taking her first loan, Jackline has received 2 more Lalmba loans, allowing her to expand her business by adding machines, and increasing her supply of fabrics. She rents a storefront in the center of her village now, and she independently sends all of her children to secondary school and college.

Mary Atieno Odera

Tailoring for Mary was a career plan long before she finished her secondary schooling. Upon graduation in 1991, Mary enrolled in a vocational college to study her trade. She excelled, and easily found steady employment afterward. As a young adult, she met her husband, Bernard Odera, and they happily married on June 25, 1995. 3 beautiful children later, Mary felt satisfied with life. She learned how to be industrious and capable from her father, the same work ethic she is teaching to her children today.

It was a shock for everyone when her husband fell sick from AIDS and quickly died on April 25, 2002. She “felt the contentment of my world collapse, and a wake of anguish and fear followed”. Bernard unknowingly contracted HIV before they were married. Soon thereafter, Mary and her youngest son also tested positive.

And then she lost her job, due to fear that her status would scare away customers. Mary was afraid, but resolute; her children needed her. She found her way to the Matoso clinic, and soon learned about Lalmba’s children’s program and microloans. Access to these services gave her the ability to rebuild their lives.

Today, Mary’s pride has returned, for she is the mother of a college graduate, and 2 other scholars who are beating the odds.

Jane Oriko Ayugi

Jane is rightly the matriarch of this group; it all really begins with her. She came to Lalmba not by need. Her family is well and healthy, “thanks be to Almighty God.” Jane says she is blessed, and has a desire to share her skills with those who are in need.

In 2004, Jane was already an established seamstress in Matoso. She had a shop in town, and was well known and trusted in the community.  Jane and Lalmba formed a partnership that year, and she was hired full time as a counselor and mentor for Lalmba children.  Today she shares her craft and loving guidance to all of them, also teaching teen girls how to sew reusable sanitary pads. Jane is an essential part of Lalmba’s success.

You know what else is amazing? It was in Jane’s shop where Bev saw that pile of fabric scraps, and bought them as a gift for Kathy. Before this project, Jane said she would sweep the day’s scraps into a corner and set them on fire. NOT ANY MORE!

Night Awino Adeko

Night’s mother died when she was in the first grade, and a few years later her father passed on. At age 11, Night became a total orphan, living with already overburdened neighbors. Through word of mouth, her guardian heard about Lalmba’s services and enrolled her in the RCAR program, and Night has been part of the Lalmba family ever since. She finished her education with high marks, and then advanced with a scholarship to get a technical degree in garment making.

Night says, “By now I have my own shop which I manage. It is called Night’s Tailoring Shop at Matoso Centre. Look it up. It is on Google Maps. Now, we are the Empowered Seamstresses of Lalmba group. We are making useful crafts with unused pieces, waste pieces of fabrics, so that we can grow our businesses and better support our families. We hope people like our work so that we can bring other widows to our group.”

On July 19, 2019 we walked the final 6km from the village of Othoo to Matoso, straight in through the front gates of Lalmba Kenya. We tossed our packs to the ground for the final time, and relished the knowledge that tonight we would sleep in beds!   In 10 days, we walked 161 miles through the Great Rift Valley to Lake Victoria. We walked within spitting range of herds of elephants, giraffes, and every other savannah animal you can imagine. One night, we accidentally camped in the middle of dozens of hyena dens, and nervously counted their incandescent eyes reflecting back the beams of our headlamps after dark. In spite of their proximity, quantity, and their frenzied cackles cutting through the night, I slept great! Fatigue from 16-20 miles a day of walking is the perfect remedy for insomnia and fear.

The next morning, we awoke to find that our guides had been awake all night chasing the hyenas away. Those pesky scavengers dodged in and out of camp from multiple directions, raiding whatever they could grab. They decimated our kitchen, carrying away a giant cast iron pot. In the morning we spread out to find what we could, and recovered most of the items, which were only slightly damaged. This trip is nothing if not an adventure!

