#KingdomStoryGivingTuesday
2022 KAKUMA Sewing Project Goal: $20,000
The Kakuma refugee camp is located in the western region of Kenya. The camp was established in 1992, following the arrival of the “Lost Boys of Sudan.” During that year, large groups of Ethiopian refugees fled their country following the fall of the Ethiopian government. Somalia had also experienced high insecurity and civil strife, causing people to flee. Today Kakuma has a population of more than 195,000 from 5 neighboring countries – making it one of the largest refugee camps in the world. Living conditions in the sprawling camp are appalling, with substandard housing, poor roads, and inadequate water and sanitation. The camp was supposed to offer temporary housing, but after 30 years, they are now permanent.
Life in the camp is tough. The location is in an arid area with extremely hot temperatures – 100+ degrees. The refugees depend on food rations of $14 per person per month from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Camp residents are plagued with painful past experiences – losing family members, fleeing tribal warfare and death, rape, beatings, and more. With nothing meaningful to do, many waste away their days full of bitterness, hopelessness, and worthlessness. Some dream of a better life …
Life in the camp is tough. The location is in an arid area with extremely hot temperatures – 100+ degrees. The refugees depend on food rations of $14 per person per month from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Camp residents are plagued with painful past experiences – losing family members, fleeing tribal warfare and death, rape, beatings, and more. With nothing meaningful to do, many waste away their days full of bitterness, hopelessness, and worthlessness. Some dream of a better life …
Kakuma Sewing Project:
The majority of refugees at Kakuma are widows and children. They lost their husbands and fathers in the successive civil wars within the region. They are very vulnerable in camp. Though the refugees are given regular food rations, they have to look for a way of clothing themselves. We offer cutting-edge programs that equip our students with the skills and knowledge they need to become successful entrepreneurs, launch successful businesses, and position themselves for future success.
The aims of the sewing project are –
- Give women an activity to wake up to. Women are excellent storytellers. Without a new story, they continue to retell stories of pain, anger, and hatred to the next generation in the camp. By empowering them, we give them new rhythms and activities that earn them an income and create a new story of hope and a future.
- Use the sewing groups as centers for discipleship. The centers become community outreach engagements that catalyze the gospel of Jesus Christ among the refugees.
- In Phase 1, over 20 women were trained. More than 100 women are seeking this training in Phase 2.
A Hope and Future Rekindled: The story of Silvia
Silvia is a refugee living in Kakuma, Kalobeyei camp. She initially came from South Sudan. She lives with her family of four children in the camp. They all rely on the monthly stipend of $14 per person provided by the UNCHR. This amount can barely cater to their basic needs.
“I had given up hope about life. For four years since I arrived in the refugee camp, with no money, education, or skills, no organization was willing to offer me a training opportunity because I was over 35. years. Many organizations working in the camp support young people who are less than 35 years. I have missed opportunities since I was 37 years of age. Now at 42 years had lost hope of ever getting any chance in life. As a guardian of five children with two orphans, I cried every day whenever I thought of my helplessness. I have contemplated death not once.”
“I am so grateful to God for the chance to train for free at the DEEP Women tailoring program. After a year of training, I can now make dresses for my family using the training machines at the CTC Centre. I am hoping to start my own small tailoring business after I graduate. I pray that God will open a way for me to get a sewing machine to achieve my dream.
Silvia is one of 24 beneficiaries of the CTC DEEP Women program in 2022 who has completed the basic grade tailoring program. She can make simple everyday clothes. Silvia’s story is similar to most women, with some having lost their entire family members in the civil war back home. Through the intervention of CTC, Silvia has a new story to tell. She no longer has to worry and think of her hopelessness. She has a new story.
“I had given up hope about life. For four years since I arrived in the refugee camp, with no money, education, or skills, no organization was willing to offer me a training opportunity because I was over 35. years. Many organizations working in the camp support young people who are less than 35 years. I have missed opportunities since I was 37 years of age. Now at 42 years had lost hope of ever getting any chance in life. As a guardian of five children with two orphans, I cried every day whenever I thought of my helplessness. I have contemplated death not once.”
“I am so grateful to God for the chance to train for free at the DEEP Women tailoring program. After a year of training, I can now make dresses for my family using the training machines at the CTC Centre. I am hoping to start my own small tailoring business after I graduate. I pray that God will open a way for me to get a sewing machine to achieve my dream.
Silvia is one of 24 beneficiaries of the CTC DEEP Women program in 2022 who has completed the basic grade tailoring program. She can make simple everyday clothes. Silvia’s story is similar to most women, with some having lost their entire family members in the civil war back home. Through the intervention of CTC, Silvia has a new story to tell. She no longer has to worry and think of her hopelessness. She has a new story.
“Thank you, CTC. Thank you, Dr. Richard and all your friends,
for thinking about us and making this training available.”
for thinking about us and making this training available.”
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Rob DeKlotz Biography
Rob DeKlotz joined Kingdom Story Ministries as part-time executive director in August of 2020. As an organizational leader with over 40 years of experience with several dynamic and growing organizations Rob has a proven track record of leadership in tackling challenges and growing ministries. Rob served with CRU in campus ministry from 1981-1995. He then spent 21 years on executive teams at Mariners Church, Saddleback Church and South Shores Church. Beginning in 2017, he was COO at Operation Snap Dragon, a global media company partnering with JESUS Film in Asia and then Executive Director of Soul Shepherding. In 2020 he launched a new endeavor, Kingdom Initiatives. His vision is to help churches, ministries, and non-profits live out their peak effectiveness in their kingdom task. Rob is a graduate of UC Berkeley (BA in Economic History) and Talbot School of Theology (M’Div. in Bible Exposition) He has been married 39 years to Jennifer, an MFT with a practice in Mission Viejo, and has four adult kids and 3 grandchildren. He lives in Irvine, CA and enjoys travel, tennis and everything his kids and grandkids like to do.
