Kisenji is the area of Kampala where our makeshift school is located. As we walk in (usually in flip flops) we are stepping through mud, dirt, trash, and other things I would rather not think about. The smell can be nausiating as very few people actually use the public bathrooms. There are stray dogs, goats, and sheep in the streets. Bodas, bikes, and trucks fill the street and you have to be careful not to get hit (they don't stop for pedistrians). We walk by people's homes, which are small shacks with enough room for a bed, maybe two. People are outside cooking, washing clothes, and just being. When kids are not begging on the streets they are running around covered in dirt. If they are wearing clothes, the clothes have holes and stains all over. When they get a cut they do not know how to clean it. They do not know how to protect themselves and others from disease. It's hard to tell when the last time a child has gotten a “bath.” This is life in Kisenji. Jesus loves Kisenji and the people there. It breaks His heart that they do not know Him and are living day to day without hope.
On Fridays we take a break from teaching the kids how to read, write, and count and teach them something that is probably even more valuable right now. We teach them about personal hygiene. It's not very in depth. We basically teach them that it is important to take a bath using clean water and soap. Then we help them put it into practice and each kid gets a bath! I should clarify what I mean by bath... each kid gets less than a galloon of clean water using our tub. We give them a bar of soap and they wash their hands, arms, face, hair, and ears (many do NOT love washing their faces and ears). Each kid is dried off and we put lotion on them. Lotion is a luxury many have rarely experienced!
Following Jesus sometimes means going to places most would rather avoid, getting dirty, and teaching people not just about Christ, but also how they can have a better quality of life now. We want to see God change their hearts, for them to know Jesus and to know love, but we also want to see them living healthier lives physically.
After all isn't that what Jesus did for us? He came down to Earth, so that we may have hope of an eternal life with God. He provided a way of salvation to meet our spiritual needs as sinners. But then Jesus blesses us even further by giving us a full and abundant life. We want to see Jesus change and redeem Kisenji and the Karamajong people - both spiritually and physically.
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