Kenya: Day 18

Pray for:
- Wisdom in interacting with beggars
- That the Filamujuani documentary would show the world what's happening here

What happened:
- went to Jah Army, some of them started doing their screenplays
- went to Prestige to have a meeting with Ken. talked about the Filamujuani documentary; Kibera TV; the role of markets and entrepreneurship in community development; and a bit about story structure.
- went to Kibra Academy. the kids did poorly on their general exam, so a lot of them got punished. didn't really have class.
- went to Prestige to wait for Ken
- went to Small Group. we talked about success.
- set up a meeting with Erica about Kibera TV for next week.
- went home

Tomorrow, we begin filming the Filamujuani documentary. We're going to focus on 3 stories: Frances, Amina, and Yasin. The 3 of them are going to be graduating this year, so the things that we're teaching them will be particularly important. It's also a very timely project because Ken will be going back to the states to "show" people what's going on here.

I love doing quick and dirty documentaries.

The other day, I finished Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life by Robert Lupton. It was great. It totally changed the way I view charity, community development, and the role of markets. It didn't answer my question from Day 5 where I encountered the beggar. That's not true. It answered it tangentially, in that when we give charity, we remove dignity and perpetuate the problem. There are definitely times when charity is needed and when those times are require a lot of wisdom and discernment in the Spirit.

Instead of charity, "we must come to deeply believe that every person, no matter how destitute or broken, has something of worth to bring to the table." But the question is, what do these poorest of the poor bring to the table? It's a question I struggle with with each child that runs to me with outstretched hands.

When I see the poor, I see them begging, I ask myself, how can I best help them? This morning, I saw a kid, maybe middle school aged, getting up from sleeping under a blanket on the side of the street. Sure, I could give him 100 shillings, and he can buy a snack. But what about tomorrow? I can give him 1000 shillings, and he can feed himself for a week, but what about the following year? What happens when, come August 30, I leave? What happens to my "dependent"?

I think, "If I only had an office where I could employ them, then they could earn their day's wage and we both win." But what can they do? I guess it's my fault for not asking. I'm going to find out.

Then there's the old woman at the gate into Prestige. Every morning, she comes with her mat, sets it down by the gate with her various cups to collect change. She has a cane to help her with her pigeon-toed gate as she goes to the plaza to relieve herself or maybe make a deposit at the bank. I don't know because, again, I don't ask.

I guess that's why I'm here, isn't it?