Branden Hubbell Biography
Branden joined the Kingdom Story team in the fall of 2015, and is involved in the Leadership Institute program. Read Branden’s story below and how he began his involvement with KSM.
My background begins as a coach. 11 years ago I began coaching the sport of all-star cheerleading. For many years I coached young men and women through the sport of cheerleading. However, the difference for me was that I also cared about the soul of the kid that was in front of me. I didn’t know it, but all those years spent coaching taught me transferable skills for how to be a discipler for Jesus Christ. After 11 years coaching, God called me out of the all-star cheerleading realm and into vocational ministry.
My ministry career began with Kingdom Story Ministries. I first became a student of the Leadership Institute in the fall of 2014. I wanted to grow deeper in the knowledge of Christ. I knew much about the scripture, but I didn’t know that it all connected somehow, and that the words on the paper had something to do with my life right now. During the first couple of months as a student, John noticed in me a passion for God’s word, and for teaching and coaching people. He took me under his wing and I become an intern for Kingdom Story learning the ropes, traveling to China, and immersing myself into the curriculum as well as orienting my life for a life set on serving Jesus.
After a year, I was brought on the KSM staff as the Leadership Institute (LI) Program Director. This program is designed to take individuals through a 9-month intensive that will help participants develop fundamental leadership skills, relational skills, and scriptural knowledge. If someone wants to know Jesus and the Bible story better, and enter into God’s ongoing story in their own city, the LI can help get them there. I am passionate about the possibilities of this program for the future in Pierce County.
Dr. Richard Mutura (PhD) Biography
A Biblical theologian with 18+ years of experience of training pastors and leaders in theological seminaries and universities. Called to prepare the African church to make its contribution to world Christianity and transform communities using the gospel. A leader and a disciple-maker. An innovator, opening new platforms for advancing the cause of Christ in Africa. Passionate mentor and coach supporting churches to develop a culture of discipleship that is a process rather than a program. A thought-leader creating a robust workplace ministry ecosystem where "every believer becomes a minister and every place, a place of ministry" for sustainable transformation of African communities.
John Lewis Biography
Below is a bio from John; woven in it is the larger story behind… the Kingdom Story.
I grew up much of my life in Tacoma, Washington and went to Clover Park High School. I received my undergraduate degree in Business Administration at Pacific Lutheran University in 1983, and then immediately came on the Young Life staff. After four years of youth ministry in Tacoma and Port Angeles, an internship in a nationally recognized college ministry beckoned me to Bellingham, WA; here I was deeply exposed to a mentor and a ministry committed to making disciples. Bellingham became home for a year. (1987-88). The following year I joined forces with Young Life in Tacoma and began a college ministry at the University of Puget Sound (!988-89). I remained the director for another twelve years, officed in the inner city and I experimented widely with how to disciple students. All along the way, I took classes part time at Fuller Seminary, which integrated well with my ministry experience. Foundational convictions about life and ministry flourished in these ministry years. An internship program was begun with the college ministry (now called Tacoma College Ministry) in 1995 that birthed and used the Kingdom Story (KS) curriculum as an essential ingredient for their training.
In 1988 I met my soon to be best friend and wife Carissa. We spent a sabbatical year overseas before we had children, half of that time spent in Hong Kong and half in Israel in a study program. My eyes were opened wider to the world of different cultures and the world of the Bible. I finished my Masters of Divinity at Fuller upon returning.
Having left the full time college ministry position in 2001, I spent the next four years splitting my time as volunteer and staff for both University Place Presbyterian Church (Adult Discipleship pastor) and Northwest Leadership Foundation. I continued to develop the KS curriculum and experimented with a church based internship program. In 2004, I received a Doctorate of Transformational Ministry from Bakke Graduate University; my project focused on a one year holistic, church based, city wide transformational intern program that was designed to be transferable to other cultures. I used the KS as my primary curriculum and approach for the participants.
Carissa, myself and our three children, Jonathan, Elizabeth and Rachel packed up and moved to Beijing in 2005 for a two year stint in ministry with young adults. The intern program of my D. Min. project-along with the Kingdom story, was implemented the 2nd year. We returned to the US in June 2007 and now live in Fircrest, WA. Other teachers in Beijing have used the Kingdom Story approach/translated curriculum in now multiple settings since 2007.
I worked full time with Northwest Leadership Foundation in August ‘07 with an initiative called “City as Parish,” which invited churches to collaborate with faith/civic organizations in ministry to the poor around their neighborhoods. The initiative has an intern program and the Kingdom Story was used as part of their overall training. In that period, I helped develop a pastor’s collective in University Place where I live.
From 2009-2012, I worked with Leadership Foundations in an initiative called “City as Classroom,” exploring how the community/city of Tacoma can partner better with our universities in the shared mission of equipping college students to be lifelong and transformational leaders. My development work here was primarily focused at Pacific Lutheran University, I learned valuable lessons about working with the city/institutions at larger in this season of ministry (2001-2009)
In 2008 I came on the adjunct faculty at Bakke Graduate University to teach their OT and NT theology classes with students in the USA and around the world. I also taught the Bible Overview and Narrative Theology for Christos, a lay theology/ministry training program.
In 2012, a discernment process helped me decide to launch Kingdom Story Ministries; we believed that it was the next and natural step in my personal story and that this organization could provide some crucial resources for our local and worldwide community.
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