Sad News About Mary

Dan recently wrote about Mary Wakilo, the seriously ill woman who was assisted by Nick and other SCF volunteers.

Nick has informed us that sadly, Mary did not make it despite the care and treatment she had received. She died in her bed the day after Nick updated us on the efforts to help her. It was heartbreaking news for all of us praying for her and hoping she could recover. She was blessed in her last hours by the love and compassion of friends and helpers (the picture is of those that came to her house to help).

Nick tells us that Mary accepted Jesus Christ as her savior through the guidance of Agrapina Angote.

Now Mary's two teenage boys are left without their mother. No one in the community is able to contact her family, which lives on the other side of Kenya near the coast, so the boys will be orphaned without a guardian. SCF is assisting with the funeral arrangements and costs and helping the boys with their needs.

What happened to Mary is tragically familiar in AIDS-ravaged areas like the Silas slums. Many AIDS victims, because of poverty or shame (or both), do not seek help for their illness. Sometimes they are found dead in their homes, sometimes they are found like Mary -- weak, starving, suffering terribly.

Lahash seeks to confront the viciousness and cruelty of AIDS on multiple fronts.

First, through education and awareness programs (talent contests, youth soccer leagues, public forums), to help young people and not-so-young people understand the danger and how to prevent the spread of the virus. Our dream, of course, is that the next generation will not struggle with an epidemic like the current one has.

Second, through programs like Renew, we strive to combat dangerous practices which spread the disease such as prostitution.

Third, for those suffering with AIDS, life-saving help is provided through health and assistance programs (in cooperation with AMPATH), making sure that the patient receives and stays on top of their ARV medication, and that the family receives spiritual and financial support through the tough times.

Several families have had help getting training or with business startups, so that greater levels of independence can be achieved. For instance, Grace Mukami (the picture is of Grace and her three daughters), has spent the past several months training to be a hairdresser so that she can better support her family.

The financial support is made possible through the child sponsorship program. In return for the assistance, sponsored families participate in community service projects, such as helping Mary Wakilo in her last days.

Through awareness, prevention, and assistance, Lahash and partners like SCF work so that tragic situations like Mary's do not occur again.