Greetings! At Aurora, we share the amazing stories of transformation around a needy and a broken world. God has enabled us to become a beacon of hope in such a world. Working in the slums has brought much joy in how we get to reach the most vulnerable of our community. I know that one needs cash to serve bigger crowds and a lot of human resources. I possess none of the above mentioned, which is a disadvantage in a way. However, it is said that “palipo na nia pana njia” meaning, where there is a will there is a way. This has been my battle cry that since people have bigger needs than I can currently tackle, yet I have the will to minister to them and see Christ formed in their hearts as I keep seeing lots of needs. I have resulted into asking for some well-wishers to chip in to help meet some of the dire needs present in the slums. I have had to call for help from the few people from the ones I know who have the heart to serve in various capacities. While some have not yet seen the need or others ignore the call to help, we have had quite a number step up to support us, whose names are in the book of life.
Sanitary towels
From May till July 2021, we have ministered to more than five hundred girls and boys; young people in the slums. We managed to distribute over 1000 sanitary towels through the giving of our partners and contributions from Aurora Bible Centre. We have also done mentorship programs for the youths in the area. We believe that these people are vulnerable in many ways since they are young and exposed to harsh living conditions. They are our future and we can’t allow them to drown in their struggles, and hence our intervention.
Our wish was to give more than sanitary towels but for now, we just had to deal with the girls. However, in the month of July, we had an addition to the common sanitary towels and had over 100 pieces of cloths donated to us by one of the volunteers who has been faithfully giving his time to Aurora Bible Center in Mukuru. The girls benefit from the activities we have had in the slums and additionally, since July, we also have had a few young men benefit.
Mentorship and training
We co-hosted youth seminars and workshops in July with Christ the Cornerstone Church and had various topics lined up for all to benefit. A few targeted issues were the youth and social media, music, drugs, the call of God among others. The three days’ seminar was fully funded by the church and all the young people needed to do was to come and be taught. We camped in the slums with a few team members, while some commuted to the venue. We have heard testimonies of transformation from those we met and talked with. We intend to continue the mentorship program monthly in order to keep track of our impact and maintain contact with our mentees.
Spiritual matters are our main focus but we recognize the need for a holistic approach, and hence partnering with other NGOs to track the growth of those we absorb into the program. We have soap-making, beadwork, rabbit-keeping, poultry and other income-generating projects that we look forward to starting up as a remedy for some of the economic and social challenges in the area. We also have various topics of concern in our timetable which are designed to address current issues affecting youths living in the slums that we intend to teach as we do the mentorship program.
Testimony
We had a young man come to surrender his life to Jesus after someone who had attended the session on drugs went to speak to him. He then came to ask for prayers on a Friday night, photos below. It was a blessing to see him change over a weekend and looking totally different even physically. His testimony was that of a troubled young man who was deep into drugs and crime. It had not been three days after an angry crowd lynched him for mistakenly thinking he had stolen a few items. Due to his past behaviours, he could not deny that he had been the thief. Yet his efforts to save himself had borne no fruit. He had been beaten and left for dead, when his elder brother came rushing to the site the angry crowd had dragged him to burn him having beaten him beyond recognition. His brother rescued his life and run away with him before it was too late. When he gave us his recent episode, it broke our hearts, he was still high on some drugs and his mouth was formless, his bones were weak, and as a man, he was trying hard not to fall. We asked a few more questions and established that he was a case of drug abuse. God has transformed him for the better and he is a faithful disciple of Jesus.
Our challenges/prayer needs
We have had a few challenges that have to do with the venue for the meetings and training since we began the sanitary towels program in February. The various venues we have used have been, the region Maria field, the CTC church, and the hope centre all in the Reuben area. It has been a little unstable to find a solid ground to host the mentorship program. However, after much consultation with the Hope Centre management through Ms Claris of Badili Trust and Ms Antonia of Hope Centre, there is a glimmer of hope in terms of a stable meeting and training grounds.
We have also experienced financial constraints as we raise finances for the sanitary towels and fares to support the volunteers who work so hard to see the vision of Aurora come to pass; holistic transformation with the gospel mandate. This is due to meagre resources available from a few well-wishers who have stepped in since May to support us with little finances for the work. We continue to call upon the community of humanitarian/philanthropic nature to join in the mandate. We have our Mpesa till number, which is 5230763 and our Mpesa number which is 0724766620. You can also channel your gift to our Paypal account margaretgichuki735@gmail.com.
We also have a little lesser volunteers currently at three yet due to the deeper issues affecting youths in the slums, we need more people to join us in speaking hope and sense to them, and you are welcome to join us any of the times you are available. Get in touch with us on 0724766620 for every second Saturday of the month when we take our ministry to Mukuru.
We have achieved a few milestones, and are able to move forward even wider and faster because of your faithful support. We are truly grateful and continue to seek more partnerships for the future of our vision.
God bless you for your generous support.
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