Transcript of Turkana Friends Mission Overview - May 2015
Turkana
Friends Missio
nin
partnership with Friends United
Meeting
Turkana
County is in the
north-wester
n desert region
of Kenya
Turkana is a harsh desert climate. The
Turkana tribe
are nomad
ic animal herder
s
The people value their beautiful traditional culture, which is so well
adapted to their environment.
Yet life is very hard in Turkana. Water is scarce.Photo: Anthony Morland/IRIN
The Friends mission began in 1970 with a vocational training school on this
compound in Kalokol
Today the mission
does evangelis
m, pastoral ministry,
education, water
projects and
income generation
The mission is entirely run by Turkana Friends themselves. John Moru is the
Director.
Simon Ekaran is the Pastor in Charge
Peter Emana
Lotengan,
Turkana Mission project
manager, is on long-term
“loan” to
Oxfam
The mission has a total of about 27 employees:
pastors, teachers, evangelists and support
staff
John Lomuria is the Vice
Chairman of the
mission Board.
Eden Grace attends Board
meetings whenever possible.
Evangelism and
Pastoral
Ministry
There are
now 16 Friends Churches in
Turkana, with more being
started each year
Some have buildings while others meet in the open. Even a little bit of shade
helps.
Lokoyo Friends Church
Lochuga Friends Church
Lodwar Friends Church
Nakiria
Friends
Church
meets under this tree.
Turkana Friends Mission has care of the Friends Church inside the Kakuma
Refugee Camp, founded by Congolese Friends and now including many
different nationalities.
Some of the children of Kakuma Refugee Camp
Friends Church
John and Grace Moru pitch a tent when they go on evangelistic missions.
They have felt a call to minister among the Toposa
people in South Sudan
Toposa
South Sudan has been devastated by decades of war. John is studying
psychology in order to better minister to these people.
Malnutrition is a
serious problem
among the Toposa, so
John travels
with basic medical supplies
and informatio
n.
Education
Only 3% of the Turkana population
have a secondary
education or above.
15% have primary level.
82% have no education at
all
The missio
n operat
es three
primary
schools and numer
ous nurser
y school
s
Lochuga
Friends School
Lodwar Friends Nursery School
The students line up to receive a healthy lunch
Lokoyo Friends School
Nakiria Friends School
Girls and women are disadvantaged in Turkana
society. The Friends Mission invests in women.
We spons
or girls to
attend high
school and
thereby
avoid early
marriage
Water Project
s
The mission takes its priorities from the
local community.
These Friends in Katapokori said that
their biggest
need was water.
Hand pumps are available for the whole community to
use.
There is no
surface
water in
Turkana. This is how people traditionally access water.
Biosand water filters make the
murky Turkana groundwater safe to drink
This well in Lokoyo is one of
the Friends’ oldest, and is
about to be
rebuilt for the third time.
Unfortu-
nately, some wells fail. This
one in Kalokol only brings
up salty
water.
Income Genera
tion
95% of the
population lives below
the Kenyan
government’s
official poverty
line
After a rare sprinkling of rain, the grass grows tall and brown. No crops can
grow here.
Women make beautiful baskets but struggle to get them to market
Right Sharin
g of World Resources is now
supporting
Turkana
Friends women
Friendly Water for the World offers trainings in
entrepreneurship and business planning for Young Adult Friends
“Ekone” means Friends. Ekone House was an income-generating project for Turkana Mission, with retail space in front and rental apartments behind.
Unfortunately, recent road construction resulted in its demolition.
There are now
plans to build a
conference center
in Lodwar
to generate income
for mission
work
This is St
Theresa’s in
Lodwar – our
conference
center could feel like this: cool, shady and
welcoming
Turkana Mission’s prayer concerns: - reliable transportation- peace in South Sudan in order to develop a more sustained presence- conference center development- consistent donor support for the operating needs of the mission and for the 28 girls who are sponsored