Grim Outlooks of Life Expectancy

“Grim outlook for Kenya as death rates for children and mothers climb steadily” is the heading found on pages four and five of today’s Daily Nation (10/27/08). “Newborn babies face the greatest risk in the first week of life, says Unicef report” was the first article (p.4) of this report. The facts that follow are heart breaking: “Mortality rate for newborns, infants and children under the age of five has increased in the past 10 years according to the United Nation’s Children Fund … one in every 30 children born in Kenya dies in the first 28 days of life … one in every 12 children born in Kenya dies before their first birthday and one in every nine children dies before reaching their fifth birthday … the main causes of deaths as infections, pre-term birth, low birth weight … malaria.” Poor medical care is also a factor. These numbers do not include the many children who survive past the age of five, but due to illnesses and malnutrition, they have “poor physical growth and development … The children also have poor brain development, leading to poor performance in school.” The other articles are as grim: “175,000 infants die every year” (p.4), “Alarm as 473 children die every day” (p.5), and “Pregnancy-related illnesses kill 16 daily” (p.5).

More facts were shared in “UN cites ‘vast’ disparity in Nairobi child death rates” (Daily Nation, 10/17/08), a report from the World Health Organization. “Child death rates in rich and poor parts of Nairobi as an illustration of ‘vast’ health inequities within developing countries … the under-five mortality rate is 17 times higher in a slum area of Kenya's capital than in an affluent section of the city. The death rate for children under five in Embakasi is 254 per thousand, the UN says, compared to less than 15 per thousand in what it terms ‘the high-income area of Nairobi’ … ‘within developing countries, the best local governance can help produce 75 years or more of life expectancy; with poor urban governance, life expectancy can be as low as 35 years,’ … Kenya's overall health-adjusted life expectancy stands at 44.4 years …also the median figure for countries that spend less than $100 per capita for health care … The gap in life span between rich and poor is widening globally ... someone born in a high-income country can now expect to live as much as 40 years longer than a person born in a very poor country.”

These reports do not include another startling fact – those with lower life expectancy are also likely to claim another type of low “life” expectancy – they are less likely to know our Saviour’s words in John 3:16. I don’t have the facts that UNICEF or WHO have to prove this statement, but I am certain that those unreached by adequate medical care, are also more likely to be unreached by the Gospel – they are less likely to have heard of God’s love and salvation which leads to eternal life. These facts are overwhelming, but we can do something – PRAY! Pray that decisions will be made by governments and other groups that will reduce the inequities in our world which lead to inadequate health care, clean water, food, housing, and educational opportunities for so many people. Pray also for boldness, wisdom and good heath for those sharing our Saviour’s offer of eternal life with the people groups of our world that claim lower life expectancies. Bert Yates
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“Alarm as 473 children die every day” – Daily Nation, 10/27/08, p.1 – http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/484270/-/tlhoce/-/index.html
“Leaders urged to act on infant mortality rates” – Daily Nation, 10/27/08, p.5) – http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/484278/-/tlhocm/-/index.html
“175,000 infants die every year” – Daily Nation, 10/27, 2008, p. 4) – http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/484284/-/tlhode/-/index.html
“Pregnancy-related illnesses kill 16 daily” – Daily Nation, 10-/27/08, p.5 – http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/484288/-/tlhodi/-/index.html
“UN cites ‘vast’ disparity in Nairobi child death rates” – Daily Nation, 10/17/08 – http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/481258/-/tlflcc/-/index.html

Silent Prayers and "Scenting" for rain

“A visitor to Dertu in Garissa is often appalled by the sight of villagers staring into the clear blue skies and sniffing the tinder dry air for possible signs of rain. Theirs are silent prayers, just for a few drops. This is the season in North Eastern Province (NEP) when all eyes are focused on the clear blue sky, scanning the horizon for signs of rain. Dry air is inhaled for ‘sent’ of moisture … hungry and thirsty children flagging down motorists to beg for water … tread dangerously between survival and death … ‘If is doesn’t rain in the coming month, our livestock will perish.’ When drought sets in, the first casualty is education … The few children who attend school are lured with free food provided by the World Food Programme … Although the Government, donors and NGOs provide food … too little for the … hungry people … In Mandera District, food distribution has been hampered by … clan wars … over pasture and water … Local hospitals have to grapple with a high number of malnourished children as cattle and camels that provide milk are driven away … in search of pasture and water.” These facts were found in “Despair forces village to ‘scent’ air for rain” in yesterday’s The Standard (Sunday, October 26, 2008, p.3).

“Here its survival of the fittest,” a small box nestled within the article, added that temperatures in this area fluctuate between 95­and 107­F and high winds are common at midday. “In these expansive semi-desert plains live a people who are resigned to the hardy lifestyle. They are pastoralists, who supply more than 80 per cent of the meat consumed in Kenya, but are still perceived by other Kenyans as backward and primitive.”

