Lalmba News, Volume 59, No. 3

By Rob Andzik

A chicken is known the world over as a source of food, either through eggs or as a meal itself. If you have a chicken, you can use it to feed your family or trade it for other goods and services. In many ways a chicken could be considered a global currency. If someone said “I’ll trade you one chicken for that ” most people would inherently know the value. For example, in the US a whole chicken costs about $7-$8, plucked and ready to cook. In Matoso Kenya, where Lalmba’s programs are, a live adult chicken costs about 700-1,000 Kenyan shillings. At the current exchange rate $7 is about 840 Kenyan shillings, so the value of a chicken is surprisingly about the same. It’s similar in Ethiopia at about 400-500 birr ($7.66-$9.58). Maybe a chicken really could be considered a universal currency.

But it sure doesn’t feel that way. Imagine a family about to enjoy a delicious chicken dinner. How many hours would they have to work to earn that chicken? Someone in the US, working at a minimum wage of $8/hour, can easily earn about one chicken an hour, leaving plenty of time to earn breakfast, lunch, and much more. Earning a chicken doesn’t feel very hard at all.

What does earning a chicken feel like in Matoso? Well, a typical family receiving Lalmba’s RCAR support in Kenya makes about 500 to 1,200 Kenyan shillings a month. Using chicken currency, that’s about one chicken a month. A whole month’s worth of work to earn one simple chicken to feed your family.

Inflation is impacting everyone worldwide. We all feel it when we go to the grocery store or at the gas pump. Yet only a few months ago in the communities Lalmba serves, that chicken was half the price it is today. That’s two more weeks of work for the same chicken. It is when we put it in terms like this that the “Economy of a Chicken” hits home as we remember women like Grace.

By Rob Andzik

It is in the journey of searching for someone new that we learn the most about ourselves. Over the last few months we have been praying for and actively searching to find Lalmba’s new President.

We cast a big net, met many people, and contemplated exciting futures for this amazing organization. Through this journey, we have reaffirmed that Lalmba is about the people in Kenya and Ethiopia. Amazing and wonderful people who struggle daily to provide for their children, for their elders, and for their communities. Lalmba’s heart and soul are dedicated to those people and empowering those communities to find a way out of the cycle of poverty.

As part of our search we put that dedication to action and facilitated our first ever African interviews for a Lalmba USA role via Zoom. We are very happy to announce that our search has come to a fruitful conclusion. We would like you all to meet Lalmba’s new President.

By Jennifer Wenningkamp

I lived with my husband and three sons in Mozambique, serving desperately poor children and elders for over ten years before we all moved to Colorado. After achieving my humanitarian aid career goals, I earned a dual Master’s degree in International Human Rights and MLS in International Law. Then, as I searched for a job, I wondered if my time in Africa was behind me. Until, they asked me if I was willing to schedule another interview – with African leadership. My final round of interviews was with Joan and the Kenyan and Ethiopian Directors. To my joy, this African-based organization chose me. As Lalmba’s President, I will endeavor to educate and empower Africans by continuing Lalmba’s ongoing work “at the end of the road”.