KARIBU / WELCOME |
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Fransuer was born and grew up in Nairobi Kenya. He lived in poverty as a child and was close to being a street child. He was befriended in his late primary school years by a pastor called Chris Mwalwa who invited him to camps at the Word of Life mission where he worked, Fransuer accepted and soon became part of this mission and of Chris' family. Fransuer received and worked with teams from UK, Germany, and the US at Word of Life -this was to be a great preparation to his later work. Under the guidance of Pastor Chris, Fransuer applied to Careforce to come to the UK for a year of youth work. He was accepted and sent to Ballinamallard, a village in Northern Ireland. It was here that he met Rachel who is now his wife.
Together with two friends from Portadown, Fransuer and Rachel went to Kenya for five weeks to work at Word of Life Mission. Rachel worked in a local orphanage. Rachel was about to start her children's nursing degree and knew that she would return to Kenya as it had been a life changing experience. Fransuer was accepted to Belfast Bible College where he did a Masters in Theology. He then got a job as a youth worker in Cairnshill Methodist Church.
Rachel returned to Kenya in early 2006 with two nursing friends for a seven week placement in the orphanage she had previously worked in and also in a large children's hospital in Nairobi. Her passion for Kenya and especially the orphans had been even more deeply implanted.
When Fransuer was working as a youth worker in Belfast he felt that he wanted to give something back to God for His faithfulness and also to his people in Kenya. He had become more and more aware of the thousands of children in Kenya who are in situations similar to or worse than his own. He and his wife brought a team of 20, mainly teenagers, in summer 2006 with Norman Uprichard and Jackie Fleming as leaders. The team worked in the orphanage as well as helping locals to build a house in the rural village of Oyugis. They spent time feeding street children and giving out some supplies in Kibera, Kenya's biggest slum. The team also worked with street children, giving out milk and bread to some of the 60-80,000 children living on Nairobi's streets. They were supported by various churches, organisations, and individuals and were delighted to raise £20,000 which went directly to the Kenyan people. This was a life changing experience for every member of the team.
Before long, enquiries started about the possibility of another team, and in the summer of 2007 a group of 22 went to do similar work in Kenya for three weeks with Rachel's mum Hazel as the third leader. The team was called ‘Pamoja 2007', Pamoja means "together" in Swahili. This team were able to do even more than had been done in 2006 and led a 5 day Bible club for local children. They also worked in a second orphanage and built a house for a widow and her children in rural Kangondi. This trip also formed a link with a medical/dental mission working in Kibera slum.
Since then, work has continued, and another team, under the new name "Jengana" has spent a very busy and challenging three weeks working on similar projects in 2008. This new name for the team means ‘Building each other' in slang Swahili.
"Jengana" has now received charitable status, thus making it a recognised association.The Board of "Jengana" intends to establish a full time Jengana mission centre in Kenya.
Rachel is currently a Children's Nurse in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Belfast and Fransuer is a Religious Education teacher at Campbell College, Belfast