Whether you’ve just joined the SeeKenya journey or you’ve been with us from the start, you may know that none of our work is possible without our Kenyan charity partners, Edward and Fridah Buria, who run Edfri International. So here is a look into the incredible lives of the Burias, and their influence across Kenya in a myriad of ways.
Edward Buria, known to Kenyan locals as Bishop Buria, is also currently the Chairman of the Town Council for Meru Town, which has a population of almost a quarter of a million people. Their faces are well-known in Kenyan homes as their Sunday morning broadcasts from Kambakia Christian Centre (our base for SeeKenya trips for volunteers) are publicised by television to millions across the country. They have a big following!
Both Edward and Fridah have a real passion and vision to see church planting become a reality both in Kenya and surrounding countries and to see the local church become a flourishing centre for transformation within communities. To that end, since starting in 1977 with just 14 churches, they have expanded to well over 300 in 2016 while staying rooted at their home church: Kambakia Christian Centre.
The whole premise of Edfri International is ‘we receive to give’, and they give in many ways. One of these ways is through their Edfri Community Empowerment Programme. They support and invest into the lives of orphans, vulnerable young children and youth. They provide for basic needs: education, medical care, advocacy and legal support and mentoring. They have also launched a scheme to promote business start-ups and encourage a culture of entrepreneurship in light of job creation, as well as bringing water to villages, enabling hundreds of families access to clean water; their livestock and land too!
During the Covid-19 pandemic, they have been providing relief to local communities that have been badly affected. This has included thermo-guns, face masks, hand washing equipment and food. With a drought and a plague of locusts shortly before the pandemic hit, the provision of food had enabled many families to put a meal on a table instead of facing starvation.
At SeeKenya, we wholeheartedly believe in the significance of working with and for local partners and organisations who are already on the ground. We are there to serve them. Our approach to building a long-term, sustainable eye care centre in Meru (as well as our existing services) is to deliver it alongside one another. The best people who know and understand the needs of their community are the people themselves. We heavily rely on their expertise, knowledge and input. Building clinic teams comprising of UK and Kenyan volunteers is one such example, which demonstrates our commitment to work together in unison for the benefit of the Kenyan people.
Written by Lizzi Joyner