Trouble at the 20 Acres

It is good that the Team of Made in the Streets has reason to keep on keepin' on. And we do -- we know the kids who sleep on the streets have worth and can succeed and have faith and be quality people. We know the work of MITS is a work that Jesus wants to do -- his heart is with the poor, with children in trouble. And we know it is possible for kids to come off the streets into a new life, for we have seen the change and the power and the joy.

The past two days have seen trouble at MITS at the 20 acres. The 20 acres is where we are building our Skills Training Center. We are already teaching woodworking and tailoring there, and we are almost finished with the John Connor Brown Training Facility where we will train young people in cooking and hairdressing. We have a well to serve the Center and to irrigate land for farming, so we can develop an agriculture training center as well. This part of our ministry has an exciting future.

Yesterday (Tuesday, September 30, 2008) a group of men came to the 20 acres led by an MP (Member of the Kenya Parliament). They chased away our teachers and students at the Center, and they attacked several of them with spades, a mattock, a panga and stones. Our farm manager, Ben Mwami, was slashed on the shoulder. Victor Otieno, who directs our student shops and assists with farming, was cut on the finger. A student, Fatuma, was slightly injured. Jackton had stones thrown at him but was not hurt. The men tore down our sign, tore our fence posts out, and took down the whole fence around the property, then took the posts home for firewood. Ben, Victor and Fatuma saw a doctor at the local clinic in Kamulu.

The MP and the men and women (included was the Assistant Chief of the area, but the Chief chose not to be involved) claimed they were reclaiming public land which would be used to build a secondary school. If they have a piece of land, and they propose a school, they can receive CDF money (Constituency Development Funds), which are distributed by the Members of Parliament. So they chose to take our land in order to develop their plans. One interesting note is that they did not involve the police, nor the department of lands, nor any other government officials except the local assistant chief. The police were surprised when they discovered the event had occurred and they had not been informed about it.

Francis Mbuvi, our Administrator, has visited a lawyer to seek an injunction to protect the land until the issue is settled. We have been in prayer together, and we have decided that we will not be angry, we will not be discouraged and we will not be bitter. But we will also not give up, and we are determined to do the best we can for the children God has given us. All those who were at the Center went to the police post today to present testimony and evidence. Immediately afterwards the crime scene investigators arrived at Kamulu and took pictures of the demolished fence and looked over the property.

We hope that tomorrow we will receive the court injunction, and we will wait to see what action the police will take. Our team has said the police were friendly and listened carefully to testimony.

Following is a picture that was taken by Jackton after the "victory" of the group, when they had settled down to a meeting to plan their new school.


We do not yet know the outcome, so we ask our friends to pray, as always, that God's will is done, that the needs of street kids are served, and that our Team will be filled with courage. We want to have the property that will be best for our kids, and we want what is lawful and right to be done. Thanks for caring.