Photo Gallery: Girl Power in Kibera
Posted Jun 30, 2011 by 7 Comments
Laura Stump
About the Author: Laura is a journalism fellow with World Next Door. She graduated from the University of Arizona, Tucson with a degree in Animal Sciences and a minor in Spanish. She is constantly learning, making friends, dancing, and trying to understand her role in alleviating the suffering of others. Laura also attracts a lot of awkward situations.
Dave Rod said...
June 30th, 2011 at 2:10 pm
Laura, someone sent this paraphrase of Isaiah 42 to me. When I looked at your pictures I immediately thought of ZanaA in this context.
Isaiah 42
“Take a good look at my servant ZanaA .
I’m (THE LORD) backing them to the hilt.
They’re the ones I chose,
and I couldn’t be more pleased with them.
I’ve bathed them with my Spirit, my life.
They’ll set everything right among the nations.
ZanaA won’t call attention to what they do
with loud speeches or gaudy parades.
They won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt and they won’t disregard the small and insignificant,
but ZanaA will steadily and firmly set things right.
They won’t tire out and quit. They won’t be stopped until they’ve finished their work—to set things right on earth.
“I am God. I have called you ZanaA to live right and well.
I have taken responsibility for you ZanaA, kept you safe.
I have set you among my people to bind them to me,and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations,
To make a start at bringing people into the open, into light:opening blind eyes,
releasing prisoners from dungeons,
emptying the dark prisons.
I am God. That’s my name.
I don’t franchise my glory, I
don’t endorse the no-god idols.
Jessie said...
June 30th, 2011 at 11:44 pm
Laura, I’ve been following your posts on ZanaA… this might be weird, but has the ministry heard of diva cups? They’re re-usable alternatives to pads so that the girls wouldn’t have to worry about getting supplies each month.
http://www.divacup.com/
I’ll be praying for this ministry and girls this week. Blessings.
Laura Stump said...
July 1st, 2011 at 6:10 am
Dave: Thank you for that beautiful passage (and adaptation). I couldn’t agree more.
Jessie: That’s not weird–it’s a good thought! Unfortunately, getting girls to talk about or even acknowledge their anatomy in Kibera is rough, and tampons (or diva cups) are out of the question–it’s very taboo. Also, other people have tried re-usable pads here, but hygiene is a problem, so the pads rarely get cleaned correctly. Some girls are even trying to wash disposable pads.
The ZanaA solution is a “green” pad that’s still in the works. It uses natural, degradable materials and is much cheaper to produce. It should be ready in the next few years
This is actually the “social enterprise” component of ZanaA that was part of the original vision for their work.
Jane VanOsdol said...
July 1st, 2011 at 8:52 am
Laura, Thanks for sharing this story with your beautiful pictures and words. I didn’t know something so natural could be such a stumbling block for these girls. Heartbreaking. God bless ZanaA and her ministry.
Jim.M said...
July 3rd, 2011 at 3:26 pm
I keep coming back to Photo #12 it has been haunting me all week.
Kajani must be an amazing disciple of Christ. This is a picture worth a thousand… or perhaps ten thousand words, condensed into two words.
This photo shows a man living the into what We read in Mark 1:17…”Come, follow me…” Kajani is showing us how it’s done.
Loving well, pushing beyond, cultural customs, having a Christ like character and a Kingdom calling, working to mitigate human suffering…all things we have been taught about in recent months…This one picture of a common (or not so common) follower of Christ should be an beautiful reminder what the two words “Follow me” really mean.
Thank you Laura for this story in pictures. Picture #12 is the one that will stay with me.
This photo is amazing!
Phil Grizzard said...
July 3rd, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Laura,
Your work, your photos, and your writing are very inspirational. But I feel like something is missing. It’s hard to believe that after a couple of weeks you still haven’t had any awkward situations…
Breanna Sipple said...
July 4th, 2011 at 5:10 am
Thanks for showing us what ZanaA is doing and the faces of these beautiful girls who are being reached by this ministry