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MINISTRY
The Kenya
Sewing Machine Project The Women's Corps seeks to
empower their African sisters by providing them
with a means to support themselves
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1.
MEREDITH'S STORY |
LAST SUMMER
[2004]
I had the good fortune to visit Kenya with my friend, Cathy
Harrell, and my daughter, Paige. Cathy had been to southwestern
Kenya several times before, doing missionary work with a small
African church. As a long-term Urantia Book reader and a midwife, I
joined her after feeling a call to work with the Kenyan women. While
there, we met with a group of church women in the town of Abossi to
talk about family planning and women's issues. The stories the
African women told were distressing.
Cathy Harrell with her new friend
They told us they
were concerned about contracting AIDS, which is epidemic in Kenya.
They said that their husbands were unemployed, frequently drink too
much, and visit prostitutes during the day. When they come home at
night, they demand sex but refuse to use protection. If the wives
turn them down, they are beaten. Since the women have no income, it
is impossible for them to leave their circumstances and care for
their children alone.
Kenyan men also
object to the use of birth control because they believe it is an
invitation for women to be unfaithful. As a result, the average
Kenyan woman has eight children, although none I met wanted that
many. The women endure debilitating poverty, back-bending hard labor
and spirit-crushing debasement in a society where women's opinions,
concerns and needs are not valued and mostly ignored.
After listening to
the harrowing tales of these lovely and gentle women, I told them
that their sisters in America often empower each other by joining
together. I mentioned that we had formed a Women's Corps to help
each other. The Kenyan women responded enthusiastically, saying tht
they wished to form a Women's Corps too. They vowed to pray for our
Women's Corps if we prayed for theirs.
Meredith explaining the rhythm method of
birth control, before she realized
that the women had no say over when they would have sex.
* * *
A
FEW DAYS LATER,
we were invited to attend a meeting in Gelegele, seven or eight
miles away. As few people own cars in Kenya, we hired a driver to
take us there. At the end of the afternoon in Gelegele, we waited
fruitlessly for our driver to return for us, but he never came. Thus
I began the long walk back to Abossi with my African friends, Sally
and Caroline, who carried her two-year-old daughter, Deborah, on her
back. As we walked, we passed many inebriated young men—the poverty
and unemployment in this country has demoralizing effects on
everyone. We talked of the role of women, and Sally spoke
eloquently of her dreams for a better life for her sisters.
It was a long
walk, and after several miles my legs began to ache. About then, a
car pulled up beside us as we trudged down the dirt road. My
American friends were piled inside. Someone called out, "Hey Mer!
Hop in! We'll fit you in; there's miles to go." I thought about
hopping in the car, driving away, and leaving my Kenyan friends in a
trail of dust to continue their long trek alone, but I couldn't do
it. The circumstances were too reminiscent of global realities on
our planet; we wealthy westerners drive by with all the goods and
resources, leaving the Third World in the dust to struggle on
alone.
Instead, I chose
to trudge the rest of the way home on foot with my African friends.
When we finally reached Abossi, the sun was setting and we were
exhausted, but the air was filled with our laughter and our joy. It was
a great gift to have had the opportunity to share their burdens,
even if it was just for an afternoon.
As we talked about
women's empowerment, the Kenyans expressed a wish for a cottage
industry—some means of earning an income and improving their lives
and the lives of their children. They spoke of a desire for sewing
machines, explaining that if they had treadle machines, (there is no
electricity), they could sew school uniforms for the children and
sell them at half the ready-made price, and make a profit.
* * *
WHEN I RETURNED HOME, I approached members of the various Women's Corps branches
around the country—Delores Nice, Lee Loots, Jo Ann Wiedman, Helen
Luke, Judy Langston, Donna D'Ingillo, Steffani Murray and others— to
ask if they would be interested in helping the Kenyan women obtain
sewing machines. Their enthusiastic response has led to this
fund-raising effort. I thank Lee Loots and Linda Mac in
particular for their dynamic energy, which has brought in women's
groups from several bible-based churches to participate in raising
money.
