Imagine with me, if you will, being a young man and the sole support for a wife and three growing children. One child is in school and you must pay for her uniform, books, and other supplies, even though her education is technically “free.” The other two children must be cared for and you are happy that your wife can be invested in the things of home while you make yourself available to work.
Unfortunately, you live in a small village. Opportunities for work are rare, though you sometimes get day labor, usually swinging your jembe (hoe) and weeding fields of maize. You make a few hundred shillings—really, just enough for the day’s needs. Only the Lord knows how you will pay the school expenses when they become due. To stretch your shillings you might only have tea for breakfast and lunch, then a filling meal of ugali and greens for supper. You persevere, doing what you can each day. “Give us this day our daily bread” is your reality.
Such was the life of Anthony Mirundu. He and his wife, faithful adherents of a local denominational church, trusted in God for their provision. Yet an unexpected turn of events put their faith to a very real test. A small growth appeared on Anthony’s wrist. Over time, it grew aggressively. The sight of it was appalling; finding work became increasingly difficulty as Anthony could no longer hide the disability. While some families would still be able to survive by growing a crop of maize to last them through the year, Anthony was not so fortunate. He does not own enough land for farming, and the family was even too poor for him to seek medical care.
In time, things got bad enough that Anthony was brought to Kingdom Driven Ministries in hopes of getting some medical assistance. He was sent to a local hospital for scanning and consultation. It was determined that the growth on his wrist was cancerous, but the cancer had not yet metastasized. Anthony was concerned, yet relieved at the same time. Unfortunately, his only option was an amputation of his arm at the elbow. Though the idea of such a radical surgery and resulting life change was daunting, the alternative—death from cancer—was certainly not desirable, either.
It has now been almost two months since Anthony’s surgery. He has physically healed and has learned to do life with some limitations. Yet, as a man and the sole support for his young family, he feels at a loss and, to a point, despairing of his future. He can no longer work a jembe in the fields. His wife can do the work, but that leaves her often busy and unable to care for needs in the home and with their small children. For her to work outside the home is just not practical at this juncture. How can they pay for their oldest child’s school needs and get the few daily things they need: maize, soap, oil, sugar for their breakfast tea?
We would like to assist Anthony in setting up a small business that would permit him to have an ongoing source of income for his household. We have talked about him raising and selling chickens, or perhaps opening a small shop where people can buy staple goods. There don’t seem to be any shops locally, so such a business might be profitable for Anthony. We will continue to ask questions and assess what might be best in his situation. What we need at this juncture is for someone with a heart to help, to step up and offer hope to Anthony and his family. A financial gift of $150 or even $200 could set Anthony up with something that, ideally, will be self-sustaining and support his family on an ongoing basis. What a blessing, in many ways, this will be to a man who continues to trust God in spite of such challenging circumstances.
If you would like to assist, you can donate toward Great Commandment needs at www.kingdomdriven.org/donate. You can note at checkout that it is for Anthony. And regardless of whether nor not you can help financially, please pray for this need, for Anthony and his family, and for his continued spiritual growth and perseverance in time of trial. God bless you.