Sabbath 29/11/31/120B

Dear Friends,

Emergency in Kenya.

On 16 January 2009 the President of the Republic of Kenya declared a national disaster in Kenya as a result of the famine there.

The famine is largely as a result of the political unrest which saw some 350,000 subsistence farmers dispossessed.

The white maize crop was drastically reduced and the price of maize has more than doubled. Wages have remained static. 

The country needs 37 billion Kenya shillings to deal with the disaster and more than 10 million Kenyans need food relief. The East African Coordinator has visited Lordwa and Bondo and Isiolo and the need is great there with many going without food. The little children are without food daily. There are also similar problems in many areas, if not quite so severe.

Anything you can contribute will help.

Also this week our first Secondary student at Kuja School for the Deaf commenced the First Year of High School there. She is on a full scholarship which includes uniforms and full residential board. She has done well in year eight exams. Her grandmother is a member of CCG Rongo and is her guardian. Her mother is dead. Our area coordinator who is a teacher at Kisumu recommended the scholarship. Due to her results we were happy to sponsor her there.

Kuja has a primary school for the deaf and nearby secondary schools for the deaf that cater for boys and girls. Their uniforms have smart red blazers. It is a great opportunity for deaf children in Africa.

The major purpose of the message is for the food aid programs for Kenya.

It is important that we try to harness as much support from the Churches of God as possible for this emergency.

Please send this Sabbath Message on to as many people as possible. This is a serious problem and many hundreds of the people of the Churches of God in Kenya, both long time and new, are involved. They need help.

The African Projects link is at: http://www.ccg.org/africa/index.html. Simply press the donation link and specify Africa or Kenya aid.

Wade Cox

Coordinator General