By Francesca Pellegatta | Junior Project Manager
Dear Donors,
with this report we would like to update all of you about the latest news coming from Kenya and about our project in the County of Embu. The most worrying news are related to the fast spread of a starvation cult in the Country: it is becoming one of the worst mass suicides in recent memory. It could be difficult to comprehend the path that Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie has created for his believers. In the early 2000s, Mackenzie abandoned his job as a taxi driver and launched the Good News International Ministry; he became known for his sermons and drew a significant following. Since 2010 he started to tell his followers to pull their children out of school, discard their national IDs, avoid hospitals and start preparing for the end of the world. The most dangerous practice that he tried to spread among the community is indeed the hunger strike: chose starvation as path to salvation. The most problematic side of this phenomenon is that families involved in this practice let children participate; really young children take part in this hunger strike even when they are already debilitated and weak. This has led to the death of a great number of people and in particular of a relevant number of innocent children.
These facts make us understand even more how much it is important to protect children and to make them live in a safe place. Our project in the Country of Embu is going on and since 2008 a lot of children have been supported. Some of them are now becoming young boys and girls, they are concluding their course of study and in the near future they will be the point of reference for the youngest children of the community. They will gradually leave the project and they will become more independent. This is happening also for some families of the community supported: some of them have started some income-generating activities that allow them to earn more money and to become more independent.
Your support has allowed us and the community to reach great results!
Thank you!
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