Our Programs

Literacy for Women in Africa

BSK has an adult literacy program dubbed literacy for women in Africa. This program mainly targets a group of women of child-bearing age (15 years and above) who have not had the opportunity to learn to read and write.

BSK has an adult literacy program dubbed literacy for women in Africa. This program mainly targets a group of women of child-bearing age (15 years and above) who have not had the opportunity to learn to read and write.
Other persons targeted by the programme include men, young girls, and elderly women. This could also include women who have already had the opportunity to learn to read ‘second chance.’

Turkana County has low literacy levels of 20% considering that it has a population of 926,976 speakers of the language. Non-literates account for 741,580.

The Literacy for Women in Africa programme is currently being implemented in the County with 20 active adult literacy classes spread across Loima, Turkana Central, Turkana North, and Turkana South sub-counties. The program has grown tremendously since 2018 when it began with 10 pilot classes. So far, 1920 learners have been trained with 65% of them being women.

The reason why the program majorly focuses on women is that in the marginalized communities women or girls are denied a chance to go to school, as priority is given to men. Women are seen as people who carry out house chores, bear children, go through practices e.g. female genital mutilation (FGM) and early marriages thus denying them a chance to access education or any form of schooling.

The uniqueness of this program is that it is a non-formal mother tongue-based education meant to impact adult learners with basic reading and writing skills. The main goal of the program is to enable the marginalized communities to read the Word of God in their heart language and be transformed by it.

BSK partners with the Church to implement this programme. The Churches provide venues that are used as classes, they identify passionate people who are trained as teachers, and they assist in monitoring. The Directorate of Adult and Continuing Education office has also come in handy in helping learners to transition to formal schooling to learn other subjects.

other Programs & projects

Open the Book & Programme For Pastoral Instruction PPI

Braille Bible Distribution to the VIP’s Programme

Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH)

Mwimbi Bible Translation

Young Samaritans Programme

Literacy for Women in Africa

Bibles Eagles Club

African Biblical Leadership Initiative (abli)

Marginalized Children

 

Gikuyu Study Bible Project

Banyala Bible Translation Project

Teso Bible translation project

 

Forgiveness that leads to Life and not Death

Written by BSK

January 16, 2025

Forgiveness is one of the most difficult acts of obedience that Christians are called to do. Yet without forgiveness there would be no salvation or Christianity! God’s forgiveness of human sin through the sacrifice of Jesus is the basis of salvation and of abundant life and liberation that we receive in Christ. “I have come that they may have life, life in abundance.” John 10.10

In our human interactions forgiveness is the basis of thriving relationships. Without it life would be very difficult for we know that just as others harm us, we also cause harm and are in need of forgiveness. Yet even when we acknowledge and understand the necessity and benefits of forgiveness in our relationship with God and at a human level, we still struggle to forgive and live in forgiveness.

One of the reasons may be a misunderstanding of the nature and practice of forgiveness. With a lack of understanding, fear becomes the reason for forgiveness, particularly fear of not being forgiven by God. This leads to pretending that the pain, anger, and desire to revenge do not exist and that ‘everything is ok’ The denial of these emotions often lead to spiritualization of suffering and responding with ‘easy’ forgiveness as a sign that one is following Christ by accepting suffering and forgiving perpetrators without requiring repentance.

Women have been asked to forgive violent partners because in doing so they are praised for following the bible in being ‘submissive’ and following the example of Jesus who forgave those who crucified him.  In these circumstances, forgiveness is no longer a life-giving, healing virtue that reflects the abundant life that is the fruit of salvation, but sadly reflects the opposite- namely a practice that perpetuates suffering and destroys life.

How then do we reclaim the life-giving, healing nature of forgiveness that is expressed in salvation through Christ?

First when we are insulted, violated, or harmed in any way we experience emotions such as anger, hurt and a desire to revenge. These emotions emerge naturally and are important because they alert us to the reality that a wrong has been done to us that requires our response.

Interestingly the dictionary definition of forgiveness is to give up anger and revenge against a person who wronged us. Since these emotions are potentially destructive if not handled properly, the temptation is to pretend that one does not feel them or to suppress them and prevent their expression. The psalms of lament are helpful because they are unafraid to name and process strong negative emotions.

Because of this honest, unpretentious relationship with God, faith is strengthened. Psalms 55 is a lament which begins with a cry to God to listen’ Give heed to my prayer’ and then there is a complaint, a call for vengeance and it concludes with a simple act of faith ‘but I will trust in you’ (v.26b).

Secondly, face the person responsible for harm where possible. In confronting the person responsible for the harm, reconciliation may or may not happen. Regardless of the outcome, the call to forgive remains the same because, in the act of forgiving, there is the freedom to choose whether reconciliation is the best way forward. Where there is a history of repeated offences or refusal to acknowledge harm or repent, reconciliation may not be possible and forgiveness without reconciliation would be the wisest choice. Discernment driven by the Holy Spirit will guide you in seeking a solution that promotes life and well-being.

Lastly, restoration can be a visible sign of sincere repentance, particularly where what has been damaged can be restored. In the story of Zacchaeus’ repentance and salvation (Luke 19:1-10), Zacchaeus in response to Jesus’ unconditional acceptance and love, showed his repentance by promising to restore more than what he had stolen from people. Hearing this, Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house.” Jesus did not dictate to Zacchaeus, but the initiative came when he was overcome with the forgiveness and love of God. When we are forgiven, we can take the initiative of restoring what was lost, particularly intangible assets such as trust, friendship, and love. And we can act concretely to restore losses.

In conclusion, granting and receiving forgiveness in human relationships needs to reflect the life-giving healing and generosity of God who models and embodies true forgiveness.

Excerpt from the African Women Devotional Bible

To order a copy of the African Women Devotional Bible visit www.shop.biblesociety-kenya.org 

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