Building a Brighter Future in Mombasa, Kenya

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“All of Mombasa knew Dave as ‘Elder Nelson the builder’”, said Sister Nelson as she and her husband came to the end of their 18-month mission in the Kenya Nairobi East Mission, stationed in Mombasa. Elder and Sister Nelson built far more than structures of wood.  They built testimony, they built confidence, they built self-reliance and food security, as they constructed chicken coops, beehives, fingerling ponds, tailoring businesses, and more, and they built brighter futures for many of the members they so lovingly served.  But they didn’t do it alone.  They built together, side by side, with the members who joined their projects, teaching and empowering them all along the way. 

Sister Nelson, a nurse by profession, used her nursing skills in her calling as the mission nurse, in addition to lending her sewing expertise to launch a tailoring program, with the help of Lucy, a local member who is an experienced seamstress. Lucy served her fellow participants as the main trainer, teaching expert sewing techniques. This program not only provided instruction but, through The Church’s humanitarian program, also provided sewing machines which the participants got to keep to start their own tailoring businesses, if they finished the course.

One program participant stated, “My name is Sister Susan from the Kenya Ukunda branch in the Mombasa district.  The tailoring program has been a big blessing, because now I can pay my tithes, pay my debts, I can now find food, I can now share the skills that I have learned with my brothers and sisters. I am looking forward to not only sharing my skills but obtaining more skills so that we can all continue to grow together. I am so grateful and excited to share my skills and all that I have learned from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."

Lucy expressed similar feelings saying "I am privileged to be a member of the self-reliance training. Indeed, my life has changed because I am making products to sell throughout the community and I'm earning. I can pay my bills and my tithes. I believe that Heavenly Father is going to bless me more in the future and even to have a big business because having my own machine will provide me with these opportunities. I am hopeful for even more now because I have a path forward. I will encourage others to take the self-reliance classes in order for them to learn how to begin their own business. It gives us strength to undergo the stresses that we experience."

Likewise, The Church’s humanitarian fund provides a path to self-reliance through other projects members can choose to participate in, if they are willing to put in the time and effort to complete the program. 

Nelly was one of these participants who expresses her gratitude for the help she received saying, “I am so much grateful for the self-reliance project. It started with attending self-reliance classes, [then] attending some leadership classes, …later on [came] training on poultry farming.  I decided to participate in poultry farming (broilers chicken) because I once worked in an agrovet and therefore had some basic knowledge on poultry farming.  I started with forty birds and through the constant support received from Elder and Sister Nelson, I increased my birds to 350. Our business is going well despite some challenges, but we are holding on. I know that [this] self-reliance project is a nice thing to be in. I know that this self-reliance project will best help me meet my needs and that of my family.”

Silvia, Nelly’s mother, shared her experience with poultry farming through the self-reliance project. She relates: “Before [the] self-reliance project, I used to have my small food kiosk. [It was a] struggle, the income I could get was little to support my family. The only thing that mattered to me was having food on the table..., after attending self-reliance classes [I] wrote my business proposal.  I got 40 birds of my own. Oh, what a blessing this project has been! Before, I worried constantly about how we would manage. Now, I see our birds healthy and productive, and my heart is full. We have combined with my daughter and now we are raising 350 birds. We are grateful for the couple missionaries, Elder and Sister Nelson, for their amazing support to our project.  We are also grateful for our self-reliance specialist, Sister Georgina, who was the one who took us through the training. We are also grateful for the extended support we got from one of our friends who added some capital to our savings for the reinvestment of the second batch of 150 birds. As they say, we need to help others in carrying their burdens and now I feel it is light because of the endless love from our friends.  I used to just hope for the best, but now, I feel like we are in control of our future.  This chicken business has given us peace of mind and a real sense of pride.  It’s more than just chickens; it’s our family’s future, growing with every new chick. We're not just raising chickens; we're building our future.

I've learned so much, not just about raising chickens, but about managing finances, understanding market trends, and even a bit about customer service. The transition wasn't without its challenges – there were illnesses, market fluctuations, having to buy and fetch more water from a water vendor, since we have none in our compound, and the sheer hard work of managing a much larger flock. But every time we faced a hurdle, we remembered our goal and the vision and always to rely on The Savior. The self-reliance project didn't just give us chickens; it gave us a pathway to independence and a renewed sense of hope. I would invite everyone to participate in the self-reliance classes so that they can receive this blessing of increasing your income and having more to pay your tithe. Self-reliance not only blessed me individually but also blessed those around me.”

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Along with the members in Mombasa, the Nelsons have also felt blessed by The Lord in this endeavor and express their gratitude for their experiences throughout their mission.  Sister Nelson shares, “We are grateful for the opportunity to teach, mentor and encourage all to grow their business. The true reward was seeing their success, and them finally being able to provide for their families and be self-reliant with a growing, thriving business. They learned what it takes to be successful in their business endeavor. They all spoke of the importance of their children and grandchildren witnessing such success to ensure that the future generations would learn the importance of spiritual and temporal self-reliance.

Looking back over our mission, we felt it a pleasure to serve the fine people of Mombasa who have such faith and resilience against so many obstacles - mainly joblessness and [being] without means to even have food on the table on a daily basis. We know that our Heavenly Father had the master plan with our callings in Kenya. Dave absolutely loved the self-reliance aspect of his calling, and I loved my medical calling as well. We love the Kenyans and will miss them very much as we depart Africa.”