Aurora Bible Centre is a training institution affiliated to the Christian Leadership University in New York, but operating in Kenya. Since 2018 September, Aurora has partnered with like-minded organizations to work in Mukuru slums in Nairobi for the purposes of empowering pastors with academic knowledge and skills needed to spread the gospel in these hardship areas. Mukuru slums hosts above 500,00 people who work and live in the industrial areas of Nairobi on settlement scheme with stone or iron-sheet structures along the former railway line or outside the various manufacturing industries all over the region. Some time back, it was hard to get water or accessibility, but recently, road networks have opened the area and seen a swell in new settlements in the region due to the rampant rural-urban migrations in the country. It’s favorable distance to the capital city attracts more and more dwellers by day. There are various challenges that accompany such places as Mukuru slums as is the case around the world. Poor drainage, high unemployment levels, resulting to crimes, drugs and illegal arms, human trafficking early pregnancies and such tragedies that affect the vulnerable. This only raises the need for constant hope which the religious organizations help in mediating. Aurora has come in handy to equip the pastors who live and work in these areas so that they can lend the government a hand in dealing with the counter-effects of the earlier mentioned misfortunes in the slums. Much as the slums host poor people, it also hosts some bright brains who need pastoral care, which if not offered to their level of need, chances are high that the folks who live there and may be working in town or are a bit exposed to reason may not even attend the churches due to poor delivery of services. This has necessitated the training to equip the clergy to face the challenge of illiteracy as well as equip for emotional intelligence.
In the recent past, some of the pastors who have publicly laid the gospel to ridicule were found to have been illiterate and lacking in basic Biblical interpretation skills. Due to the publicized episodes on social media and national television for the rogue activities by the clergy working in the slums, the church began to lose moral stand in various matters and people began to withdraw from church. Out of such a history, the national government through the registrar of societies issued a crackdown on all the clergy who had no academic qualifications on the issues of biblical related studies. It only took a momentarily intervention from the umbrella bodies who sought for pardon on behalf of they who had been found guilty of extortion of the citizens of Kenya, and also additional time to allow the clergy to acquire legit theological training. Through partnership with the Christian Leadership University, Aurora came to meet this inevitable need beginning from September 2020. The training happens online and is aimed at assisting the clergy to acquire the said academic qualification.
We understand that not all the clergy have internet or a smart phone in order to achieve the minimum entry into the college, and this necessitates the physical building for a college where people can converge and be trained. In the meantime, we have utilized available church halls in Mukuru area and have had monthly and bi-weekly training and equipping for the clergy. However, this type of a model is not sustainable in future. That is the reason we would like to put up a permanent structure along Nairobi-Naivasha highway in order to have students come and board and be sustained in our facility. The following is our budget for putting up blocks which are story buildings to host our students and our lecturers.
Administration block
Hosting staff-rooms, faculty, accounting and computer labs, admin offices, student representative offices.
Classrooms for the three streams: Certificate, Diploma and Degree students- Bathrooms and a chapel area.
Boarding facilities for males and female students.
Kitchen/ Cafeteria area
Staff houses for five in house lecturers.
Playground and recreation areas.
Total budget: Kshs 300Million
Once the building is complete, it shall further enhance service delivery to our student body across Africa.
I pray that the work you have been doing will reach out to many more. I would like to be part of this great work.