The Grannies

Think about your grandmother. Perhaps she is a frail woman in her 70’s or 80’s, or older. She may have a hard time walking. Your family takes time to visit her and comfort her.

Now envision your grandmother living in the slums somewhere in East Africa. She has been abandoned by her family and she has to beg for food or scrounge something to eat from dumpsters, eating leftovers discarded by restaurants. She goes home to a shack cobbled together from corrugated tin with no electricity and no running water. She uses and outside slit trench (in public) as a bathroom. And she sleeps on the damp dirt floor of her little one room shack.

Well, that is the way it is for hundreds of grannies living in East Africa. They have no welfare, no housing allowance, no food stamps and no church to take care of them.

AEF started its mission in East Africa in 2000 when we helped an orphanage located in the slums of Ngomongo, Nairobi which had about 70 boys and 30 girls. These kids had no support. They also had to beg for food, rummage through dumpsters and settle for leftovers and discarded food. The students and parents at Chapel Field jumped into action and packed a shipping container with food, farming equipment, shoes, blankets and bedding, bikes, and more and sent it to them. Because it was not good for boys and girls to sleep in the same facility, Anne Githaiga took the girls and moved to a donated property where she established her ministry, New Hope Uplands. Our container of donated goods was divided between the boys’ and Anne’s orphanage for girls.

When Philip, our director at the boy’s home died we attempted to manage the orphanage from the U.S. but the boys eventually scattered, so we turned our attention to Anne’s ministry at New Hope.

In addition to serving orphans, Anne began building block homes for these abandoned grannies and we have partnered with her. Anne has retained a plot of land for AEF through the ministries of Matthew 25 and Chapel Field to partner in building homes for other grannies in need. It costs approximately $5,000 USD to build a cement block home with two rooms, which includes a common outhouse, garden and well.

Anne is standing in front of the type of house that is built for the grannies. We are currently arranging construction for 5 houses like this on the property.

Matthew 25 has committed to building 5 of these homes on our designated property. Of the funds needed, $15,000 has already been donated. We have started development for the first home and are ready to continue building two more, with the hope of building more if we are able to meet our fundraising goals.

The grannies fellowshipping at a Christmas party (dec. 2019) sponsored by Matthew 25. THere are approximately 30 grandmothers supported by the New Hope granny village.

The Grannies receiving food and refreshment at the Christmas party sponsored by matthew 25 and our generous supporters.

The grandmothers at the Christmas party standing behind the table laid out with Christmas care packages (food, cooking items, other necessities) which were purchased with the Matthew 25 support funds. Each grandmother received a package to take home.

If you have a heart for these abandoned grannies and would like to partner with us toward this goal of giving shelter and security to someone in need and helping “the least of these my brethren,” please email me at coach@chapelfield.org

W.H. (Coach) Spanjer

Solo Christo gloria

Next Friday’s blog: “For Pastors: Justification, A Turning Point”