Spring is now firmly upon us with the bluebells and the wisteria starting to bud. Like the seasons, the second week of May appears and with it, Christian Aid Week, with the flurry of red bunting and envelopes. In Grove, we will be celebrating Christian Aid Week on Sunday 10 May, if you like to note these things in your diary.
This year, Christian Aid Week is celebrating an organisation called ‘Beacon of Hope’ in Kenya. Beacon of Hope has deep roots in the community of Dagoretti, one of the high density urban settlements in the country’s capital, Nairobi. Dagoretti is a tough place to live with land pressures, food pressures and climate challenges, alongside a lack of basic services and facilities. Christian Aid works with Beacon of Hope to support widows, such as Fridah, to build confidence, gain stability and to enable them to face the future. Life as a widow with children and grandchildren to support was really tough. Finding enough money to pay bills and keep a roof over their heads, to put good quality food in their stomachs and ensure school fees were covered – all this was really challenging without her husband. With the support of Beacon of Hope, Fridah has become so proud today. While she used to think that there wasn’t enough space to do anything, she has started a kitchen garden. She now uses small pockets of land incredibly creatively to grow food wherever she can, she has a tiered garden made from potato sacks, uses hydroponics to make use of every drop of water in her garden and maximises the organic compost. Fridah now has an abundant harvest!
Now, Fridah is not only a gardener, but also a businesswoman. She sells her vegetables at the market and she is able to provide for her family. She no longer has the gnawing fear of where will the money come from to meet their basic needs. Now she knows that she will be able to send her children and grandchildren to school and that she can afford to pay her bills and buy food.
This Christian Aid Week, could you support women like Fridah to grow confidence and a build a future? Maybe you would like to grow some seeds in solidarity with Fridah. There will be some seeds available at St. John’s on Sunday 10 May that you can grow. So, plant a seed of hope, for we are reminded in the gospels of the mustard seed. As tiny as it is, it grows into a big tree! Likewise, if we have faith no bigger than a mustard seed, it moves mountains.
Johanna Fadipe
This article originally appeared in the St John’s Messenger. If you would like to discuss contributing a future article please contact news@valebenefice.org.uk.
