The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, spent some time at a church and community mobilisation project in the heart of Kenya which had chosen to focus on food security as a shared vision for the community.
This was one example of a growing initiative called ‘Umoja’ (Together), a Swahili word which captures the idea of being of one mind and aims to help build a genuine and lasting sustainability to local areas, by supporting the church and local community to research and analyse the area in terms of what the needs are, but also what the resources are – both natural and the skills of the local people. The community can then identify their priorities and where they may need technical support from the government or church community services (in this case partnering with Tearfund) to help them reach complete self-sufficiency.
Dr Williams spoke to some of the local people who were part of this initiative, and was able to hear about the real difference that had been made to many lives – including one young man who was orphaned and unable to support himself, but with the help of the project had managed to rear goats and chickens and therefore save enough money to pay for an electronic course.
During his visit Dr Williams spoke to the local community, giving thanks for the transformative work that had been done through this project:
“And so we give thanks for that overflow of God’s gifts. The first of those gifts is the gift of new life in Jesus Christ, through his cross and resurrection you know that his spirit is moving you to love one another to work together and to transform the face of the earth. And because of that first great gift you are able to give gifts to one another in the work you do together, to give gifts for your whole community and to give to us your visitors, the gift of hope and of joy, and of thanksgiving”
Dr Williams concluded his brief address saying:
“Faith is not just ideas in your head, faith is not just feelings in your heart – faith is the whole of a new life, making a difference to your lives, to your neighbours, to your community, by the grace and the Spirit of God.”
The Archbishop was shown some of the produce from the initiative, where people had started with their kitchen gardens, growing indigenous crops that were identified by research as being most suited to the soil, as well as poultry, rabbits and fish that had been bought to provide protein.