In Kenya, as it is in Heaven

I’ve wanted to be part of the SeeKenya team for over a decade. Having joined the same church as the founders in 2013, I heard many of the ‘up, close, and personal’ stories. I was no exception to the crowd gathered at church, listening in wonder, whilst we heard about sight being restored, international relationships growing, and ultimately, lives being transformed. And of course, the rumours of four-hour marathon church services!

With my background in the Health and Social care sector, a cultivated heart for the vulnerable and the poor, and a shiny new faith, I told myself that when the time was right I would love to join the adventures. I never expected to wait for 12 years, but it definitely made the experience all the more special when the time finally came.

It’s important to highlight how incredible the core team of volunteers are who serve time and again, holding down the fort with learned experience and wisdom. These faithful few bring calm, and reassurance that allows us ‘newbie’ volunteers to slot in effortlessly, without feeling like the weakest links or ‘achilles heels’. There is an overwhelming culture of positivity and support within the team, ensuring each team member’s skills are deployed effectively.

The clinic days were long – sometimes up to 13 hours, but it is in these long days that you get to see the pure essence of the Kenyan people. Patients ranged from rustic farmers to toddlers clinging to their mothers, evidently wondering who these strangers were, and what we were doing there. There were the privileged, the business people, government officials, and students, but there were also many, many more people with far less, if any, material wealth. We saw people struggling to get by day by day given their health conditions, yet with a real determination to do their best despite the limitations and frustration. It reminded me of how their problems would be perceived as a simple fix in the UK, but such are the vast, and complex, lack of provisions in much of Kenya. 

I wouldn’t call it anything near a hero complex, it’s too strong a term, but I think we can sometimes arrive in economically poorer countries, with the engrained notion that we are the ones labelled as the privileged, rich folk, there to bring and share some of our wealth and social advantage with the poor. There is truth in this, but it is not the fundamental truth, but a simplistic truth when looking solely at materialism and economic wealth.

In the Bible, Jesus makes it very clear how hard it is for people who idolise being wealthy and having earthly riches to be right with God. In the UK, we are bombarded with materialism, and calculated marketing to ramp up our overspending. Here, in this pop-up eye clinic, God spoke to me to observe the characters of the patients as they came through the clinic, and I’m glad I paid attention to His nudges. 

As patient after patient filtered through the doors, I observed levels of peace, joy, gratitude, patience and community that I have not seen in a very long time, and are certainly not on display in waiting rooms in the UK. Strangers were stepping up to translate for their neighbour for our team, toddlers sat patiently with their mothers for hours, people trying on their first pair of glasses - able to see were laughing and clapping their hands together, and repeatedly, I could see that the more visibly poor someone was, the gentler and more grateful they were, or the more patient and calm they were in the waiting. Blessed are the poor.

We pray in the Lord’s prayer, “on earth as it is in heaven”, and I don’t think we have to wait until we go there to get a taste of it. Heaven on earth can be found in the everyday moments if you just let yourself look for it; in the community you have around you, the times when love shows up unexpectedly, or simply when peace is present. Although money is essential in this world, I can see ever-clearer just how important it is to not let it be your master, and to steward it well so we don’t miss out on the simplest, but fullest of joys.

There are many ways to support SeeKenya, from being a team member, committing to pray, to donating to the future permanent clinic and more. I was so blessed to go as part of the team, and continue to be impressed by all they do and achieve for the people of Kenya.

By Laura Goodsmith 

Trip volunteer, 2025