Black & White Art Exhibit Photos
This past weekend we held our first art exhibit here in Portland. Thank you to all of you who came out to see the show! We had over 60 pieces of art, 10 performances and speeches, and hosted over 250 people. Thanks especially to the amazing team who planned and put on the show!

Emmanuel Sitaki speaking about his escape from the Rwandan Genocide.

Viewing photographs in the Urban Grind Coffee Shop.


Part of the Black and White team.

Ben Obi reading some of his poetry for the evening.

Oct. 18, 2006

Art exhibit on Oct. 27-28 shows hope and beauty amid Africa’s wars and disease

www.blackwhiteafrica.com

“Black & White” captures the beauty and hope of Africa while showing the dark realities of war and HIV-AIDS. Work from over a dozen Portland artists and their African friends ranges from photography, mixed media and painting to poetry, music and spoken word. There will be poetry from Kenya, music from Uganda, and children's art from the Sudanese, Kenyans, and Somali Bantus.

“We want East African artists and Portland artists to connect and inspire each other,” said Dan Holcomb, the director of Lahash International, a grassroots aid organization sponsoring the event.

Lahash International, a Portland organization, partners with East Africans to provide resources, friendship and hope.

Holcomb hopes the event sparks interest and conversation about the pain and hope in Africa. People who attend the show will have the chance to sponsor Sudanese orphans and to get involved on various levels of volunteering and travel.

"We seem to all be concerned about Africa at the moment here in the United States, and people want to help out,” said Holcomb. “This will be a great way of getting to know the issues better, enjoying some beautiful art, and stepping out to make a difference in the lives of our friends in East Africa."

The exhibit is from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 27-28 at Urban Grind Coffee Shop, NE 22nd and NE Oregon St., Portland. It is free and open to the public.

A Story of Hope:
Josphine is one of the ladies in the Renew Program. Several of you have been supporting these 5 Kenyan women who used to be involved in the sex industry, and have taken a new course in life due to the counseling and support of Dr. Oronje and Nick, and gifts through Lahash. These ladies were all making several dollars per night for prostitution. We met several of them late last year, and they asked for help in changing their ways. Lahash and the Silas Christian Foundation created a program where these women would be counseled and encouraged by friends here in the United States, and would receive a small amount of assistance for rent and food. Josphine just sent this email to Nick:

My dear friends.
It's with pleasure that I send you this email. First of all may the name of the Almighty God be lifted high because he as brought me from the street to whom I am now. My brothers, thanks for the help especially during times of need. Really you were my brothers - and no one was ready like the way the two of you were to me. I have shelter and food and clothes by your help and the friends in America. That's why I said before I go I have to inform you and I want to assure you and the rest of Lahash that we are together during times of prayer. My brothers, I did an interview to get a job in Sudan and by surprise I just got the results yesterday that I am needed to go to Juba (Southern Sudan) and work in teaching people how to plant food .

I will try all my best to see that I also help others who are needy like me. I will be sending the little I earn as a thanksgiving to God coz I was once like the other poor but God has opened the way for me. I really don't know what to say because my life was once useless but you people and Lahash have changed it. I will live to remember you guys. I was so grateful to see what the men of God are doing and I beg you to assist my friend Sarah to replace me in Renew Programme. thanks Josy
Please read Romans 10:14-16

Thanks to all of you for your impact on Josphine's life! Thanks for joining with us in believing that God can take each of us where we are, and turn our lives around to be beautiful. Please continue to pray for Josphine and the others as they press on with their new life.

The photo below is of CarrieAnne and Dr. Oronje taking little Lucy to the hospital in Kijabe Kenya where she received new crutches.

Grassroots Gifts

Sarah Huff down at Camp Eagle put out a creative can for the kids in Sudan. It was in the coffee shop this summer and people dropped tips into the bucket. They were able to pull in $80 and that was sent to Susan in Sudan. It will be used for the health and education of the kids this next month. Thank you Sarah and the Texas team!

If you have any other ideas or ways that you'd like to help out - let me know. Your effort makes a huge difference. Lahash is designed for easy personal participation in these East African projects. Do you have anything planned? Email me at: dan@lahash.net if you do!

Kenya Community Progress
Nick sent some great new photos of the work this past week. He and Dr. Oronje and visitor CarrieAnne Bentley from New York have been busy attending to the needs there. CarrieAnne brought a visitor from Holland for a couple of days. They were staying in Nick's family compound. The photo below is of CarrieAnne, her friend, and the little white ambulance.


Speaking of the Little White Ambulance... Nick reports that the steering column snapped the other day and it wouldn't be safe to weld it back together. The battery is also practically dead and they often have to push start the little machine. The repairs will most likely be $100 for the battery and replacement parts. Let me know if you'd like to help out with that.

The other news from Kenya is that this past week several organizations helped sponsor a large soccer tournament in the slums. There were 11 teams playing against each other. Dr. Oronje and others took the time to counsel the youth on the dangers of AIDS and how to avoid being infected. The team from Nick's slum area (Silas) took home 2nd place in the tournament, and his brother Daniel was on the team. The photos below are from that day:

CarrieAnne Bentley Photos
The Silas Christian Foundation of Kenya has been hosting an American nurse named CarrieAnne Bentley. She's been assisting Dr. Oronje and Nick in their work in the slums with members of the AIDS community. The photos below are some of her recent experiences. The tiny baby is named David, and was born positive. His mother has to work to provide for them, and the baby became extremely malnourished. CarrieAnne has kept the baby recently in her room while he recovered.

Work in Eldoret
Nick and the team in Eldoret, Kenya have been really busy this past month. The photo above is a young boy that got shoes from the Lahash and SCF partnership. He needed the shoes for school. Thanks to all who help with this partnership! The photo to the right is of CarrieAnne Bentley, a nurse from the United States, holding a malnourished baby with AIDS. CarrieAnne has been a huge help to the community so far. She'll be in Kenya a couple weeks longer.


Msanii Art Team
Nick and Dr. Oronje are connected to a large community of artists who are using the skills in paint, pencil, song, and dance to come together and fight AIDS. The team is called the Msanii Club (Msanii means artists). Nick and the Dr. are working to send some of the artwork to the United States for the Black + White Exhibit.

The photos below is of a recent gathering just outside of Eldoret at the AMPATH center.