MAI MAHIU, Kenya (WRBL) — Devastating floods have swept away bridges, flooded homes and destroyed property in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. Columbus locals took a 16-hour flight to Kenya to help those impacted.
According to members of the trip coordinated by Tony and Nicole Mane and led by St. Luke’s Church, it was “heartbreaking” to see the destruction.
“To see land that was once houses, once businesses, once farmland, once children’s playgrounds, once a school … words can’t explain,” said Dewayne Webb of All About Fitness Family, one of 12 individuals on the mission.
The team has spent more than a week in Kenya helping to deliver beds and food, offering nutritional advice and making time to read, play and pray with local children.
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Their efforts focused on the more than 500 children in Naomi’s Village Children’s Home and Cornerstone Preparatory Academy. Most of those children are housed at the organizations, however a May 3 flood forced those at Naomi’s Village to relocate to Cornerstone Prep nearly three miles away.
Columbus’ mission trip members who originally planned to stay at Naomi’s Village also had to change plans and stay at Cornerstone Prep.
According to Webb, the area is known to have cyclical droughts, high unemployment, low crop yields and a lack of infrastructure. He said while crime has been reduced locally and health resources have improved, there is still work to be done.
Part of Webb’s role on the trip was to organize a fitness day for children in the programs at Naomi’s Village and Cornerstone Prep. He coordinated a sports day fitness circuit for about 100 children, including competitions to distinguish the strongest boy and girl.
“One of the things that I’m going to take back is, it’s not always as bad as it seems,” Webb said. “Even in the midst of devastation, the human heart, the human factor, the will to get up, to stand up and restart is what I’m going to take back.”
Although the team returns to Columbus this week, members of All About Fitness will help more international communities. They will travel to Ecuador and Honduras later this summer. A mission trip to Israel was cancelled due to the ongoing war.
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Webb added the trip to Kenya left him feeling grateful because “in the blink of an eye, [or] the flash of a flood, it could be gone.”
Locals looking to get involved can still contribute without going on a mission trip, according to Webb. He encouraged community members to donate their time, money, prayers and/or supplies to ongoing local efforts.
The Columbus area is home to nonprofit initiatives like Feeding the Valley Food Bank, WILD Outdoor Learning Center, Easterseals West Georgia, the National Infantry Foundation and more. All About Fitness and its partners are currently running a school supply drive for elementary- and middle-school aged students.
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