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By Lloyd Mackey
AT LEAST a few thousand people, many of them in the Okanagan area, received some
up-close-and-personal exposure to Kenya late last year. The event was a ‘safari’ of musical and acrobatic entertainment by 20 former street children from the
turbulent African nation.
The children are part of the Mully Children’s Family (MCF), a ministry to Kenyan street kids first developed in the 1980s by
Charles and Esther Mulli (while their surname is spelled with an ‘i,’ the ministry name uses ‘y’).
Charles was, himself, a street person – who, in young adulthood, built a successful taxi business. His life’s direction changed when his Mercedes cab was stolen by street children. The
experience reminded him that he had at one time been one of them.
Charles and Esther began caring for three orphans. Over the years, their work
multiplied. Today, more than 2,000 children are in MCF care – and, to date, some 5,000 young people have been through the experience.
The Mullis’ cross-Canada tour was arranged on the national level by Maureen Kehler of
Calgary, who represents the MCF Charitable Foundation.
Kehler notes that the team “travelled from Toronto to Vancouver, completed some 111 presentations, covering
five provinces and well over 7,000 kilometres in 58 days. The experiences included national television, visits to the Ontario legislative
buildings, hockey arenas, truck stops, Christian schools, Tim Hortons, McDonalds and churches.”
The five-day Okanagan stint in late November followed – and prefaced – chilly and sometimes slippery mountain highway travelling experiences, as the
group moved from Calgary and Grand Prairie, Alberta, to Kelowna, and from there
to the Lower Mainland.
The Okanagan visit was coordinated by Cheryl Molenaar, whose ‘day job’ is to be a part of the leadership team at the Willow Creek Leadership Centre in
Kelowna.
Molenaar noted that putting the Okanagan visit together was a “highlight experience.”
In the Okanagan, the group put on performances at Kelowna Christian elementary
and middle schools, Okanagan Mission School and New Life Church.
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Each performance involved hundreds of attenders – running up to 500 at a time at New Life. As well, there was a luncheon
performance for 85 Okanagan business leaders.
The ‘down time’ became a bit of a treat, offering Okanagan-style living to the former street
kids. Three adjoining condos, all with views of Okanagan Lake, were loaned to
the group for their Kelowna stay.
A special experience for the Africans coincided with Kenya’s Independence Day. The previous day, the children had sung to local
theatregoers. The cinema manager rewarded them with passes to see Invictus – the story of Nelson Mandela using the national rugby team to bring the country
together in post-apartheid South Africa.
One encouraging postscript to the safari was offered by Kehler. She noted that
many of the difficulties in Kenya have related to recent droughts, which have
added to the political turmoil only partly assuaged by the newly-formed
national unity government.
She adds: “What has changed since [November] is that Kenya has received a beautiful
Christmas gift to its people: the rains have come, and there is restored hope
for the community that the MCF farm and main home is located.”
For a detailed account of the tour, check the blog at mcfcf.ca.
February 2010
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