Last Saturday, we had our first day “off” in about a month. Of course, even a day off is never totally a day off in the missionary life. In the morning, our school had a huge outreach day where staff and students serve the community around us with our time, strength, and money. My outreach particularly emphasized the strength.
Deforestation is a huge problem in Africa. Wood is one of their few sources of fuel, and the unprotected forests are a prime target for poor and opportunistic people. They chop down trees and branches, burn them into charcoal, and sell the charcoal to make money illegally.
Another problem is a lack of water. There are few rivers and streams in Kenya, and in many places, little rain. Certain trees are particularly absorbent of water, like the gum trees. So, a decision was made in our community to strip a particularly wood of its gum trees and replant trees that are less water-needy. The trees and stumps were then sold to buyers who could make eco-friendly (and legal!) charcoal.
The outreach project I participated in helped a man remove stumps from the woods. We loaded dozens and dozens of large stumps (ranging from 50 pounds to many hundred pounds) onto a truck which then transported them to the place where the man would make charcoal.
It was an exhausting morning for the 8 RVA team members and the 6 Kenyan men who worked with us, but in the end, we were glad to be able to help Kenyans act responsibly toward our planet, taking care of God’s creation while also providing them with a means or survival that is morally sound.
Tomorrow, part 2…
0 comments:
Post a Comment