Although the
sewing machine project is spearheaded by members of the Women's
Corps, it is not an attempt to promulgate the Urantia Book. This is
a woman-to-woman effort. It is not about any particular dogma,
creed or religion, but an interfaith initiative demonstrating that
love can transcend doctrinal differences. It's about acting out
of love for our sisters who are struggling. It's about stepping out
in courage and faith to help one another, and shifting from telling
people about the Fifth Epochal Revelation to living out the values
in the Fifth Epochal Revelation.
We UBers have
spent many years trying to give away the Blue Book with minimal
success. Certainly, most folk in rural southwestern Kenya, with its
low level of literacy, biblical culture and extreme poverty, are not
ready to receive the Urantia Book at this time. They will, however,
respond positively to our efforts to demonstrate the teachings. No
matter what we believe or what we read, women can unite behind the
goal of loving service to each other.
On behalf of
members of the Women's Corps, I am inviting you to help share the
burden of these Kenyan women by contributing towards a sewing
machine fund. We are working together with Sylvia, the leader of
the women’s group in Kenya—a schoolteacher and the co-pastor of
Glory Church— to price treadle sewing machines as well as materials
to get the project off to a good start.
Sylvia sent us
a project proposal, and the total cost of the sewing machines and
project is $7,000. We will fund raise until March 30th. Cathy
Harrell is returning to Kenya in July and will stay for several
months, so she will be able to monitor the disbursement of funds,
assist in setting up the project and provide us with updates. If you
would like to receive news on how the project develops, please send
an email with the notation 'subscribe to Women's Corps' to
meredithhtenney@yahoo.com
To increase the
impact of the project, we have suggested to Sylvia that the women's
group in Kenya repay the cost of the sewing machines from their
profits over time by putting the money into an investment fund for
themselves. If they set aside the payments in their own women's
collective bank, they will be able to loan funds out to individual
women for their business ventures. You can see how this idea plays
out and improves women's lives at:
www.villagebanking.org/stories-afr.htm
Our world has long
been dominated by self-interest and violence. Sometimes the troubles
on this world seem so overwhelming, the task so hopeless, that it's
hard to begin. Nevertheless, each act makes a difference. This is
one small thing we can do to help rectify the injustice
which surrounds us. As a member of the Women's Corps, I have long
believed that women have a unique roll to play as spiritual leaders
in the new age upon us. Let women step forward now and demonstrate
a better way—the way of love in action. The Women's Corps asks you
to share some of the abundance we have here with the Kenyan women's
group in Abossi. We invite you to partake in the joy of serving
each other and discovering that women together can empower one
another.
Some
of you may live near each other or an established Women's Corps
group, and decide to do a fund-raising project together. Others may
wish to donate individually. If you cannot afford to send money,
then please send a positive prayer instead for the empowerment and
well-being of these Kenyan sisters. Please share this with any
woman you feel might like to help. Although this is particularly a
woman-to-woman effort, men are welcome to contribute as well!
--Meredith Tenney
January 31, 2005
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2. SYLVIA'S LETTER |
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Chamgei Chebaibai,
I received the letter concerning the
project now at hand from Stanley. The women are very
excited about it and especially your acceptance to
donate the sewing machine project for Abossi is a great
joy and we receive it whole heartedly. Give my
appreciations to the entire women Corps for accepting
and funding our sewing projects. I have checked in
Kericho prices of sewing machines that we require at the
moment.
Concerning the materials and other
required items, we shall sit with my development team
and write a full proposal that I will post as soon as
possible. The other items required will include
materials such as Rolls of tetron Plain Mix colours for
school uniforms, checked Suiting materials, Lining
materials, tetrex Materials and other materials for
women’s dresses, threads, Buttons, elastic cords, laces
and machine needles that will be included in the
formatted proposal that we shall prepare and send. If
there is any other information that is lacking, let me
know so that I will reply.
Thank you and God bless you.
Sylvia Tanui |
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PROPOSAL
FOR SEWING MACHINE PROJECT |
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Name of the women group: Glory
Church Women group of Abossi.
