Love in a tin shack
Walking through the narrow, dusty alleyways of Kibera - the largest slum in Africa and recently the focus of Comic Relief celebrity fundraising - it is easy to miss one of its prized jewels. In fact, walking past the blue corrugated tin shack, you could be forgiven for dismissing it as insignificant. That couldn't be further from the truth.
This is the home of Calvary Evangelistic Fellowship, a church with both a heart for the downtrodden and a determination to bring the hope of Jesus to those seen as ‘hopeless' by many.
"There are so many people who are sick in this community, who are poor, who are desperate, who don't know Jesus," says Pastor Humphrey, explaining the reasons that drove the church to move into one of the main market areas of Kiberia in 2006.
Since that faith-fuelled move, this warm-hearted pastor and his flock of about 30 have seen some remarkable changes take place.
Through a savings and loans circle, many who were unable to support their families have been given loans to set up their own businesses. Through an ironmongery training programme, unemployed youth have found new skills and employment.
The unimposing building that serves as church on Sundays also doubles as a pre-school for around 40 children from Friday to Saturday. They are fed, taught how to read and write, and also learn about God. Many of these children have lost one or both parents because of AIDS, and the school is the one place where they can feel safe and experience the love of God for themselves.
Milicent's story
Milicent had reached the end of the road when she first heard about Calvary Evangelistic Fellowship. Her husband was drunk and abusive. Her children were struggling at school. She was struggling to even feed herself and her children.
When she met one of the church volunteers and began coming to church, everything started to fall into place. Other churchgoers helped with foodstuffs and clothing; her two children began attending the church-run school; Pastor Humphrey even helped mediate between her and her husband, who are now back together.
"I thank God for Calvary Church", she says. "The people there have shown me a lot of love and concern. It has contributed a lot towards the change in my life. In fact my friends are eager to know about the source of the transformation that has taken place in my life."
Providing HOPE
At Samaritan's Purse, we want to reach vulnerable families like Milicent's - and we want to do it through local churches like Calvary.
In fact, we have been working with Calvary Evangelistic Church to help them identify the resources they have to meet the needs - both spiritual and physical - in their local community. It's something we've been doing with around 200 churches across Liberia, Kenya and Swaziland.
We call it HOPE (Holistic Outreach Partnership Empowerment) - and through this programme, we are looking to raise up a generation of mission-minded local churches who will be the answer to the needs they see around them.
We know there are more ‘Pastor Humphreys' and ‘Milicents' out there in these places. We just haven't heard about them yet.
