We have had responses from Australia - a church in Casino, a school in Sydney and other individuals that have raised money for the famine. We took Pastor K for lunch to tell him about the responses from the West and he was overwhelmed.
Firstly, we knew he was hungry because of how quickly he started eating his food and after he had finished thanking us profusely - he suddenly looked sad and said: I should have kept some of this for my wife and children. I am so sorry, i didn't remember to keep some for them.
We talked through with him the strategy he might use to help the surrounding district with the famine. He asked if it would be alright for him to use some for his family as well. We assured him that one of the reasons that he has nothing is because, as a pastor, he has so many coming to his door asking for food and he gives it away, therefore, it would definitely be appropriate for him to have some money for his family (who had no food). He asked if we would come and take pictures to show people what he was talking about. We assured him that we would and he suddenly said that he hoped his wife had not sold the chickens today as she had planned because he wanted to slaughter one for us when we visited. Try as we might, we could not convince him that we would be just as happy with chai and chapatis and we didn't need a meal when we visited, he would not agree to anything and we did not want to rob him of the cultural blessing he was wanting to bestow on guests.
Today, we saw the acres of dead stalks and useless crops surrounding his church. We saw his own shamba (farm or garden) that had not survived and took pictures.
He plans to buy maize at the local market on Friday and then transport it using a tractor to be distributed on Sunday. He has received around 450,000 tz so far with more to come. A bucket of maize costs 7,000tz and would last a family 4 days. The tractor will charge 1,000 per bag and there are 10 buckets to a bag. His priority is to feed the widows and HIV victims first and those that don't have support. After that, families who have no income right now will be next. He plans to consult with his elders and wife regarding how best to distribute food. Larger families with larger needs will get more and he will possibly start a registry of names.
It truly is more blessed to give than receive. We took tea, sugar, bread and fruit for the family and received in return a special chicken stew with chapatis ( like crepes but thicker). The chicken was tender and the chapatis soft... the meal was delicious to share with our friends.
Pastor K was so thankful to those who gave for joining him and his church in praying for sustenance and rain. We are just the messengers but we know that a blessing will be given to those who have entered into the true fast - giving to those who are hungry and being kind to others.
Comments