Nairobi, Kenya - Home of the World's Largest and Poorest Slums

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One billion people in the world live in impoverished nations without safe drinking water. The markets in their slums sell sour milk, tainted chicken and spoiled meat. They are dying of starvation. They wear worn-out shoes and ragged clothes, and travel extraordinary distances for food, water and employment. Only one percent of them ever go to college, and most can’t even sign their own names.

Many have AIDS or malaria, and the number of orphans is ever increasing. They endure civil war, evil dictators, an active human slave trade and refugee camps. Their daily suffering is more than many in American society can even comprehend.

Statistics can make us feel like we know what’s going on, but they can’t describe the pain of holding a starving child in your arms. Numbers can’t tell us what it’s like to be twelve years old and watch both of your parents die of AIDS, knowing it’s now up to you to care for your siblings. Statistics say one billion people in the world live on less than a dollar a day; yet this means little to the father who has to gather firewood for twelve hours a day to earn his one dollar. All he knows is that he can barely handle his own suffering any longer.

My father, Pastor David Wilkerson, and I have just returned from Kenya, Africa, whose capital, Nairobi, has one of the largest and poorest slums on earth. Our ministry held a conference there for 4,000 leaders, with the theme “Renewing Your Passion for Jesus.” God touched those leaders’ hearts, causing significant reconciliation and forgiveness between many Kenyan churches. We also connected with a group of very special pastors who have a vision for their struggling nation. These ministers want to bring healing to the sick, food to the hungry, and most of all, Christ to the lost.

During the conference, we met many poor leaders who serve in horrific conditions. One afternoon my father went into the slums of Nairobi where there was no clean water, no electricity, and open sewers ran through the muddy streets. There he visited the home of a widow with six children. This poor woman was eating small packets of spoiled condiments that had been thrown out by hotel restaurants. She and her little ones, precious to God, yet forgotten by the world, go to sleep hungry every night, without beds, in a one-room shack made of tin and cardboard.

By that day’s end, my father and his mission team had committed to help churches there build a school, a clinic and an orphanage. We were informed that when infant orphans are taken in and given proper food and medicine, there has been great success in reversing their HIV virus. Imagine seeing orphaned children with HIV/AIDS being healed, brought up in a loving environment, and learning of God’s caring heart for them. In the coming weeks, World Challenge will be working to establish this vital, active onsite involvement with Kenyan churches, to see Christ’s healing power come to these slums.

None of us in America sets out to live a life of hoarding goods and neglecting the poor. Yet most of us are overwhelmed by the massive needs of this world. We’re uncertain of how and where we can truly be of any help. Yet, what if you knew you and your church could do something profoundly wonderful? Would you act then? What if you truly believed Jesus has called his church to be the greatest force for good this earth has ever known? Would you act?

Through the decades, God has blessed the ministry of World Challenge to touch the lives of multitudes of gang members, drug addicts, and the needy in the inner cities. Now we are moving more actively around the world to reach widows, orphans and the poorest of the poor. We are so blessed that so many of you have been moved to help as we walk with those in need. THANK YOU!

How can you help?
Prayer support is vital to the success of any missions endeavor. We are in need of people who are committed to pray for us and the Kenyan people as we seek to minister in this area.

If you or your church are interested in learning more about this mission and opportunities to get involved, or if you would like to contribute financially, please call the World Challenge Missions office at (903) 509-3399.