Empowering Women with HIV

If you don't know what Moringa is by now, you soon will. Moringa is the newest health craze that is taking the world by storm. It is a fast growing tree that is rare in the plant world because it contains all the essential amino acids (proteins) to build healthy muscles. It also provides seven times the vitamin C of oranges, three times the potassium of bananas, four times the vitamin A of carrots and four times the calcium of milk! It has been called the tree of life because it is like having a multivitamin growing right in your backyard. With all the malnutrition problems plaguing Africa right now, you can see why this plant is extremely important to Kenya's future. But what does moringa have to do with Capstone? One aspect of Capstone's vision is the goal to help empower the poor. Right now, Capstone has three HIV support groups that grow moringa. Capstone provides the women with seeds and the training needed to grow and harvest it. Capstone then buys what the women collect every month and processes it for sale in local health stores. Not only do the HIV women get a steady income, but the morniga helps boost their immune system, so that they can stay healthy. Capstone benefits by being able to raise more funds to help support its staff and outreach projects to minister to the street children of Kenya.

During the first week in Africa, Jennifer and I were able to visit an HIV women's support group that had just harvested their monthly moringa. It was truly a humbling experience. The women began singing in unison as we approached their circle of ten members. After the music stopped, they began introducing themselves one by one. The first woman captured my heart. With a smile on her face, she said, “My name is Helen. I love life. Everything is good because God loves me!” Wow! This woman has so many obstacles to overcome in her life, yet her faith was firm. She was a widow, whose husband had contracted HIV by being unfaithful to her and then spread the disease to her. It made me think of all the times I doubted God in my faith walk for such shallow things. Forgive me Lord for my lack of trust when times aren’t as difficult as I think they are.

After about thirty minutes, a young girl came waltzing into the HIV support group. Her name was Rose and she was extremely friendly, talking openly about her HIV status. She couldn't have been older than thirty, but she was the one who started the HIV support group ten years ago. At that time, there was a great stigma about being HIV positive. You just don't talk about it and you definitely don't gather in groups to encourage others who have it. The first group that met was only two or three women, but soon the group got so large that it had to split into smaller groups. Today, there are about seventy women who attend this support group throughout the nearby villages. Some of them grow moringa and sell it to Capstone.
In ten years, they have only lost two of their members to HIV. Rose attributes much of this to the moringa that boosts their immune system and their income, which enables them to buy food and stay healthy.

I must confess that when Dan came to visit Immanuel Lutheran Church three years ago, I was captivated with moringa. He was selling packets of the green powder for brewing tea that was harvested from the HIV women's groups. I loved the idea of empowering HIV women to cultivate it so that they could support themeslves and their children. I bought two packets and began drinking the tea. At first, I wasn't used to it, but I soon grew to like its mild flavor. I noticed right away that it helped detoxify my body and boost my energy levels. Soon, I even went out and bought seeds of my own so that I could grow my own trees right in the church parsonage in Connecticut. What a great blessing this ministry has been for Capstone and the women who suffer from HIV in Kenya.

Moringa only takes about six months to bring a harvest after planting the tiny seeds. It grows so fast that it can be harvested almost every month, depending on the growing season. The leaves are the part that is used in making moringa, so they are pulled off the branches and collected. After they are collected, the leaves are washed thoroughly. Once washed, the leaves are placed on wire racks and left to air dry in the dark. If sunlight reaches the leaves, some of the vitamin C would be lost. When the leaves are completely dry, which takes about two to three days, they are ground into a fine powder. This powder is placed into containers, which are sealed and labeled. The finished product is then delivered to local health stores and the process begins all over again. 

All this is possible because God is good and provides for His people. "The eyes of all wait upon You, O Lord, and You give them their food in due season; You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. Lord God, heavenly Father, bless us and these Your gifts which we receive from Your bountiful goodness, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen." ~Joel