Location: Abossi lies in a remote
area, whose population is over 30,000 who live below the poverty
line. Most of the families rely on women to provide food and
clothing. Henceforth this project will benefit the community,
especially women and children.
Request: receive greetings from the
above mentioned women group. We held a women’s corps meeting on 23rd
September 2004, and we requested to be supported with the
following items:
Sewing machines
10 big table
straight stitches machines @ 13,700 = 137,000/=
5 small
table straight stitches machine at @ 8,500 = 42,500/=
2 big table
zigzag machine @ 32,800 = 65,600/=
4 Knitfer SK
pullover/ sweater machine @ 57,000 = 228,000/=
Materials
5 rolls of
tetron plain 45"/36" mix colours (school uniforms dresses and
blouses) @ 1,400 = 21,000/=
5 rolls of
tetrex 60" mix colours (school uniform shorts) @ 9,000 = 45,000/=
10 rolls
tetron printed 36" mix colours for children clothing @ 1,925 =
19,250/=
5 rolls
checked suiting 60" mix colours @ 9,600 = 48,000/=
1 roll
lining material 60" – 100m at 8,000/=
5 dozens of
mixed threads @ 400 = 2,000/=
10 packets
of buttons for shirts and shorts @ 350 = 3,500/=
10 rolls of
elastic cord @ 220 = 2,200/=
10 rolls of
nylon and cotton laces @ 150 = 1,500/=
10 dozen of
needles @ 45 = 450/=
25 pairs of
scissors @ 100=2,500/=
20 pairs of
tape measure @100=2,000/=
N/B
We accept any alterations from you,
concerning the above listed items.
At the moment we have Glory Church
Women from Litein (Ruth and Caroline) who will assist to teach
sewing, and we also appreciate if you can locate women who will
assist during summer time. The women also welcomed the idea of goat
multiplication project and we are ready to apply. The project
coordinators are as follows:
Ms. Silvia
Tonui
Mrs. Regina
Langat
Ms. Ann
Chepwogen
Thanks in advance and we are looking
forward for your reply.
Your sister
in Christ
Sylvia Tonui
and Abossi women corps.
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Questions and Answers |
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Q.
Who will receive the money when it is sent? I am concerned, after
reading about the husbands, that they will find a way to take the
money and spend it on prostitutes and booze. Will someone accompany
the money to Africa to make sure it is spent on the sewing machines?
A.
[Meredith] The women, too,
were quite concerned that the funds be protected. Sylvia is
co-pastor of Glory Church, and will receive the funds for the women.
The group proposed that the funds for the project, and any
profits they make, be held in trust for the women through Glory
Church. That way the entire group of women can disperse the funds to
themselves, or one of their number as needed, without fear of
extortion. After spending most of the summer with these women, I
developed a deep appreciation for the integrity and honesty of
several of the groups' leaders: Sally, Caroline, Sylvia and Ruth.
A.[Cathy]: Sylvia is a
single woman, an elementary school teacher in the Abossi area and a
co-pastor at the church that is in the series of churches that we
are working with in Kenya. She is totally reliable as a contact
person. Her heart is for the people...in fact, she is not of this
tribe, but moved there to teach and minister. We have known her for
the past 3 years and can personally vouch for her integrity. At this
point I am planning to return to Kenya in June and stay for three
months. I have no fear that Sylvia will misuse the money. We hope to
establish a system within the church structure to safeguard the
money for the women. All this needs to be worked out. Our efforts in
this area have been to get more and more people involved in the
church so that a standard of righteousness can be maintained.
Q.
Can you tell me what sewing machine you plan to purchase and how
you plan to transport the machines and material to Kenya?
A.
[Cathy]: The major brand of sewing machine that we saw in Kenya was
Singer. There may be others. These machines are available for
purchase in Kericho, a small city about 3 hours from Abossi.
Q.
What is the price of the machines and how many do you plan
to send?
A.
See PROPOSAL above.
Q.
Will the machines will be safe after arriving in Abossi?
A.