The best part of all, of course, began when we left the wildlife and solitude behind and began to encounter people. Often we’d surprise the locals by appearing out of nowhere, the heads of 22 camels bobbing on the horizon. A distant school letting out for the day erupted with rowdy delight, a chaotic choir of roaring children fanning out towards us. This scenario played out multiple times in our final 5 days of walking.  It was so much fun!   Those chance encounters, the symbiotic exchange of joy, and the time spent walking with strangers who felt like friends … that’s the heart of Tembea Na Mimi.

We would not do this great adventure, however, if not for its ability to generate support for Lalmba. The 10 of us who walked collectively raised more than $100,000. That buys a lot of medicines, pays many school fees, and brings such hope to the receivers. Thank you to all who supported us, and to my fellow walkers:  Asante sana, warafiki, kwa tembea na mimi! Let’s do it again someday!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

If you were able to join us at The Family Jones event last November, you know how much fun we had. We are lucky to have friends like the owners of TFJ, and are happy to partner with them again to host you for an evening of spirits and tastings.   It is a small venue and last year we reached max capacity, so please RSVP to ensure a spot.

Along with food and cocktails, we will entertain you with stories and visuals from our newest clinic site in Agaro Bushi, Ethiopia. Many of you are investors in this project, and we wish to show off the modest accomplishments, as well as next steps.

Looking forward, we have a new service project (look left) coming next year, and I’m hoping to tell you more and recruit some of you to join me. Likewise, a group of us walked 160+ miles this past summer. We have stories and video from that experience to be unpacked and presented with as much drama and flair as possible!

Meet Jackline Awuor Ochieng, a tailor from Matoso, Kenya. Her story is an inspiring example of a widow determined to see her children escape the poverty into which they were born. After her husband died in 2006, Jackline was on the verge of withdrawing her 4 young children from school. She no longer had the means to pay their school fees, and if they were going to eat, she needed their help in the fields.

She heard about Lalmba’s RCAR program (Reaching Children at Risk), and taking a chance, she went to see the children’s director for assistance. Soon, all 4 of her children were enrolled. Lalmba paid their school fees and helped the family with health care and nutrition support.

The lifting of this worry gave Jackline the time and courage to pursue a career as a tailor. She knew how to sew; her mother had taught her.  But a sewing machine and fabrics were out of financial reach. Tailoring, however, can be a lucrative skill in this rural community. There are no clothing stores — people visit a tailor when new clothes are required. All Jackline needed was enough money to buy a sewing machine and some fabrics to get her business started. Getting a bank loan for the supplies wasn’t possible; she had no credit or guarantors. But a Lalmba microloan was, and that’s how she started her business.

Since taking her first loan, Jackline has received 2 more Lalmba loans, allowing her to expand her business by adding machines, and increasing her supply of fabrics. She rents a storefront in the center of her village now, and she independently sends all of her children to secondary school and college.

If Jackline’s story ended there, that would be enough to inspire us to emulate her determination. But there’s an added twist to her story, in which her path by chance intersects with a quilter from Canada. This chance meeting gave birth to the Empowered Seamstresses of Lalmba cooperative, and the idea for Lalmba’s 2019 Christmas item.  It’s a very inspirational story that I will share with you in full in the Christmas edition of our newsletter, December 2019 … so STAY TUNED!

EMPOWERED SEAMSTRESSES OF LALMBA

 …  and a couple of Canadians!

Lalmba has been serving poor communities for 56 years this September 21!  With your help we make a monumental difference in the lives of the people who are touched by our services. Our model of development relies on the help of dedicated, compassionate, and experienced volunteers — professionals who act as expert mentors to our local staff of 50 in each country.  Our volunteers deserve much credit for Lalmba’s successful development model. Their professionalism has informed and defined the best practices of our work.

We currently have the rare opportunity to recruit enthusiastic volunteers who may not have advanced degrees in medicine or extensive experience in project management.  We are looking for 2 volunteers who are interested in spending 1-2 years in Kenya or Ethiopia developing our youth programs there.

A love of children and adventure, lots of patience, experience with youth and good organizational skills required for 1 unforgettable year of your life.

This could be YOU!

 Youth Programming Consultant

Chiri, Ethiopia 

CALLING ADVENTUROUS LEADERS! Lalmba seeks a youth programming consultant for an orphan’s home and program in the remote southwest highland rain forest of Ethiopia. This role requires some experience in the developing world and good intercultural leadership and management skills. The setting is rural, in an area without modern amenities. This is a rare opportunity to improve a children’s project in an area of great need and breathtaking beauty.

