Health in Isinon

After months of visiting different communities in AfricaHope’s ministry area, we recently identified Isinon as the first community in which to start our Community Health Evangelism (CHE) program. The community’s thirst for knowledge and great need for improved health prevention drew us to partner with the people of Isinon.

A couple of weeks ago our Health Development team traveled to Isinon with Tim Mantai, the director of AfricaHope, for a community meeting that would set the ground work for the CHE program. Like most meetings among the Maasai people, it began with greetings and updates from community leaders about the general news from the area.  After the leaders officially invited us to start our ministry among in their community, it was Tim’s turn to speak.  Standing in front of nearly eighty community members, he shared about the speech Kenya’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta, gave shortly after Independence. Near the end of the speech, Kenyatta challenged the people of Kenya to stand up against their biggest challenges: poverty, ignorance and disease. As Tim shared this with the community, he began to talk about how the Maasai people have yet to successfully stand up under these oppressors, and how it is now time to fight the war against these great challenges.  Much in the same way an Army General would, he challenged the community to join us in this war. After what seemed to be a long period of silence, the local pastor stood up and said he was ready to go to war. Then two male and two female leaders stood up and agreed to go to war for their families and the community.  As Tim further challenged the entire group, every person raised their hand to say that they too would fight alongside us.

CHE is a ministry program based on Isaiah 58 in which God tells Israel true fasting and religion is that which looses chains of injustice, breaks every yoke, feeds the hungry, and shelters the homeless. As we continue to serve among the people of Isinon, we see oppression in the form of preventable diseases, and yokes in the form of water and food scarcity.  We see mothers who are destined to lose at least one of their children before the age of 5 because of a lack of knowledge of things as basic as diarrhea. God’s care for the needs of all people is what drives us to work alongside the people of Isinon and teach them how to break these oppressive chains.  There is a war to be fought, but as the community clings to the hope of Christ, God’s purpose will be accomplished among them.  Will you pray that God would reveal His restoration and transformation in Isinon?