[Cathy]: Our experience with this group of people has been that
commitment and activity happens when we arrive to orchestrate
things. I plan to oversee the purchase and delivery of the
machines. My idea is that they will build a small structure to
house the machines and we will be there to see that something
has been done to secure them. . . . Abossi is largely an
extension of one large family. Joshua, the patriarch became a
Christian in the '60s and has spent his life bringing in people
and resources to make that happen. He contributed his own funds
to build a church and has overseen the pastors. He is a true
shepherd to his people. This sewing project is the outcome of
this same vision. We have his backing and support within the
context of their culture.
Q.
Will they be protected from being stolen and sold on the black
market?
A.
We will take necessary precautions to secure the project. While
the women are the primary beneficiaries it is our hope that the
community be uplifted as well. Plans for the future include
starting bee-keeping and honey production. Our thinking is that
the men would add this on in addition to their animal husbandry
and milk production.
Questions?
contact Meredith Tenney
or Cathy Harrell |
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Goal =
$7,000
Raised = $7,995 |
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UPDATE 6-13-05 |
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Here is the latest news from Cathy Harrell: "We are in the countdown
to leaving on June 30th. We will be working in the Abossi area to
implement the program during the last 2 weeks in July. We hope to
have some photos to send to Mer during that time. . . . In the
meantime we have been researching microlending, microfinance and the
like. We are aware of some of the problems and pitfalls, but I have
confidence we will succeed in this project. . . . The "extra" money
will go toward delivery costs, possible building and/or setting up
the banking part."
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Meredith Tenney's UPDATE 7-20-05 |
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Dear Women supporters of the Sewing Machine Project;
Thank you all for making this project possible! Rosa
Parks sat at the back of the bus until her courage and integrity led
her to bravely step out and demand social justice and equality for
her people. In doing so, she created a new and better life for
everyone. Aided by the generous assistance of many women, we banded
together this year to step out to empower and uplift our African
sisters through the Kenyan Sewing Machine project. Such is the heart
of the women, that we raised $1,000. more than the Kenyans proposed!
Cathy Harrell returned to Kenya last month with the $8,000 raised,
and writes that the Kenyan women are so excited about the project
that, although none own vehicles, 15 of them made the long 4 hour
trip from Abossi to Litein to greet her on her arrival.
Women who helped make the Sewing Machine project a
reality come from many parts of the country and many walks of life.
Contributions came from the pastor of a black church in southern
California, the Female Charitable Society in New Hampshire, the
Association for Light and Life, Urantia Book readers, new agers,
missionaries, and non church affiliated women who wanted to help
their African sisters. Even some of our brothers helped out! Our
beliefs and practices vary, but we are united in our commitment to
serve. In stepping out to act, we created a new identity for
ourselves as well as the Kenyan women. We became leaders in building
spiritual community. Women reaching out to empower other women can
change the world, and together, we will strengthen each other in our
resolve to portray divine love in action.
The first national Womens Corps meeting will be held
at IC '05, an international conference in Philadelphia on Monday
evening, August 1 at 7:00pm. All women are welcome! If any of you
will be in Philadelphia, watch for posters at the conference for
further information on time and location. Contact the email address
below for directions if you would like to attend. At the meeting, we
women will speak our dreams and visions of the role we can play in
these changing times. The love, nurturance, and gentle strength
feminine leaders can offer is so needed! When we declare our
intentions, we take the first step to creating a new reality for
ourselves and others. Cathy Harrell hopes to be able to send an
update on the unfolding of the Sewing Machine project in Kenya, and
Sue Tennant of Flesherton, Ontario, will give a presentation about
Free Schools, a wonderful new project we women can take on
empowering young girls in India and Thailand with an education.
Any woman is welcome to join us! Please come and
help us build international spiritual community by reaching out to
other women in service. If you will not be able to attend our
meeting, feel free to email your thoughts and ideas to
meredithhtenney@yahoo.com and we will share them with the group.
If not us, who?
If not now, when?
