Worlds apart, Evanston resident Phylis Magina can do nothing but pray as she hears about the violence in Kenya, where her husband, the Rev. Dr. Robert Barasa, has been doing community development work since summer 2006.
Others feel the same way. On Jan. 4, Magina prayed with more than 100 members of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and Northminster Presbyterian Church at a prayer vigil for Barasa and the people of Kenya. More than 600 people have died from the political unrest caused by recent elections, and 250,000 have been displaced.
“It has not been easy because we really don’t know what’s going on over there,” Magina said. “It has always been really peaceful in Kenya. We have never known violence. This is very disturbing. It doesn’t fit well.”
After elections on Dec. 27, violence erupted in the capital of Nairobi and other cities as the supporters of the opposition party, Orange Democratic Movement, protested the election. They claimed that President Mwai Kibaki’s re-election was rigged and demanded another poll. Despite attempts of mediation by the African Union and other international organizations, members of the Orange Democratic Movement said that they will restart protests Wednesday.
As Magina takes care of their three children in Evanston and goes to school, Barasa lives in a country filled with turmoil and political unrest. He is staying in Funyula, a rural city near the Ugandan border that has not been hit as hard by the violence. The riots following the election forced Barasa to stay at home for a week.
“Shortly after the elections (Barasa) was unable to go outside, get food or meet in groups,” said Rev. Ann Rosewall, interim associate pastor at Northminster Presbyterian Church and a friend of Barasa’s.
Though Barasa faced extreme hardship, he lacked running water in his home, he is safe and still very concerned about the people affected by the violence, said Walt Holdampf, co-chairman of Barasa’s organization, Ember Kenya Grandparents Empowerment Project.
Barasa was born in Western Kenya where he became an Anglican priest and married Magina. They moved to Evanston in fall 2001 so he could attend Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, where he received a doctoral degree in pastoral theology.
For his dissertation, he researched grandparents in Kenya who were left to take care of their orphan grandchildren after their children died from complications due to AIDS.
Barasa saw great need in Kenya, said Rosewall.
“A whole generation of adults were gone because of AIDS,” said Rosewall. “And grandparents are in charge of kids again, not only their own grandchildren, but also grandnephews and nieces.”
After returning from a research trip to Kenya, Barasa created Ember Kenya Project with the help of the Northminster and St. Luke’s churches. He decided to return to Kenya to direct the organization after graduating from Garrett Seminary in June 2006, leaving his family in Evanston as Magina finishes her master’s degree in education from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago.
“We agreed with my wife and children that it was a worthy sacrifice to serve the vulnerable of society, and especially old women struggling with young children with little or no resources,” Barasa said in an e-mail.
Today, Ember Kenya Project is helping almost 1,000 grandparents take care of about 3,500 children. The Ember Kenya Project brings grandparents together to create a support network, improve health care and create opportunities for grandparents to start small businesses sewing uniforms, making peanut butter and growing mangos.
After finishing school, Magina plans to bring the children to join Barasa in Kenya. For now, Magina keeps in limited contact with Barasa through e-mails and phone calls. Although the separation is painful, especially in times of danger, Magina said she is proud of her husband.
“If there are people who are willing to help (the grandparents), then who am I to get in between him and what God wants him to do?” she said.
Reach Angela Lu at [email protected].
