The Origin of the Ministry
Most Kenyans are a product of the extended families. Artisan’s skill provides a source of income for most families. Our Founder (Humphreys Pedha) spent his primary and secondary school life with a relative who used to tie flies for a living. He conjured his interest in the fly-tying world.
While Europe and America may be viewed as the cradles for the fly-tying art, the sophistry has permuted into Africa through cross culture interactions. The history behind our learning the art of fly-tying dates back to 1994. An American missionary came to our village. He loved fishing in our local rivers using his own made flies. The eagerness of the 2 of us to learn fly tying and fishing from him led him to teach us the art of fly-tying. For about 1 year, he taught us exhaustively. We used to call him father lemmings.
He always mentioned to us that fly tying and fishing is a big business in America and Europe and that the skills we learnt from him would one day give us jobs. By the time he left Kenya, a seed had already been planted in us!
During school weekends, some big-time flies’ traders would hire our skills at a minimum fee. Such money would help us purchase some text books or supplement our meager family income. Despite this, we always dreamt and aspired to one day start an exclusive initiative that would help nourish our spiritual, social, economic and spiritual well-being.
In 1996 a group of American Christians visited our local secondary school (Muhu). Mrs. Sharon Secor was among the group. We asked Sharon if she was familiar with fly fishing and flies where she answered that, fly fishing and flies is a big business and sport in America.
In 1997, we decided to train more young people on fly tying and decided to form a self-help project. The fire within us made us believe that, believing in God, determination and discipline, we could make a difference in our lives and those we come into contact with. The Secor youth development project (s. y. d. p) was then born.
We wrote to Mrs. Sharon Secor explaining the formation of the project and our naming it after her. A woman especially a mother is valued, loved, and cherished by her children. It is a common practice among us to identify with mother figure, a quality Sharon excluded when she visited us. She did not know the complexities of the flies’ trade through. However, she told us she had a fisherman friend who did. His name was Ron. We watered the seed of hope and with our now honed skills we produced our first batch of flies meant for export market. We had no market though. Attempts to send out letters to prospective clients abroad would either go answered or they would point out that they only dealt with established fly companies with a track record. Some would ask our samples only for their own benefits. Others would order flies from us and never to pay for them at all. Despite our skills, determination and group initiative, we seem not to be making any breakthrough in the export business. Until Sharon and the group visited again for the second time in the year 2000. Through them, we made one more friend, his name is Scott. From Sharon, Scott and Ron we are now some steps ahead. Today the commercial arm of our initiative is called Penda Kenya Gospel initiative and flies.
Most of our team members are committed followers of Christ. While we produce baits to lure fish, we also work to compliment Christ adage to be fishers of men. The Penda Kenya Gospel initiative is therefore aimed at spreading the Gospel of Christ so to win souls for Christ as well as unite Kenyans. Among some Gospel programs we have initiated includes using Gospel patriotic music to spread the gospel of patriotism. We compose our Gospel patriotic songs in studios and use the same as witnessing tool to unite Kenyans. Fellow Kenyans should all know that it is God of all creations who created the diverse tribes that we have in our beloved country Kenya. We cannot start to appreciate and celebrate our heritage until we realize that we are all God’s children created equal and placed in this land called Kenya to co-exist harmoniously. No tribe in Kenya is a mistake, we are all God’s best and we indeed need each other.
We should not allow political and tribal differences drive us to the same of blood shed once again. Let us all work hard and invite God to come and bless our efforts of nation building. Our beautiful country is our heritage bestowed graciously to us by the almighty God. It belongs to all of us, our children and all the future generation as long as God appoints.
May we all work selflessly and promote a legacy of peace, love and unity. The politicians need to put aside their self interest and put the county’s interest first. We all need to live in a better world and in the same vein we should thirst for a better Kenya. Let us do it as the power is in us!!Whatever the color or symbol of your “Chama” let white, the color of peace prevail during and after any elections. Kenya for peace, Kenya for Love and Kenya for unity.
Here we are, the seed the missionary planted and which we have watered with tears and waters of prayers is now blossoming into a beautiful tree. We look forward to its being a shade for many people who will train in handcrafts and fly tying for job creation and self-employment. We are composed of men and Women who due to our social economic desperation engage in alternative poverty alleviation and income generation through production of artificial fishing flies for the export markets. We also make other African hand crafts for sale. Compelled by our shared neighborhood common denominator of poverty, marginalization and stagnation, we realized that participatory group initiative is the only sustainable path to our self-reliance. Engaging in fishing flies’ production and other crafts is therefore a venture in our efforts to determine, improve and change our destinies hence formation of the Penda Kenya Gospel initiative and Flies.
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