Meredith Tenney |
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Update from Cathy Harrell in Litein,
Kenya -- 7-20-05 |
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GREETINGS to all who contributed to the Abossi Women’s Sewing
Project and to those who have expressed an interest in this
project!
We have seen the mighty spirit of God move this weekend as the
project was birthed.
Several years ago when we came it was the prayer of
Joshua that in addition to the spiritual nourishment that we were
providing that we help to bring economic development. When Mer
Tenney, a friend and nurse midwife traveled with us, she was an eye
witness to the problems that women face in this rural part of Kenya.
Her heart was moved to ask the women what would help. Their answer
was sewing machines that could help start a cottage industry. Most
of you know this story.
Sylvia Tanui, a primary school teacher is heading
this project. She came into this area with a purpose from God. Four
years ago she wasn’t sure what it was. Now it’s clear that her heart
is to uplift the women of this area. Two years ago she stated that
conception had taken place and we were now pregnant with a vision
from God.
This past weekend the Litein Church leaders and
ourselves traveled to Abossi to launch the project. We arrived
Friday afternoon and were greeted by the women on the road.
Excitement was oozing from every pore. We made our way up to the
missionary house to pay respect to Joshua, the chief of this area.
There is a protocol you must follow and you can’t skip one step or
you risk insulting the cultural traditions. Joshua, a Kipsigi, is in
his 70’s; tall and stately, commanding respect and reverence.
According to former tribal ways, he has 4 wives and about 41
children. They mostly live in the area. He is the one that built the
church on his land and the missionary, western style house that we
stay in when we come.
After formal greetings from him, the local pastors
and elders of the community and greetings by us from Litein and
America, we walked down the hill and up the hill to the church. The
women had gathered by then to greet us in their tribal tradition.
They had bunches of carnations that they presented to us and begin
to sing and dance a welcome song. They sang and backed all the way
to the church. It was a royal welcome.
Over the weekend we had two important meetings. The
first one was greeting us and preparing for the larger one where
representatives from Litein, Abossi and Gelegele ( a nearby village)
came to hear the proposal, select a committee and make a call for
leaders. All in all there were about 40 people.
What happened the next day proved to me that this
group of people were capable of working through conflict,
misunderstanding and gender differences. Since I’ve been here the
project is being refined and defined for the leaders. At the heart
of this project was to bring a program that would empower the women.
The leadership for the project was to be in the hands of the women.
It was important to keep that on firm footing since there are other
forces constantly pulling away the power and control. We struggled
with the conflicting ideas that this should be a church project or
not.
The next morning all the leaders assembled and we
prayed in the spirit. I left confident that God would be the head of
this project and that we were of one mind. All the way to the church
different groups talked and negociated and by the time we reached
the assembled women we were of one mind. Communication is always a
problem when beginning a project with this much scope and it seemed
at one point we would run aground. But, eventually the social
machine did work and we were able to come to a consensus about how
the project would be organized, it's mission and who it was to
serve.
As I watched the leadership work out the problems I
became convinced that this project would be successful. I think
there is spiritual depth in some of the leaders and administrative
experience with others. There is a hunger for change in this area.
It is so off the beaten path, physically and politically.
Electricity is just a few km away, but it could be years before they
get enough money and political pull to bring it to the church and
farm area.
Each of the leaders spoke and encouraged the women,
confirmed that it was their project and that the decision making
would be their, with men as advisors only. At the end I stood and
spoke about the process I had just witnessed and applauded them on
their ability to work through the communication difficulties. I then
charged them to take good care of the "infant" and be true to their
word. We know from experience that groups can come together with
vision and enthusiasm, but as the project and work load unfolds
fewer and fewer people show up to help. I encouraged them to look
beyond the differences in our respective cultures and to look to the
Bible for the model of behavior and values that would make the
project successful. That is what we have in common and that is what
Jesus is calling us to. Love one another, be patient, be steadfast,
forgiving, kind and persevere. I said some hard things, but in the
end I received compliments on standing on righteousness. Power and
money corrupt people, even spiritual power. But, if we humble
ourselves before God he will raise us up.
