Mai Mahiu, Kenya (WRBL) — Columbus residents took a 16-hour flight to Kenya to help victims in the country's Great Rift Valley after devastating floods washed away bridges, inundated homes and destroyed property.
Members of the trip, which was coordinated by Tony and Nicole Main and led by St. Luke's Church, said seeing the destruction was “heartbreaking.”
“To see land that was once a home, that was once a business, that was once farmland, that was once a children's playground, that was once a school … it's indescribable,” said DeWayne Webb of All About Fitness Family, one of 12 people who took part in the mission.
The team has spent more than a week in Kenya, helping to deliver beds and food, offering nutritional advice and spending time reading, playing and praying with local children.
Their efforts focused on more than 500 children at Naomi's Village Children's Home and Cornerstone Preparatory Academy. Most of the children live in these facilities, but flooding on May 3 forced the children at Naomi's Village to relocate to Cornerstone Preparatory Academy, about three miles away.
Columbus mission trip members who were originally scheduled to stay at Naomi's Village also had to change their plans and stay at Cornerstone Prep.
Webb said the region is known for periodic droughts, high unemployment, poor agricultural yields and a lack of infrastructure. He said crime has decreased locally and health care resources have improved, but there is still work to be done.
One of Webb's roles on the trip was to organize fitness days for kids in the Naomi's Village and Cornerstone Prep programs. Webb coordinated an athletics fitness circuit for about 100 kids, including competitions to determine the strongest boy and girl.
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The team aimed to help more than 500 students at Naomi's Village and Cornerstone Prep.(DeWayne Webb) -
Team members helped deliver and set up the bunk beds. (Dewayne Webb) -
Dwayne Webb reads to students in Kenya's Great Rift Valley Province. (Dwayne Webb)
“One of the things I'm trying to bring back is that things aren't as bad as they seem,” Webb said. “Even in the midst of devastation, the human spirit, the human element, the will to get up and try again is what I'm trying to bring back.”
The team returns to Columbus this week, but All About Fitness members will be helping even more international communities: They'll travel to Ecuador and Honduras later this summer, and a mission trip to Israel was canceled due to the ongoing war there.
Webb added that the trip to Kenya left him feeling grateful. [or] It may disappear in a moment's flood.”
Webb said local people who want to get involved don't have to go on a mission trip to contribute. Webb encouraged area residents to donate time, money, prayers and supplies to the ongoing local effort.
There are many nonprofits in the Columbus area that are helping, including Feeding the Valley Food Bank, Wild Outdoor Learning Center, Easterseals West Georgia and the National Infantry Foundation. All About Fitness and its partners are currently running a school supply drive for elementary and middle school students.
