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Pulling Back the Curtain

hand pulling back curtain

The laughter was the worst part. Leaving her four children at home alone and the long bus ride funded by the last of her shillings were small emotional hurdles to overcome in comparison. The laughter cut in a way Jocelyn had never experienced or expected. She’d imagined endless scenarios about how the confrontation would unfold. But not the laughter.

 

To say Jocelyn’s husband was startled by her presence in the bar is an understatement. His job on the tea plantation more than 150 kilometers from their home necessitated additional local lodging. But just as her neighbors had warned, this arrangement ushered in an outcome that proved far more devastating than the jobless alternative. Jocelyn didn’t know the woman’s name, but her husband’s laughter painted an all too vivid picture of what the relationship meant.

 

“How can you sit here drinking and smoking with her when your family is at home with nothing?!” Jocelyn erupted. “You have forgotten us. We have no money, no food, and many debts!” The humiliating truth of her words fueled his anger. The argument carried into the street and eventually his home. His words gave way to physical abuse and then neglect.

 

Without money for transportation, Jocelyn was trapped. It took several days for him to be paid again and for her to steal a handful of shillings and make her escape. She fled, taking an unexpected route, knowing he would pursue her. But this strategy also meant he would reach their children before she could.

 

A large hand reached inside the tattered bedsheet covering the front door and quickly flung it against the side wall. The four children sat on the floor as their father entered, his arm draped around an unfamiliar woman. His words were few but as direct as they were painful and confusing.

 

“Your mother is gone. This is my wife now. She is your new mother.”

 

Suddenly alone, Jocelyn traveled briefly to her parents’ home before venturing several more hours to Nairobi in search of work. She was extremely fortunate and secured a full-time position as a live-in housekeeper and nanny in a small community just outside the capital. For three years, she diligently served the family in her care while clinging desperately to the memory of her own. Just as Jocelyn began to feel rooted in her new surroundings, a phone call from home shattered her world a second time.

 

“It’s your children,” her mother stressed. “The stepmother continues to mistreat them and kick them out of the house for no reason. You must come. They need you.”

 

Maintaining her job with four children of her own was out of the question, so she reluctantly resigned. That conversation was difficult, and leaving her new family was harder than she imagined. But Jocelyn had no choice.

 

Gichagi slum

Since the Gichagi area offered more opportunities than her home village, Jocelyn soon returned with her children. Work was inconsistent and much harder to find this time, and within a few short months, the desperate single mother found herself in trouble with the area chief.

child walking through slum

Child education is required in Gichagi, but like thousands of others living in the slum, Jocelyn was forced to view it as a luxury. Tuition, books, uniforms, and even desk fees far exceeded her resources since scarce jobs generated only a few dollars every few weeks. Food and shelter were her primary, and often only, concerns. Since her children hadn’t been in school, however, Jocelyn was arrested and brought before the chief.

 

Distraught, Jocelyn pleaded with the leader through relentless tears. “I can barely feed my children and pay rent on our one-room home. How can I also pay so many fees for all four of them?”

 

The chief agreed to release her and allow the children to attend school on the condition of a payment plan if she could cover their uniforms. Jocelyn and her children worked hard for weeks, gathering tiny pieces of scrap metal throughout the slum to sell for recycling. They were eventually able to purchase the uniforms and continued to collect “tin” before and after school in an effort to pay the ongoing installments.

 

woman cutting vegetables

Jocelyn first encountered Vapor Ministries in the midst of her crisis. While the initial interactions mostly involved food provision and prayer, the impact your generosity has made in her life and the lives of her children reaches far beyond what she ever dreamed possible.

 



woman washing clothes

When Jocelyn was extremely ill with pneumonia, your kindness paid for hospital costs, testing, and necessary prescriptions. When the strain of school fees once again threatened the chief’s intervention, your compassion lifted the financial burden for her youngest daughter. And when jobs remained elusive, your steadfast love has made work opportunities available to Jocelyn three times a week at the Vapor center.

“I am very, very grateful for Vapor Ministries,” she said. “They have helped me and my family in so many ways. I especially pray for all the donors because they make sure that many families get help. I pray that they will be even more blessed so that more people in Gichagi can receive food, medical assistance, and education for children.”
jocelyn and family

Your generosity has pulled back the curtain for Jocelyn and countless others, replacing darkness with light and despair with hope. Together, we are unveiling the beauty of restoration and empowerment in the lives of those in need. Thank you for being part of this life-changing mission.

 

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