By Monday morning they had elected a committee to
oversee the project under the spiritual and legal covering of Glory
Church, Kenya. We had talked at length about a building to house the
sewing machines in and it's clear that more funds will be needed to
properly house them. They are getting construction estimates and
will inform us soon. Some short term structure may be built in the
meantime. Joshua is going to deed over property to the church and to
this project. Hopefully we will see this done before we leave.
As we walked around the area after church on Sunday
I witnessed again the hardships that these women face day in and day
out. Their work is never ending. They haul water from a stream in
the valley up the mountainside, plant and harvest the crops, birth
and raise the children, do all the cooking, cleaning and clothes
washing. One of the local pastors told me that he has been helping
his wife with chopping wood and had been criticized by the men. We
discussed how social change is slow to come, but that eventually the
younger generations will do things differently. In the end, real
progress will come when they have electricity and running
water...safe drinking water. In the meantime, my heart breaks to see
people sick, hopeless and living at a subsistence level. For those
who traveled or been on mission they know that this is more common
than not world wide.
On Sunday I preached about Caleb in Numbers 13 and
14. We ministered the spirit of Caleb and of course talked about how
Jesus puts his spirit in us to recreate us with heavenly, world
overcoming values and strengths. We had a wonderful day praying over
people and bringing more Light into a troubled world. We give all
the glory to Jesus and our wonderful heavenly Father.
Bless you all who contributed to this project and
to those who feel led to give into it in the future. We'll keep you
updated as it unfolds.
In His name,
Cathy Harrell
Litein, Kenya |
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Update from Cathy Harrell,
5-8-2006 |
Click here for
the original PDF version with illustrations
 
 
Click here for
the PDF version with illustrations
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Update from Annie
Bowman/Cathy Harrell 10-13-2007 |
Annie
Bowman: Just before leaving Africa, things
changed by no action of our own, rather by the
Abossi Tribal Leader's frustrations. It seems that
his many wives and daughters were quite jealous of
the attention and perceived power that the women of
the sewing project were getting. He (the tribal
leader) put an end to the sewing project by
frightening the women involved, removing the
sewing machines and taking away the access to
the facility that housed the program. Therefore, as
of now, the sewing project is closed until further
notice.
Cathy Harrell:
It's true that the Abossi Tribal Leader took some
actions just before we left. He removed the sewing
program from the church building and they had to
return to the small building where it was originally
housed. He does seem to try to get his agenda across
by intimidation and his traditional power. He did
this just before we left Kenya and were not able to
meet with him about these actions.
In light of this
situation and several other problems, Sylvia Tanui,
Rev. Stanley Melek and Ron and I decided to propose
an end to the sewing school as we know it. At the
end of the term in November and December the Abossi
Women's Corp will meet, hold elections and make some
important decisions about the way forward. It is and
always has been their project with Western input,
capital and advice. The US Women's Corp had been
waiting for our input before deciding to go forward
with any kind of future support. From the beginning,
the initial fund raising was designed to be a one
time capital investment of $8,000. The program was
supposed to be self sustaining. There is and was the
potential for that to happen. Internal tribal
politics has threatened its survival.
Our
advice to the U.S. Women's Corp was not to put any
more money into the program. At the end of this
school term, decisions will be made by them about
how to proceed forward. We gave the Kenyans our
advice and $385 to keep the program going until the
end of the term. We recommended to them to disburse
the machines to groups of five women that had been
formed for the micro finance teams. In this way each
group of women had a machine to use either for
training, production, or they could sell it.
But, they
may decide differently. . . .
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Update
from Meredith Tenney, March 26, 2008 |
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Dear Friends, It is
sad to realize that so few people know the wonderful story
of the sewing machine project. Although I am not familiar
with all that has transpired in the last few months, a year
ago the project was a marvelous success and an inspiring
demonstration of Mother Spirit in action. When women from
around the world unite in loving service to each other,
amazing things happen, and if the whole story was told, I
believe it would uplift hearts and encourage others to step
out in service.