The facts in this article leads to a comprehensive list of how to pray for drought situations and pastoralists – the starvation and hunger, the resulting death and illness, its affects on children including opportunities for education, etc., BUT one great need is not noted – the “silent prayers” of these people may be to the true God, but the large majority of these people are uncertain of who this God is. Many people groups are found among the pastoralists of Kenya and all are among the people groups where few if any of their people know of our Saviours Good News. They have not had the opportunity to know of the true God and of His love and salvation or they are so bound to their old ways, traditions and fears that they are not able to accept what they may identify as the “white man’s” or modern way. Do pray for the drought conditions and the resulting problems listed above in the North Eastern Province of Kenya. Pray also for the additional drought they face – a lack of the knowledge of our Heavenly Father’s love and salvation through his Son, the Son who shared the message of living water. Bert Yates
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“Despair forces village to ‘scent’ air for rain” – http://www.eastandard.net/InsidePage.php?&id=1143997859&catid=259&a=1

"Beasts of Burden"

b“At the first cockcrow …Charo (Chah-roe) jumps out of bed. She has barely slept … it is 3am, a signal that she must start what has been her daily routine for years. Every day, she treks for many kilometres in search of water … picks a 20 litre (5 gallon) jerrican, hangs it on her shoulder … and begins her journey through poor terrain to the nearest water pan … about 15km (almost 10 miles) … she makes about four trips, about 120km daily … Charo won’t be making the journey alone. There are dozens of women heading to the (water) … Most of the women remember making the journey as girls.” These words found in “Where search for water is a day and night affair” (pp.30-31) an article included in the October 19, 2008 edition of the Sunday Standard as a part of “IN FOCUS: Water Crisis” special report. This was their description of women who describe themselves as “beasts of burden” – a group of women of the Mjikenda tribes who live in Bamba, about 20 miles inland from the Indian Ocean, between Malindi and Mombasa.

The description of the water that these women will bring home is also burdensome – “The women are not looking for clean water. That would be too ambitious. They are looking for any water.” The water they find on this day shows signs that the water pan will soon be dry. It is “already slimy. It has a foul smell and even animals are avoiding it.” Yet, Charo is desperate and on this day, “Happily she scoops the dirty water and starts filling her jerrican.”

Another woman, Karisa, shared, “By the time I get home, everyone is thirsty and I cannot have time to … boil the water. This explains the several cases of diarrhoea and stomach problems … all the water is drunk sometimes in 10 minutes. I just rest before walking back to this plane again. What life is this?”

The government built a huge water tank in the area “at a cost of Sh28 million” (around $500,000), yet is rarely provides water. Water is supplied through a local water company, but only one of many pumps currently works, which results in dry taps and empty storage areas. Another frustration is shared in a box, “Village’s Water Woes” on page 30 – When it does rain, flooding occurs and “lives and property are lost as all the water is swept to the ocean but soon after, the local people walk for more than 20km in search of the same commodity.”

It is likely that Charo nor Karisa know of the Saviour who spoke of “living water … a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:10, 14). If they have claimed God’s love and salvation through His son, they have no time to study His word or meet with others to worship Him. They are also unlikely to have had opportunities for education, which means they cannot read His word, but must hear it from others. So please join Karisa in praying for the prayer item she shared in the article – that “one day this problem would be resolved once and for all.” Pray that the people of the coastal areas of Kenya and many other places within Kenya and our world will have easy access to clean water – water that will allow them to live healthy and happy lives. Pray also that they will have the opportunity to claim “the gift of God” that leads to eternal life.
Bert Yates
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“Where search for water is a day and night affair” (pp.30-31) – http://www.eastandard.net/specialreports/InsidePage.php?id=1143997297&cid=259&

Fish Doughnuts and Fried Skeletons

“Coping with cost of living in a slum” in the HORIZONS magazine of the Daily Nation (October 2, 2008, p.1) brought back old memories and a clear recollection of being very humbled. One of the perks of living in Mombasa on the Indian Ocean in the early 1980’s was buying fresh – very fresh fish – from the fishermen passing our gate as they returned from their early morning work. I love eating fish, but I hate cleaning fish – especially the beheading part as the eyes still look very alive! The man who worked in our yard was always eager to do the job for me, but for some reason, one morning I chose to do the job. As I threw out the head, skins and bones, Stephen came running and asked for these remains. Now, I may not like the job, but I am very good at filleting a fish and saving as much meat as possible, so only what I thought was totally trash was wrapped in the old newspaper! Later in the evening, guests arrived at Stephen’s small house. The next morning, he excitedly described the feast that his family had shared with friends the night before – a feast of fish stew made from my scraps! This was definitely one of my transforming “life experiences” when our Father helped me rearrange my priorities and concerns!

The article subtitled, NUTRITION, shared: “Staring at the prospect of malnutrition and hunger, residents of Obunga slums in Kisumu have found a way to feed themselves and get extra proteins.” How to these people who live in western Kenya on the shores of the Lake Victoria get this extra nutrition? “Residents have learnt how to exist alongside fish processing firms which at least provide them with a meal that is better than nothing, during these days of spiralling cost of food. Locals are making do with cheap fish factory discards such as bones, fillet cuttings and the skin which traders innovatively turn into ready to eat products.” One woman “sells fried fish ‘fillets’ locally known as ongin – made to look like doughnuts … costs Sh60 per kilogramme at the factories. One kilogram … can produce between eight and nine fish doughnuts each sold at Sh10 … Another trader … sells fried fish skins locally known as gwaragwara in quantities of Sh10 … a trader in mwongo wazi (Nile Perch skeletons) which cost Sh25 when fried, attributes her good business to the low cost skeletons … Sh5 a kilogramme.”

Praise God for the ingenuity of these people. Thank him for how they are providing nutritious food for others who make no money or survive on $1 per day, not just for themselves, but possibly for their entire family. Pray for Christians among these people as they share the stories of a Saviour who cared about the hunger of people and sought to meet their needs. Pray also for extra sensitivity and wisdom for the missionaries sharing God’s love and salvation with these people. Bert Yates
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“Coping with cost of living in a slum” – http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/artandculture/-/1222/476396/-/8nymoez/-/index.html
Current $/Kenya Shilling exchange rate: $1=Sh73.6