The role requires a 1-2 year commitment.  You would be living on the grounds of a convent run by medical mission sisters from Mexico. Lalmba pays no salary but covers all expenses related to travel to/from Ethiopia, and working and living in Ethiopia (visas, immunizations, airfare, room and board, medical & life insurance). With a 2 year commitment, we will also pay for roundtrip tickets for a visit back home after one year.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: The Children’s Programming Consultant provides guidance and support for our local leaders in Ethiopia and will mentor local leadership in how to run the project themselves.

 Youth Programming Consultant

Matoso, Kenya 

Lalmba’s program in Kenya, over 30 years old, operates a Health Clinic, HIV Treatment Center, Dispensary, Public Health and Education program, orphan programs and community development programs on the shores of Lake Victoria. We are looking for a volunteer who will serve as a coordinator for our Teen Health program.

This position has a particular focus on targeting risky behavior, health and good choices for young people.  Experience leading youth groups, teaching or public health a plus!

QUALIFICATIONS: Qualified candidates are those with experience working with teens and young adults, especially in an intercultural setting. Public health professionals are also encouraged to apply. Must have good organizational and leadership skills. Must be willing to work in a very rural location.

If you have often thought of volunteering in Africa but didn’t meet the language or advanced qualification requirement, this is your chance!  Give us a call or fill out our online application.

The picture of the valley from up above shows their house nestled in the hills. 

We have quite a few patients like this, who aren’t in a position to advocate for themselves and who are beset on all sides by challenges. 

Just today we saw a little girl with chronic wounds on her face and arm that won’t heal. Yesterday, a woman came in with a severely malnourished baby. She’s lost 5 children, still has 5 and her husband has left her. 

I think you guys  (Jeff and Hillary) understand better than anyone from your time around Chiri how many people in this area are chronically ignored and marginalized.
We’re keeping our efforts balanced and maintaining perspective.   Sometimes there is not much we can do for the people who come to us. 

We’re lucky to have staff like Sultan who are willing to tramp around in the woods looking for one manja woman (the marginalized minority group to which Alamitu belongs). Especially when it’s Ramadan and he hasn’t had any breakfast. 
Sultan says to tell you guys and all the donors thank you.”

Meet Mary Atieno, a widow and Lalmba microloan recipient, as she works the sewing machine at her shop in Othoo, Kenya. Her children were in our support program, but today she is fully independent due to the success of her tailor business. She and a few other Lalmba seamstresses have formed a cooperative, calling themselves the Empowered Seamstresses of Lalmba, and are producing products that further their financial independence. We applaud these widows for their innovation, their determination, and their skill!

In true Lalmba form, all good stories include a long walk that ends at a place of hope. This story begins with tragedy for two young brothers, Ashenafi (7) and his older brother Samson (17).  When Ashenafi was just a baby, his and Samson’s parents died of AIDS, leaving 10-year-old Samson to raise his younger brother alone. Their house, a lopsided thatched-roofed dwelling, is situated deep in the forests surrounding Agaro Bushi, Ethiopia, where Lalmba is just opening its new clinic. There are no markets nearby or schools.  Lalmba’s clinic is 3 hours’ walk away.  We would never know about these boys if we hadn’t just expanded our reach to this new, needy area.

You might wonder why these boys live so remotely. They are from the Menja tribe, an ethnic group considered “untouchable,” the bottom of the caste system established here hundreds of years ago.  They are discriminated against by the dominant ethnic groups, excluded from traditional Ethiopian customs and festivities, and historically forbidden from joining the Orthodox Church, attending school, or owning land. Time and education are slowly changing that perception, and Menjas are integrating more and more within society.  However, there are still pockets of Menja communities throughout this region, isolated by choice for fear of discrimination and for the comfort of solidarity. Some estimates suggest that the catchment population that Lalmba serves in Agaro Bushi is 50% Menja.

