Hey everybody. Graig Austin here, with an update about life in Kenya and how we’re trying to live out God’s heart for justice here.
I love the song “If I Had A Million Dollars.” I often sing it with my kids, and we’ll each add what we would buy if we had a million dollars. To be honest, my number one is ALWAYS a boat. Something like this, check it out: http://mastercraft.com/boats/series/prostar. Nice, ey? My six year old usually starts with some toy that she strongly desires. It’s great fun — you should try it.
I won’t lie to you: as I have gotten older (and hopefully at least a little bit more mature), I haven’t lost my selfish ideas for what I want. But I have seen a few ideas come into the mix that might actually help someone besides me. I have seen some compassion surfacing from deep down inside me, under my other desires for things like a boat.
The idea of trying to help someone begs the question, “How do I really help someone?” As I’ve thought about this question, the answer has seemed easy at first. But as I’ve drawn it out more, things have become more difficult. When I have engaged in trying to make a difference in the world in the past, I have ended up on a somewhat predictable journey:
I see a need.
I feel compassion, guilt, or a combination of the two.
I try to do something to make a difference in the need.
That “something” fails or sort-of works.
I become a bit disheartened that my idea didn’t alleviate the need.
I take some time to find the motivation or energy to try again.
Then the whole process repeats.
I have seen this sequence repeat several times in my life over the past 10 years or so, since I’ve become more aware of the greater world around me.
As I look at my life in the past year or so, I would say that I’ve been in that final stage of the sequence for a while now. I do have an idea, but I’ve been “kicking around” in that stage, trying to find the energy and motivation to engage again. This idea comes from the many failures that have added up over the last few years as I have tried to help friends in Kenya. The idea is simple: to create jobs. I am constantly asked for money while I am in Kenya. To be honest, it gets a bit annoying after a while. (That’s a blog post for a different time.) One of the annoying things about being asked for money is that something inside of me wants to give them money, but the pragmatic side of me can’t allow it since I know it won’t help in the long-run. (Feel free to ask me about the difference between a temporary fix and a long-term solution.)
The question I have asked myself over and over is, “How can I help my Kenyan friends be in a position where they don’t have to ask me for money?” The answer I always come up with, after years of thinking and talking about this, is that they need jobs.
This has led to other questions: “Are there jobs available?” The answer to that is, “No, not really, not ones that could help them get ahead.” That has left me with a final question: “Could I (or someone I know) help create a job that would help them get ahead?”
I have found that there aren’t easy answers to these questions. In the last two years or so, I have talked and dreamt about creating jobs for my friends in Kenya but I’ve never had the chance to try anything. What has happened, though, is that compassion has once again pushed its way to the front (even past my desire for a sweet boat). Youthful optimism is showing its alluring face once again.
So I’m trying something. I, Graig Austin, am now a chicken farmer. Yes, the boy who is basically afraid of most barnyard animals, is raising chickens. Or at least helping friends raise chickens. Over the last three months, we have done the research. We have laid out a business plan of sorts. We have convinced a few friends to invest. We have recruited, envisioned, and trained some Kenyan friends to own and run a chicken coop. We now have a chicken farm. It may sound crazy, I know, but I’m convinced that this could change some people’s lives. There is financial freedom for my friends in those birds. I see it, and more importantly, they see it. And honestly, this is really fun. We have one coop up and running, and two more will be built in the next couple of weeks. I know more about chickens than I ever though I would want to. Jobs are being created. Financial independence is within sight for some of my friends here, and it is really exciting. It’s a blast to talk with the Kenyan coop owners about how this financial freedom will help them expand the impact they can have on their own communities. This could be huge. Who knew that you could change the world for a few families through a bunch of chickens?
So now, as I sing the song with my kids, I will have to add that, if I had a million dollars, I would buy some baby chicks. It could change the world.
If I had a million dollars, I'd buy some baby chicks.
My girls with the growing chickens.
What would you have on your list, if you had a million dollars?