When the Kenyan women
received their sewing machines they decided to create a
sewing school. They wisely reflected on the old saying,
"Give a man a fish and he will have dinner, teach him how to
fish and he'll eat for life". They wanted the young women in
their community to learn to sew, and to be given the
opportunity to earn a livlihood for themselves! They hired
qualified teachers to offer instruction in tailoring,
purchased cloth, hired a night watchman to guard over their
precious sewing machines in the church at night, and
enrolled 24 students in the new sewing school. Twenty two
were young women and 2 were young men.
They charged a tuition of
$12 a month. A number of students could not afford to pay
but Sylvia could not bear to turn them away, so she made
them 'scholarship students' and they attended for free. The
sewing course was 10 months long, and covered pattern
making, dress construction, tailoring and sweater making. On
finishing the course, the students who could read and write
signed up to take the Kenyan national certifying exam for
tailors, and every single one passed with flying colors!
The first Sewing School
graduation ceremony was planned for November 19th, 2006, and
Cathy Harrell and I were invited to attend. We accepted with
delight, eager to return to Kenya and see how the project
was developing. Although we hoped for good fruits from our
efforts, what we found surpassed our wildest dreams.
The sewing school graduation
ceremony was an unforgettable experience. Amazingly, nearly
1000 Africans attended. We discovered Kenyan parents yearn
for their children to have an opportunity to go on in
school, and every parent, family member and relative was at
the ceremony to cheer the students on! The ceremony was held
at the church in Abossi, and people crammed into every
square inch of space, peered in windows, and stood in lines
outside because there was no more room. When the procession
began, the proud graduates marched into the church to an
African drum beat, dressed in navy and white uniforms they
had sewn themselves. The presence of Spirit filled the place
and it was truly a thrilling moment!
The young students danced
and sang a song, "We are so grateful, we are so hopeful!",
and presented Cathy and me with traditional Masai dresses
they had sewn for us. The older women of the Kenyan Women's
Corps also sang songs of gratitude and welcome. Cathy and I
could not stop weeping tears of joy. Multiple dignitaries
spoke including the head of the Interfaith Council of
Churches in western Kenya. It's as though the news of the
hard work of the women and the success of the Sewing School
had spread far and wide.
The tribal chief and the
Pastors of Glory Church presented Ron Harrell and I with
'Talking Sticks', a token of leadership traditionally
presented to males. I was informed that my 'Talking Stick'
was to be given to my husband at home, but I smiled inwardly
recognizing that the gift was in part an acknowledgement of
the leadership role the women had played. Cathy and I
presented a digital camera to Sylvia Tanui, the
inspirational leader of the Kenyan Women's Corps, and asked
her to document events at the Sewing School with pictures.
Such a gift is an unknown luxury in rural Africa, and she
was deeply pleased.
Everyone wanted to see the
new graduates receive their Graduation Certificates so the
program was moved outside so that the whole multitude could
watch. The scene of the assembled crowd on the grassy
hillside was reminiscent of the gathering for the Sermon on
the Mount. Families clapped and cheered as each student came
up to receive their certificate, and smiles were on every
face. Prayers were offered for the success of the students.
Carolyn, the pastors' wife, had made a rare treat -- two
cakes for the graduation celebration. Each cake was cut into
hundreds of bite sized morsels, and like the loaves and
fishes, somehow there was enough for everyone to get a
taste! Although this miraculous day had to come to an end, I
know I will never forget the goodwill that saturated the
gathering and filled every heart with hope. We may have been
black and white, African and American, male and female,
Glory Church and Urantian, but for that moment in time we
were all one.
I was led by Mother to
resign from the Women's Corps Board last spring and do not
know what has occurred in Kenya in the last six months. If
it is true that members of the Abossi community felt the
women of the sewing machine project had become too powerful,
then my heart is glad at our success in empowering the
women. Truth can not be held back forever, and I believe
Mother Sprit will continue to lead my Kenyan women friends
to new and higher levels of service and self-actualization.
Someday soon, women from around the world will link arms in
a global sisterhood and step up to their rightful place as
equal partners in the march towards light and life.
Meredith Tenney 
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