In raising his brother, though only a boy himself, Samson isn’t totally alone; he has the support of his Menja neighbors. They farm together, sharing food resources even when scarce. But recently little Ashenafi became sick with a large wound mysteriously appearing near his armpit.   He grew weaker from fever and malnutrition, until it became clear to Samson that they needed help from beyond their community.

Samson, hearing of our new clinic opening in Agaro Bushi, gathered his little brother in his arms and made the long walk in search of aid.  Can you imagine the desperation he felt, the sense of urgency that he might lose the last surviving member of his family? It haunts me to consider before this clinic opened 1 year ago, that Samson and Ashenafi would have had nowhere to go.

With a brother’s love, Samson had the courage and strength to make the long journey along the hilly mountain path.  He found hope and compassionate care waiting for them at the Agaro Bushi Medium Clinic.

Suspecting that he had HIV, the disease that killed his parents, Lalmba staff transported Ashenafi to Lalmba’s Chiri Health Center for testing. Fortunately, his tests came back negative for HIV, but positive for tuberculosis. This was encouraging news, as most forms of TB are treatable. However, Ashenafi’s malnutrition complicated his chances for full recovery.  Proper nutrition is necessary for the medicines to work, and his diet, consisting of primarily kocho, a flatbread derived from the ensete plant, doesn’t supply enough nutrients.  Also, for the first 3 months of his 9-month treatment plan, he would need to come daily to the clinic to receive his medicines, a difficult journey even for the healthy and strong.    What to do?

We offered to rent a home in Agaro Bushi for both of them, and provide them daily meals for the first 3 months, but Samson, fearing ethnic discrimination, declined that offer, instead promising to bring his brother daily for treatment.    We marvel that they are willing to make such an arduous journey daily back and forth together.  2 months into the treatment plan, Samson has honored that commitment to his little brother, and the boys are quickly becoming a favorite of the staff clinicians.  They arrive at lunchtime, take the medicine, and share a meal with the staff before returning home.

But what’s next?  After 9 months, little Ashenafi will be cured of TB, but back to eating kocho.  He’s an orphan who has never been to school.  If he chooses, he could move to the Chiri Children’s Home and begin schooling in Chiri.   But what a choice for a 10-year-old, to leave your brother, the only family you’ve ever known, to live among people you’ve never met. He could also choose to receive monthly food support, continue living with his brother, and attend school in Agaro Bushi; but is that daily journey sustainable?

Samson is too old to start school, but he’s eligible for a microloan to start an income generating project, probably in agriculture. One generous donor has given Lalmba money to help build the boys a better house, which will happen, but where? The challenges are immense, but this I do know — the solutions will come, and for the first time in their young lives these boys have real opportunity.  This is the heart of Lalmba’s work!

An update, especially for our capital campaign investors!  In February, Dr. Diana Lardy, a longtime Lalmba medical volunteer, arrived in Ethiopia to help improve the quality of clinical care at the new clinic. As a result, our diagnosis and treatment has improved by leaps and bounds. Her presence has helped bring order and efficiency to the fledgling clinic and identify the gaps in our service.

We were successfully able to hire a pharmacist and made our first medicine purchase. It included some of the most basic medications such as scabies meds, paracetamol tablets and antibiotic suspensions for children.

Our laboratory is operating now.  It isn’t at full capacity, but our lab technician, Belachu, is working hard, and pushing us to get it fully operational. Word is getting out about the laboratory and some patients have come now just asking for tests.

Between the meds, the laboratory and Dr. Diana’s presence, we are seeing a big increase in the number of patients who come to us. Our new record in one day is 47!   But even on a slow day the staff stays fairly busy. For our limited staff and small facility, this is a lot of work.

Dr. Sultan, ABMC Health Officer, created the above graph of how our patient numbers have risen. The step increases can be seen in December, when we started distributing meds, and then again in March when Dr. Diana came.

The construction phase on building the new clinic will happen soon. We have received the land agreement from the government, and our clinic designs have been finalized and put out for bids. Once we have chosen the contractors, we will break ground. The community is very excited. Having the new clinic will expand our capacity to treat patients exponentially.

Thank you to the Agaro Bushi investors!!! Your commitment and generosity have made all of this possible.

