A Friar Transformed...



All over the country, Friars are dedicating their time to serving their fellow man. A smaller number make the big leap and turn it into a profession, working in service. Among them, we have an even smaller number that commit to serving overseas. Count Brother Ray Smith inducted into the Friars' Society in Spring 2003, in that number

Last year, he and 10 others from his church, Providence Church of West Chester, travelled to Kitale, Kenya to participate in a larger, ongoing outreach project for Kenyan children, helping them out of gang life and poverty. Kitale is an impoverished suburb afflicted with disease and rampant gang activity, located north of Kenya's capital, Nairobi. The nonprofit organization Smith's team connected with, Transformed International, is based there and commits itself to changing lives by reaching out to orphaned children, widows and the poor.

Founded in 2006 by Daniel Lipparelli, an American from Reno, Nevada, who became inspired by his own trip to Kenya, Transformed International began response to the widespread corruption within other established philanthropic organizations. Since its foundation, Transformed International has grown into an active organization in Kenya, and is respected for its transparency and accountability.

Smith, who had never set foot overseas before, felt compelled to get involved after he sat in his church listening to the inspirational stories of others who had just returned from Katali. Not long after, he signed up for a two-week project in summer 2009. Since the whole experience is an act of volunteerism and service, he raised his own money, finding sponsors among family and friends as well as a healthy donation from an anonymous party that secured his ticket and final expenses. He also prepared for the trip by learning basic Swahili.

Having served as the Vice President and Service Chair of the Friars Society for two years, he was well accustomed to community service, but didn't know what to expect from this venture, as he and his team were relatively unfamiliar with the area. All they knew was that they were going to play a supporting role to the team from Transformed International already on the ground.

He didn't realize that he himself would be coming back "transformed" as an individual with a new sense of understanding, but that's precisely what happened, with the experience having begun even before his plane even left the runway at JFK Airport.

News came to his team that one of the girls at an orphanage they were to soon visit had died. Smith's eye-opening experience hence began at a funeral for a young girl he never met and never knew. The actual cause of her death was the chicken pox, with added complications from AIDS. While most Americans look back on chicken pox as a childhood nuisance, Kenyans are faced with it a life-threatening disease.

"It called out the reality of how grim things are," Smith recalled. According to a 2009 U.N. report, Kenya has the third African largest population living with HIV/AIDS, after South Africa and Nigeria, but also the largest number of children orphaned due to HIV/AIDS.

Smith quickly observed the impact HIV/AIDS had on society right there Kitale. The middle-aged population didn't exist. The environment was in shambles. Decrepit houses lined up along the narrow sewage-filled streets.

"Walking along them, it's hard not to become sad and be filled with anger or even guilt, because we have is so good in the U.S. However, it's more important not that we should feel guilty or start to give things up, but to be more thankful for what we do have," Smith said, adding that this was how Kenyan children lived, grateful for what they had. He recalled seeing a beat-up soccer ball in the streets and marveled at how children delighted in playing a game of soccer, regardless of the ball's condition. Another image he recalled was of a boy seemingly having a ball playing with a simple stick and wheel.

Of course, children are innocent, which is why the focus of the orphanage is on preventing them from being sucked into gang life or if they are already in a gang, to get them out of it. Smith spent quite a bit of time working at the orphanage with "street kids," those that ran away from home or were abandoned at a young age. Several of the street kids would join gangs or become addicted to drugs. Aside from AIDS, sniffing of glue by Kenyan youth is a particular problem, Smith said, explaining that many do it to alleviate hunger and stay warm at night.

Nonprofit organizations estimate that anywhere from 50-90 percent of street kids are addicted to sniffing glue. The consequences are devastating, ranging from hallucinations to sudden death. Even more shocking is that street kids have resorted to scavenging garbage, stealing and prostitution just to feed their addiction. Organizations, like Transformed International, are committed to rehabilitating them, but with the main stipulation that they give up the glue.

Because the children adopted by the nonprofit organization often have a hard time giving up the glue, Transformed International experiences a limited success rate, but during his time there, Smith saw signs of promise from these established organizations.

Within the same neighborhood is Neema, (Swahili for "grace") a hidden house with a full time staff which focuses specifically on rehabilitating girls to learn sewing and similar craftsmanship so that they can use this trade to earn money and get off the streets for good.

The promising potential can also be found in active citizens. One of Smith?s projects was to help remodel a ceiling for Daniel Juma, a citizen who dedicated his life and his house to 20 children he adopted off the streets. Juma feeds, clothes and mentors these children. Another of Smith?s projects during his time in Kenya was building a chicken coup near the Juma household. Smith said of Juma, "he is a man who cares when so many others don't."

Before leaving, Juma offered him a dime to show his appreciation for Smith's work. Smith, who to this day wears the dime around his neck, considers it to be the more valuable that any other piece of jewelry or amount of money.

The challenge ahead is an enormous one. Not only do these nonprofit organizations struggle with fighting disease, drugs and gang violence but the Kenyan media and government, thru its own inaction and corruption fails to play a supporting role, leaving the work on the backs of nonprofit organizations and individuals committed to similar causes.

"Given all that, it makes you ask yourself, "what are you doing about it?" says Smith, and for him it is a two-part answer, to get more involved and set reasonable goals in how to do that.

Working in Kenya also raised an awareness Smith had not previously contemplated before. "One of the most important parts of serving is to listen first, then act. Never assume you know what the community needs,"" he said, recalling a story in Senegal, another African nation where similar outreach projects are underway. There, aid workers brought in vast amounts of medicine to help combat disease. In the end however, all the recipients really needed was better access to clean water. With proper hydration, the human body is stronger and able to resist infection. Thus, once a water tower and subsequent pipes were built, the need for medicine waned. Bringing this understanding to the table, Smith says, enhances the act of service itself.

Although he is back in the U.S. at his main job, his ultimate goal is to dedicate his life in service overseas, and he is actively working toward that goal by staying involved with Providence Church of West Chester and continuing to serve locally, with the big picture in mind. He will be making a return trip to Kenya in October 2010 and is actively raising funds in preparation.

For further information on Transformed International and its projects, visit www.transformedinternational.org. For Providence Church of West Chester, visit www.providencewc.org.

To connect with Brother Ray Smith and/or make a donation, e-mail raydsmith84@gmail.com.



-Tony Maalouf '06