by Debra Lane, Administrative Assistant & Donorcare Coordinator

Flying across an ocean, continents, and time zones, I land in Nairobi. My first glimpse of the African continent and Kenya is a flat airportscape, mostly barren, and ocher colored land. From Nairobi we flew northwest onto Eldoret, over the Rift Valley, where the clouds graciously parted unveiling circular volcanic craters that pockmarked the land. Aerial views are so much fun; even here the landscape is dissected into rectangular plots in the inhabited areas. I was on my way to visit the Neema campus and meet people I had previously only known through Zoom and email.

I have heard stories of Waitaluk, the Neema school, and Karibuni, the lodge where our Neema team stays, because my daughter had visited in 2018. But now was my time to experience it. I joined the staff of Neema in 2021, and I was looking forward to meeting the people I had come to know remotely.

Enoch, Neema’s Kitchen, Facility, and Land Manager, walking on our new property

Waitaluk is in a rural, agricultural, pastoral part of the country, with a pace and rhythm of life that is different than at home. There are goats grazing by the road, sometimes cattle in the road, motorbikes, people, and dust. Red dust everywhere. The green foliage by the roadside is coated with a fine layer of the red dust. The rains have not yet come, but they will, and when they do, I'm told it will be red mud everywhere! I love the iron rich red earth — I am a potter after all — and I thrive with mud. The blue skies and the red earth under the bright sun are vibrant, and so are the people.

My first experience at Neema is the sounds of students singing from under a blue tent. It is morning and the start of a new day, and there is a joyful blending of voices and rhythms, welcoming the day by praising God with song and dance.

Typically this visit to Neema is centered around meeting the new first year students, catching up with the second and third year students, and getting all their pictures taken. But this visit is different, because this visit is to include a groundbreaking celebration initiating the building of Neema’s new campus. It was only a few months ago that a capital campaign had been launched to raise funds. The ambitious goal set then was for groundbreaking to start in the fall of 2023. But here we were, ahead of schedule.

The day set for the celebration is a January Friday, and another brilliantly sunny day on the planet's equator in western Kenya. Anticipation and expectation is running high at the campus, guests are arriving from the community, excitement is in the air. We are going to the site of the new campus. But first there are speeches to be heard from every invited guest.

It starts under the large blue tent of the meeting. Here, local community representatives, along with the Neema teachers, students and staff, gather together to celebrate a new “groundbreaking” chapter at Neema. First up in the speeches is Joyce Wanyonyi, the head instructor at Neema. She begins with a telling of the history of Neema. It is a moving experience to hear the evolution of Neema in one telling; to travel back a decade of time, to hear of the various transitions and iterations of what had been through the years, to know the reality and experience of what is today, and to now be peering into the reality of hope for the future. It was mind blowing.

As the sun rises in the sky, the heat begins to descend in the tent, and my mind starts to drift. Sitting between a Neema cofounder and the director of the precursor to Neema, questions posed to the first year students on my first day at Neema during their Bible lesson penetrated my thoughts. “Why are you here?” It was an intimidating question, and it was followed by an equally imposing second question: “What is the point of your life?” Not easy questions to answer. Questions designed to make one think. I find myself thinking on a similar question now, “How is it that I came to be here during this transitional moment in the history of Neema?” It is truly humbling, especially after traveling the history of first beginnings and hearing of all the work, commitment, and faith from all of the people that had gone before.

Next we hear from the community leaders, the Madam Assistant Chief of Waitaluk, the headmaster of the primary school, and even the landlords. They all talk about the positive impact that Neema is having on their local community. They want Neema to grow and to remain in their community. Some things cannot be measured by statistics like the heartfelt gratitude being poured out towards Neema expressed through each of their spoken testimonies.

Bottles of water are passed around as the sun continues to shine casting a blue tint under the tent. We hear of the dedication of individuals on both sides of the ocean, working together across time zones in varying hours of day and night to expedite the beginning of the construction that brought us to this event on this day. There are even pledges made from the construction crew to adherence to a set timeline for completion before fall.

Towards the end, the chaplain speaks directly to the students of the opportunity before them, inspiring and exhorting them. Then we pray.

Students ride in the bus to the Groundbreaking Ceremony

Finally, we load up into the vehicles and go to the new site. All the students are in the chartered lead bus. We travel by caravan down the unpaved red dirt road to the new land, leaving a trail of red dust behind us. Not a common sight and quite the spectacle for a rural road mostly traveled by foot. At the sight of the newly built water tower, a prolonged exaltation of joyous shouts and screams is heard from the students by the fellow vehicles from at least 100 meters back.

Already water is spewing from the top of the water tower into the hand dug irrigation ditches, providing water to the newly planted crops in the neighboring field that Neema is renting and someday hopes to own. We stand together in an open field under the high sun. There are more ceremonial speeches, more prayers, and then the land and work is blessed and dedicated to God. The ground is officially broken. Trees are planted by each of the community leaders around the perimeter of the land — a clear testament of a long term commitment. And like the seedlings, each student's growth and transformation takes time and nurturing from a community of people. We once again travel by caravan back to the campus with the bus leaving last. The students re-enter the compound, as only they can do, coming through the gate together, in paired lines rhythmically stepping Kenyan style, radiating joy. It is a day to be remembered, a groundbreaking event of a new beginning building on a strong foundation to secure the future for more young women.

On this day it is obvious that Neema is more than a story about young women being given the opportunity for an alternative life out of extreme poverty. What I witnessed was a global community of people coming together across oceans and continents empowering one another, empowering the students, the staff, their families, and the community of Waitaluk alike, everyone together. The staff at Neema is predominantly Kenyan women. These women are role models, empowered and inspiring. Women in leadership positions setting a living example each day before their students of an alternative path to walk supported by their community, stepping out in faith.

The roof being installed on the administrative building the week of April 22, 2023

It is now the end of April, and already the buildings are up on what months ago was a barren plot of land. Employing men from the community, the foundation has been dug, the concrete brick walls laid, and the roof rafters erected. The roofs are now going up. There is still much construction to be completed before the students can move in and studies begin. There are still funds that need to be raised to secure the future.

In ten years time, much has been accomplished. What was begun by a handful of people with a vision is now a global community working together, building an alternative future for young women in rural Kenya. What will be accomplished in the next ten years? The future is beyond knowing. But what I do know is that every person who spoke testified to the restorative hope of transformation that is being experienced in lives as they work together towards a new future.

And with the new campus Neema will be able to accept more women and impact more lives.

After being asked several times and falling into silence, a brave first year student finally answered the question I heard on my first day at Neema, “Why are you here?”

“I am here to learn how to sew, to make a better life for myself and my daughter.”

As for me, I was there to witness and hear first hand of the transformative work being done in the lives and community of Waitiluk and to be transformed in turn by their lives. I saw faith in action. Neema is faith in action.

I seriously cannot say enough about these young women. They are bright, curious, and engaging. But circumstances have not been kind to many of them, and Neema provides an environment where they can heal and thrive, giving them a hope for their future and their children’s. While we can’t all travel to Kenya or work in the field, we can all become part of the story. Please consider joining this global community by making a donation to secure a future and change a life.

Help Fund the new campus

Across the Ocean: A Reflection from Visiting Neema