To learn more about this exciting new phase in Lalmba history, please visit our webpage:

As I write this, it’s Holy Thursday of Easter week. Tomorrow, my family and I will participate in the annual Good Friday walk from our parish to a neighboring one, about 5 miles away. It’s a symbolic journey of Christ’s walk from the Garden of Gethsemane to Golgotha where he was crucified. It’s a very meaningful reminder to Christians of the difficult journey of Jesus’ final day, his final steps on earth, and the sacrifices he made for our salvation.

Metaphorically, when we talk about “the way of the cross”, or having “our cross to bear,” we are referencing the hardship of His path in relation to our own problems.  Anyone who has lived through a difficult period of life, whether physically or emotionally, knows that the experience gives you a point of reference to know what you can endure. Smaller problems suddenly seem trivial in comparison. My travels to Africa are like that, revealing to me that there is redemption in suffering, proven by the irrepressible joy which flows from the poor.

Tembea Na Mimi, Lalmba’s semi-annual (10 days/180 miles)charity walk across Kenya has been my way of sharing this redemptive experience with Lalmba supporters. It is physical and emotional hardship surrounded by breathtaking beauty. It is a rare opportunity to walk with the people whom we serve, to understand their needs, and to gain perspective on how we each can walk through life with grace, even when things get tough.

Our third Tembea Na Mimiadventure commences on July 10,2019. We have ten walkers, and each walker has committed to raising $10,000 to support the work of Lalmba.   Each walker pays his or her own expenses; all sponsorships go towards Lalmba’s work in Africa. To date, we have raised 39% of our collective goal of $100,000.   Please consider choosing 1 of these brave souls to support.    Just make a note online or on your check.  They will carry their sponsors with them each step of the 180 miles!

The site of our new clinic project, Agaro Bushi, is a small village, hidden away in the highlands of Kaffa. It is truly an impressive piece of countryside, the birth place of coffee, green and temperate all year-round. We serve a rural population, many of whom grow encet and coffee in the forests around us or work bucolic farmland with plows pulled by oxen. In some ways, the source of this beauty, Agaro Bushi’s isolation in the mountains, is also the source of many of the challenges we face.

It’s paradoxical, that such a verdant area is home to such poverty, but isolation and a lack of basic infrastructure have conspired against the population.

In the last few months we’ve made tremendous progress, increasing our patient flow by almost ten times what it had been in the fall. This reflects the presence of more medications in the clinic and the work we’ve done to increase the level of our service. We are building a program now that seeks to empower our local staff and work with the community to find sustainable solutions to the public health challenges that face Agaro Bushi.

Jared Lollar is from Spokane, Washington. Prior to volunteering with Lalmba, Jared spent 3 years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia. He has a special relationship with the people of Ethiopia and is passionate about building sustainable programs that bring about empowerment. He is the perfect person to help Lalmba build a program from the ground up, and we are grateful to work with him.

Of course, when you are building a new project, it doesn’t mean your ongoing projects can be neglected. We continue to use revenue to run the life-saving programs we always have. We are hopeful that with your charity this quarter, we can close the gap in our operational budget before the end of our fiscal year on March 31.

As John Bunyan said, “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”  We know how well you, our supporters, understand that philosophy, and we thank you!

My first day in Kenya was like walking into a National Geographic Documentary.  A driver was waiting for me outside the airport with a handwritten sign with my name incorrectly spelled, so I found that funny. The adventure had just begun!

I couldn’t stop marveling at the brightly dressed women, the lean graceful men, the purple-blossomed jacaranda trees and the buses belching black smoke. By the end of a couple days I knew how to eat the staple food, a maize flour called ugali, cooked with water until it is thick enough to be eaten with the fingers.  I knew to accept it from even the poorest of women, because they need to feel they have something to offer in exchange for the health services that I bring for them.

I also knew that buying food for a starving woman may save her life that day, but it does not solve her problems in the long run.  I knew that, despite the disease and theft and uncertainty, despite the absurdity of leaving my comfortable life in Bogota behind, my place was here.  I knew I was going to help to heal wounds, to treat malaria, to treat patients with HIV/AIDS, to treat malnourished children … but most importantly, I knew I was going to heal and relieve disconsolate souls, and because of that, I knew I was going to stay.

