To see and understand the challenges facing the Turkana people of northern Kenya is difficult.
They live in a harsh land that even in the best of times requires them to move over vast areas to find the scarce resources they need to feed themselves and their livestock. Today, for a multiplicity of reasons, this pastoral lifestyle is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain. And it seems that few have dedicated the time and resources to equip and empower the Turkana people with the tools they need to shift and transition with their changing landscape – both physical and political.
As our media team listened to the insights of local pastors and the appeals of the Turkana men and women we met, the reality and need for long-term commitment and development is evident. And this commitment must begin today with emergency food and clean water, especially for the children we witnessed already severely malnourished.
On Sunday we sat in the pews of a large, 2,000-strong church in Nairobi that is committed to the immediate and future needs of the Turkana people. Parklands Baptist Church is World Relief’s partner in Lokitaung, one of the most vulnerable and underserved areas of northern Turkana. This Kenyan church is not only raising thousands of dollars for relief food and assistance, but they are commissioning members from their own congregation to go live and minister to this region that so desperately needs the healing and transformative love of Jesus Christ.
We hope and pray that more churches and individuals like Parklands Baptist will join World Relief to listen and respond to the cries of the most vulnerable in Turkana.