Kibera, located on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, is one of the poorest slums in Africa. For the people residing there, poverty is a harsh reality that they must face every day of their lives. Unemployment rates are high, access to electricity is almost nonexistent, and garbage and filth line the roads.
Despite all of this, it is not a place without hope. It’s not a place without life.
Irine Awino, a pro-life leader here in Kibera, recently reached out to us with great news. She – together with Dorcas – recruited six new lifesavers for her LIFE Team; they are planning to do outreach beginning this Saturday! Why is recruiting new team members such a big win, especially considering that they just saved their ninth baby from abortion?
This is huge because we can’t save lives alone. Just imagine – if Irine and Dorcas have saved nine moms from abortion in nine months, how many people can be rescued if there are eight lifesavers like Irine and Dorcas? This is replication – lifesavers making disciples who are living out the gospel – saving lives like Christ has saved them.
At first, it was hard for Irene to reach these high school age youth – to convince them to see the value in being pro-life. Like many others, they viewed abortion as something that gave them bodily autonomy and control over their sexual lives. They viewed it as something good, listening to and believing the lies that society has told them countless times. Irine, though, knew that this false sense of autonomy and control is just that—false. Instead of bringing people security and safety, it brings distress and hopelessness. Irine needed to be Christ’s hands and feet and restore these people’s hope, show them truth, and teach them that abortion leads to desolate despair.
In the end, she did just that. God was working through her words and in their hearts.
During a discussion with the group, Irine brought up Leviticus 24:17 – “whoever takes the life of another human being shall be put to death.” Almost immediately she witnessed the students’ hearts change. Irine explained that human life begins immediately after fertilization, when God uniquely and individually gives each person a soul. This convinced each of them that abortion kills an innocent and precious life.
Changing hearts happens every time that Irine and Dorcas hit the streets in an outreach.
What was different is that these six students accepted the call to be lifesavers themselves. Their hearts were transformed and lit on fire for the truth, lit on fire to rescue moms and their babies from abortion.