Once in Matoso Village, my job started with learning, not teaching. I learned about the area, the Luo people, and most importantly, about the staff who work at our clinic.  I learned from them so I can in turn teach and give training.  Since I have surgery training, I started to perform some minor surgeries, from draining abscesses and debriding wounds to removing cysts and lipomas.

Lalmba’s satellite clinic, the Ochuna Dispensary, is situated very near to the Kenya-Tanzania border.  An estimated 80-90% of patients come from Tanzania.   Most of the patients at Ochuna Dispensary are children, and these clients tend to be much poorer than those surrounding our main clinic in Matoso.

Every day in my new Kenyan life there is a new challenge to achieve, and a dream to follow.

Lalmba has 3 other new heroes to welcome to our family, professionals from 3 different continents, who are giving a year of their lives to expand our programs in East Africa.

Dr. Eliezer Rodriquezfrom Venezuela is working in Kenyaas medical director of the Matoso Clinic and the Ochuna Dispensary.

In Ethiopia, we are blessed to have Jukka Lehtinen, from Finland, to serve as construction director, building the new Agaro Bushi Medium Clinic. We’ll keep you posted on his progress over the next year.

We are also very lucky to have Jared Lollarfrom Spokane, WA.  Jared just completed a 3-year stint with the Peace Corps in southwestern Ethiopia, the same region where we run our programs. He will serve as managing director in Agaro Bushi, bringing a firm understanding of the language and culture, and an immense love for the country.

Thank you for your hearts for the poor.  Godspeed, gentlemen!

In the summer of 1999, I (Jeff) was managing a safari camp in the Rift Valley of Kenya. That summer I got sick and spent three days lying in bed drenched in my own sweat, barely able to walk the distance from my bed to the bathroom. Like Elijah under the broom tree, I prayed for a quick death to end the agony. But instead of an angel appearing and giving bread and water for nourishment, God sent Mrs. Roberts, my employer. I remember vividly her stunned expression when she opened the door and saw my emaciated and sickly form shivering in the equatorial heat. But unlike Elijah, I did not have to get up and walk for 40 days and nights. Instead, an 80-year-old Mrs. Roberts helped me to my feet, shouldered me to her pickup truck and drove me to the nearest clinic, an hour and a half away. There, the nurses hooked me up to IV fluids and treated the malaria that had nearly stolen my will to live. Miraculously, a few hours later, I was feeling much better!  But had it not been for Mrs. Roberts, I could have died of dehydration. Hundreds of people from the same community where I was living suffer from malaria and other illnesses on a daily basis. They don’t have a Mrs. Roberts or anyone with a vehicle to carry them. They have their feet and a long and dusty road to reach the same clinic that treated me.

To this day, I still can’t fathom how they do it. It’s impossible for me to comprehend the strength of will some people possess, and why, when I needed it most, I felt myself close to surrendering to a premature death. God had other plans for me, that is clear — which is why today I walk vigorously and believe passionately in Lalmba’s mission. In walking societies — or should I say where the poorest live — there are few other choices but to get up and walk when sickness, injury, or childbirth beckon. Many don’t make it to health facilities in time.  It is for this reason that Lalmba’s mission is to bring health care to the end of the road. This year, in honor of Lalmba’s 55^thanniversary, our team of walkers will walk from the bustling town of Chiri, where Lalmba has run the Chiri Health Center for 20 years, to the site of our soon-to-be new clinic in Agaro Bushi, an even more end-of-the-road community.

These six leaders are dedicated professionals who have devoted their lives to serving the poor and the sick of their community. We love them and know that without them, our mission would be impossible to achieve.  Please show your love for their service and sponsor one or all of them as they walk the 12 miles from the Chiri Health Center to the end of the road at the Agaro Bushi Medium Clinic, Lalmba’s newest clinic, on September 21, 2018, Lalmba’s 55^th anniversary of serving the poor in Africa. When they arrive they will spend time seeing patients, training staff on best practices, and evaluating public health issues in this very rural community.

This year we begin construction on a new clinic building, a pharmacy, laboratory, housing for Lalmba volunteers, purchasing a new ambulance, adding a photovoltaic power system, and a clean water system.  If you want to be part of this exciting new chapter for Lalmba, and join as early investors in this project, please contact us directly, or simply sponsor these walkers as encouragement for our growing mission and presence in Africa.

