Faithful House came to my parish, “I was so keen to learn.”

CWM
May 15, 2025
3 min read

KENYA

By Hillary James

As our taxi driver navigated through the patchy dirt paths lined with tenement buildings on the outskirts of Nairobi, I marveled that Dr. George’s Faithful House curriculum, written in Montana back in 2005, has now reached even this haphazard, modest suburb on the other side of the world.

Uganda’s maternal mortality, Iceme Health Center as a group of nurses.

We hopped over mud puddles to enter a simple apartment courtyard with laundry hung across the apartment windows to dry, and I met Edith, a Kenyan wife and mother of 4 young ones, and her husband Franklin who is a local teacher. Edith and Franklin welcomed me into their front room which serves as kitchen, dining and living room, with a small back bedroom for the whole family. Sacks of beans and rice lined the wall behind the couch, and a small pot with a kerosene stove sat in one corner, which gets pulled out a few times a day to prepare meals. Edith crouched on the linoleum floor as I arrived to warm some tea to welcome me into their home.

Edith and Franklin, beaming as they introduced their wide-eyed children one by one, are newly trained facilitators in Dr. George’s Faithful House curriculum, which was introduced to them a few years ago at their local parish. They led a prayer of gratitude as I arrived, saying that they never could have imagined that the organization that brought happiness to their home would come to visit them. They explained to me that in Kenyan culture, a home visit is the greatest honor one can bestow on a friend.

Edith said that she was ready to leave Franklin before they joined the Faithful House program.

He spent more time outside the home than with her, she said, and they were constantly at odds. She said that when the Faithful House came to their parish, “I was so keen to learn” that even though her sister was in the hospital an hour by bus from the church, she took the 2-hour trip every week to make sure she didn’t miss a lesson. The couple noticed almost immediate improvements to their family environment after the first class. Franklin said he learned how to take responsibility within the household, “which is different from our culture.” Throughout our meeting, he was holding their newborn son Promise in his arms. Edith said she learned that if she doesn’t communicate with Franklin, “my problems will overflow, and my words will become sharp. If I communicate small things well, it can be softer.” Franklin and Edith’s children sat quietly throughout our time together, folding their hands reverently as their parents led us in prayer both at the opening and the closing of our meeting.

Franklin said, “In our culture we do not let you go without feeding you something.” Edith brought out buttered bread and tea with milk that they had prepared specially for our visit. How proud they were to offer us these refreshments, and how hungrily the children scooped it all up and licked their fingers for this special occasion. Franklin told us, “Our children can see the difference too. They may not be able to say it, but they notice that things are different between Edith and me.”

According to our Kenyan facilitator Njoroge, our programs have the most immediate impact on women. He said, “It is the women who notice the most drastic difference. For men it is more subtle.” That is because sharing in the care of children, saying “I’m sorry” after a disagreement and setting aside time to sit with your wife and talk are not culturally typical for most African men.

We also visited Michael and Grace, a couple with 3 children who live in a larger home outside of town. They went through the program as well and are now facilitators. They told us that they cover the cost of tea and printing of manuals themselves when they run trainings. It is a sacrifice, but Grace said, “We take seriously God’s call to spread His message of peace and love to others.” Michael said his greatest takeaway from the Faithful House has been to share financial decisions with Faith. For Faith, her biggest lesson has been learning to be reliable, and to be where you say you are to your spouse. Michael said they had never had a Westerner visit their home before and asked me to participate in planting a palm tree together along their entrance. It symbolizes the “flourishing of our family from the programs you have given us.”