MAI MAHIU, Kenya (WRBL) — Devastating floods have swept away bridges, inundated homes and destroyed properties in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. Locals from Columbus made a 16-hour flight to Kenya to help those affected.
According to members of the trip, coordinated by Tony and Nicole Mane and led by St. Luke’s Church, it was “heartbreaking” to see the devastation.
“To see land that was once homes, once businesses, once farmland, once children’s playgrounds, once a school… words can’t explain,” said Dewayne Webb of All About Fitness Family, one of 12 people on the mission .
The team spent more than a week in Kenya helping deliver beds and food, providing nutritional advice and making time to read, play and pray with local children.
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Their efforts focused on the more than 500 children at Naomi’s Village Children’s Home and Cornerstone Preparatory Academy. Most of these children are housed at the organizations, but a flood on May 3 forced the children in Naomi’s Village to move to Cornerstone Prep, nearly three miles away.
Members of the Columbus mission trip who originally planned to stay at Naomi’s Village also had to change their plans and stay at Cornerstone Prep.
According to Webb, the area is known to suffer from cyclical droughts, high unemployment, low crop yields and a lack of infrastructure. He said while crime has been reduced locally and healthcare facilities have improved, there is still work to be done.
Part of Webb’s role on the trip was to organize a fitness day for children in the Naomi’s Village and Cornerstone Prep programs. He coordinated a sports day fitness circuit for about 100 children, including competitions to distinguish the strongest boy and girl.
“One of the things I take back is that it’s not always as bad as it seems,” Webb said. “Even in the midst of the devastation, what I’m going to take back is the human heart, the human factor, the will to get up, get up and restart again.”
While the team returns to Columbus this week, All About Fitness members will serve more international communities. Later this summer they will travel to Ecuador and Honduras. A mission trip to Israel was canceled due to the ongoing war.
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Webb added that the trip to Kenya made him feel grateful because “in the blink of an eye, [or] the flash of a flood, it may be gone.”
Locals who want to get involved can still contribute without going on a mission trip, according to Webb. He encouraged community members to donate their time, money, prayers and/or supplies to ongoing local efforts.
The Columbus area is home to nonprofit initiatives such as Feeding the Valley Food Bank, WILD Outdoor Learning Center, Easterseals West Georgia, the National Infantry Foundation and more. All About Fitness and its partners are currently conducting a school supply campaign for primary and secondary school students.
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