This past summer, Lalmba was fortunate to have two short-term volunteers visit our program in Matoso.   My friend, Dennis Debobes, called last spring expressing interest for his son, Austin, a high school sophomore, to have a meaningful experience serving the poor.   Our project director in Kenya let us know that the orphanage was desperately in need of a paint job!   So Dennis and Austin spent a few weeks working diligently to improve the children’s home, having one of those experiences that hopefully continues to resonate, shedding unexpected insights as life progresses. See below Austin’s reflections on his time in Kenya.

(All donors who have not already received one, and who donate $100 or more this month will get a copy of our 2019 Calendar!)

You probably get promotional calendars at the end of each year, but how many do you get in the summertime?   As you know, we like to be unconventional!

Lalmba would like to share with you a year in the life of Africa.  Our 2019 calendar includes evocative full color photographs from our projects (Jeff has some talent behind the lens!), and it notes the year’s holidays and events in Ethiopia and Kenya.  This will help connect you with the rural communities that you help support.   Did you know, for example, that Kenyan schoolchildren begin their school year on January 2?  You will!

These gentlemen in the photo above are government officials in the rural Ethiopian village called Agaro Bushi, where Lalmba is planning to build a new clinic. You can see that Agaro Bushi is in the pre-technology era, where paper files and handwritten posters still reign supreme.  Perhaps our Lalmba calendar will help keep them organized!   We are very excited about starting a new project in an area without any reliable modern health care, where bare feet are the norm and Land Rovers struggle to reach, and we look forward to telling you more about it very soon.

We would like to thank our dear and dedicated monthly donors by gifting you a Lalmba calendar.  You are the backbone of our work!   Look for yours in the mail soon.  If you would like to become a monthly donor and receive your “Year in the Life” calendar, you can set it up here:

In addition, to each of you who send us your generous support this month, we will send you our breathtaking calendar to connect you more closely with Africa for all of 2019!

Speaking of 2019, do you know what is happening exactly one year from now??  10Lalmba supporters will be walking with Jeff 160 miles across Kenya to raise awareness for our work.  The walkers and 20 camels will start outside Nairobi, walk 15-18 miles a day across wildlife preserves, camp among the stars in Kenya’s wilds, and end with a celebration and welcome in Matoso, Lalmba’s project along the shores of Lake Victoria.  The Lalmba staff will meet you along the dusty road on the last day, and accompany you with song and dance your last few blistered steps. Sound intriguing?  You have 365 days to get fit, gather your gear and your nerve, tell your friends about what you are doing and lace up your walking boots!  It will not disappoint.

To sign up, just click the button below to go to the application page. And then start by getting your calendar to whet your appetite for the sights and emotions of Lalmba’s Africa that await you!

The Ant Bite

By Dr. Stephanie Ball, Lalmba Kenya Medical Director 2017-2018

(www.oneyearinkenya.blog)

Ouch. An ant bite. That is what it takes to get me indoors to the keyboard to write about this week. The ant probably climbed into my pants to get out of the sun. Some would say she was smarter than me. After all, I was outside in the hot sun, in equatorial Africa, in the middle of the afternoon, doing rather than thinking.

So, what am I avoiding? The reality of Africa that I witnessed this week, I think.

The man leading the Public Heath Team asked me to accompany him on 2 home visits, to the families with a malnourished infant or young child. The idea is to visit where people live, and ask about such topics as breastfeeding, cleanliness, illness, sources of water and income, and how these affect the family.  Both families welcomed us in to their homes and made sure we all had a place to sit, even if they had to borrow chairs.  We asked questions like “Do you teach the children to wash face and hands before eating? Do you use soap? Do you boil or treat your water? Is there a latrine? Where does money come from? How many meals did the child eat yesterday? Did you feed the child breast milk or cow’s milk and/or other food?”  The houses are built with local resources: Sticks or poles in a network to make a cylinder, filled and covered with clay, and roofed with grass thatch. The first family has both a mother and father, with their 6 children. Their only source of support is farming their plot of land. The father looks very thin and ill, and he says he has tuberculosis. The mother looks healthy, and she tells us she is HIV positive, but her youngest, 6 months old, has been born negative and stayed negative while she has been breastfeeding.  We all sit on the wooden couch and chairs. The floor is dirt, packed and smooth. We can see a pair of men’s shoes, some clothing, and a tin watering can tucked up where the ceiling meets the wall. Two young boys are hiding among the maize stalks when we arrive, and they stay there during our visit. A small girl, maybe three years old, plays quietly in the shade right outside the house. They obtain water from a nearby river, and “take it like it comes.”

