Lauren Scharstein: PCEA Adopt-a-Family Initiative
Magadi, Kenya
Kangemi, Kenya
On March 15, 2020 the Kenyan government confirmed the first cases of COVID-19 and announced a nationwide ban on large gatherings, along with the closure of schools and nonessential businesses. Two days later, the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) held a press conference to announce the closure of its worship services in adherence with the government directive.
Even as members of the PCEA leadership discussed the closing of in-person worship services, they recognized the human impact of the government directives. The secretary general summed it up clearly: “For many of our people, if they don’t work today, they won’t eat tomorrow.” In a country with nearly 65% of its people working in the informal labor sector, those same directives meant keeping people safe would lead to food insecurity. People around the country could be heard saying they would rather risk COVID-19 than hunger.
Within two weeks the PCEA Mission Department had mobilized 4.5 million church members to provide food and support for families. The “Adopt-a-Family” initiative fed more than 32,000 families throughout Kenya in April and May, and its efforts continue into June and July. Church members and friends have shown up with bags of maize and flour, vegetables and milk, tea leaves and sugar, and financial support to purchase essential items. Some of the members who are donating also are struggling financially during this time. We have some faithful members who have committed to giving 50 Kenya shillings a week (around 50 cents), and they have been donating each week for the past eight weeks. We also have some rural congregations who could not donate money. One such congregation from an agricultural area of the country sent an entire truckload of maize that they had recently harvested for families in the informal settlements of Nairobi.
Written by TAP Partner, Lauren Scharstein