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Sasa teens explore real-life peace through real adventure

Amani Sasa had a successful adventure trip this month with a group of teens experiencing the principles of peace in their lives. Mary K. helped lead the trip and shared the following report and photos.

We had a wonderful time on our recent Amani Sasa outing. We went to Malewa park, which was the same place we went to last year. It is about two hours away from Nairobi. Eighteen our of 22 teens from the Sasa group were able to come, representing Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Sudan, and Kenya. We had heavy downpours of rains almost every afternoon, but we ate and played a lot and had great discussions and class time. We gave the group an assignment to come up with skits based on lessons they learned through Amani Sasa. And they surprised us with 45-minute dramas, well practiced and thought out.

A friend and local gospel singer joined us to help with the high ropes course. She shared her story on getting into wrong company, getting pregnant (she later had a miscarriage), and what it all meant for her life, family, church and ambitions. After she shared, there was silence for a while. Her story was the real-life evidence of the lessons they'd focused on in their skits. Later, we took some time to pray for one another, which felt like a great closure to all we learned together.

Amani Sasa: 2008 in Review

Mary Karanja (pictured here on the left) serves as the Accountant for Amani Nairobi. Mary also provides leadership for Amani Sasa - an extension of Amani Watoto that uses outdoor adventure experiences to impart the principles of peace to adolescent children of Amani women. Below is Mary's reflection on Amani Sasa's happenings in 2008.

Last year was one-of-a-kind in many ways for the young adults and leaders of Amani Sasa. We learned a lot about ourselves, about God and about those around us.

In August, the hike we went on provided a wonderful opportunity to catch up and reflect on the great impact Amani Sasa lessons have had on our lives. Foni, Eunice and Yves shared how even their friends have noticed significant changes in their lives, even explicitly asking them what it is that had changed to make them so very focused. DianaKate experienced growth of a different kind: she is now more courageous. In the last term of school, DianaKate walked with a friend grieving the loss of a parent through that very difficult season. These are just a few of the many tales of how these young adults have been impacted by the lessons and fellowship provided during Amani Sasa ‘08.

We wanted to end the year in the same way we spent the year together. What better way is there than by giving back to the community? In December, we volunteered at Happy Life Children’s Home in Nairobi, a home for abandoned and orphaned children. For two days we painted bedrooms, helped with cleaning, and spent the afternoons playing and singing with the children. We were struck by the children’s desperate desire for love and attention - so evident in their desire to be held all the time. We were thankful to be able to share with them the love and peace with which we ourselves have been blessed.

Our time at the Happy Life Children’s Home gave us yet another opportunity to grow. It opened our eyes to the fact there is something we can do to make a difference, if only by giving our time. The babies’ stories made us grateful for our own homes, family, and friends. Moreover, it spoke volumes of how much God cares about our needs just from watching and listening to how faithfully He has provided for this particular home with food, clothing and friends that walk in and give in kind or financially.

And of course, another major milestone was receiving new friends who have just graduated from Amani Watoto into Amani Sasa. We are very excited to have them with us and look forward to seeing how they will grow together with us in the coming years.

We are very grateful to those that continually supported us through last year. The Amani Sasa program could not have blossomed as richly as it did without your love.

Blessings,

Mary K.

Amani Sasa is a supplemental program to Amani's self-sustaining work and is supported by donations.

Sankofa featured in WORLD Magazine

Happy New Year from the Amani family!

We begin 2009 with an exciting feature in WORLD magazine on Amani's Sankofa event this past fall. Written by Zoe Sandvig, a friend of Amani in the DC area, the article is a brief glimpse of the way Sankofa told stories of hope and reconciliation through creative designs and expressions.

You can read the article online here.