The next house is smaller and even poorer. It has one room, with a sheet (or what looks like a very old dust-ruffle) hung across a string as a room-divider. We are allowed to peek at the bedroom, where there is a single full-size mattress on the floor for the parents and four children. The one chair, a folding wooden one with a broken back, is given to me, and is clearly meant as the best seat in the house. The other health worker sits on a square plastic container that looks like a gas can, and the mom disappears for a minute and comes back with two plastic chairs from a neighbor. We meet just with the mother, and the malnourished child stands by her side. The baby is almost two years old, and is quite thin and quiet.  The father is away working, which he does whenever he can get a contract. She is preparing some maize from their fields, which she tends while the dad is away. Sometimes, when he comes home, they are able to go shopping to buy soap and other things they cannot grow. Both parents are HIV+ and under care. I am sitting right next to the place for the cooking fire. There is a support for a pot above the small wood fire, well protected from the wind. When asked the question about water preparation, the mother explains that she filters the pond water with a tea strainer to remove impurities.

Neither family has an outhouse or latrine, soap, or clean water. I see one small solar lantern at the first house, but no other electric device of any kind. They do not have phones or any mode of transportation other than by foot. They do have iron age tools like a heavy hoe, and a machete. We brought them only questions. Vaccinations and vitamins are given at Lalmba’s facility in Ochuna, as are once weekly cooking and nutrition lessons with a meal for each mother and child, shared around the demonstration kitchen. Sometimes, a week’s supply of supplemental food can be sent home for each child.

I am face-to-face with my inability to transform these families’ situations, and the many others all around me. My Lalmba teachers tell me that being here with people, spending my time and compassion, is my job right now. Pema Chondren advises that we must begin where we are, and that we cannot have compassion for others until we can discover that compassion for ourselves. So, I am praying for the strength to do this hard work, which at times feels like doing nothing. At other times it is an enormous burden and I run away into outdoor work and ant bites! Another wise man, Jimmy K, wrote, “Understanding comes slowly, over a period of time…” Patience and compassion—may you have all you need of both this week.

TEMBEA NA MIMI 2019

(Walk With Me)

Perhaps you’re looking for a different experience of Africa?  Consider joining my team as we walk across the great Rift Valley all the way to Lalmba’s project on Lake Victoria, Kenya.  This is no ordinary adventure; you’ll walk with me to experience the people’s plight and to help us tell the story.  You’ll walk with me to help raise money and awareness for our work. I’m looking for 10 strong walkers who want to help, traversing 160 miles, one step at a time.  Contact Jeff at lalmba@lalmba.org or 303-485-1810, if you’re interested. Or, just fill out the online application and Jeff will contact you.

Lalmba supporter and former peace corps volunteer in Ethiopia, Gloria Curtis, has fashioned 25 more exquisite Ethiopian cross necklaces for us to offer to you.  The Ethiopian cross is a unique and ancient design very different from the Latin cross, and worn by the rich and poor alike throughout Ethiopia.

Gloria learned how to make Ethiopian jewelry while living there in the 1960’s, and has graced Lalmba with her artwork.

Each necklace is unique with varied color schemes and matching earrings.

Be one of the first 25 to donate $100 or more to Lalmba, tell us you want a necklace, and we’ll send you one of Gloria’s masterpieces.  (The first 13 online donors and 12 earliest mail-in postmarks)

Donate online www.lalmba.org/donate/  or via check in the mail.

Be sure to note ’necklace’ on your donation.

Thank you again, Gloria, for these beautiful gifts to support Lalmba’s work in your beloved Ethiopia!