Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Ministry Takes Teenager To Africa
DOSS TOUCHED BY GENEROSITY
FARMINGTON — Farmington High senior Janna Doss went to Africa this summer to care for orphans, disabled children, widows and men and women in prison.
She returned home, feeling that she was the one who benefited.
“They kept telling us what a blessing we were to them,” Janna said. “But we had to remind them what an example and blessing they really were to us.”
She was most touched, she said, by the fact that the children were so generous despite not having anything themselves.
“They were such servants to us when we were supposed to be there to serve them.”
Janna, 17, traveled with a group of 15 adults, college students and high school students to Nairobi, Kenya, from June 11July 1.
The trip was sponsored by Go Near Ministry, a non- profit ministry founded in 2005 by Lewis and Melody Taylor of Little Rock.
The vision of Go Near Ministry is to empower widows, orphans, women and children by raising them out of extreme poverty. The organization’s mission is to mobilize people and resources to help the extremely poor and vulnerable.
According to the Go Near website, a top priority of the ministry is to train and send volunteers to Nairobi, Kenya, to serve and partner with the programs that have been established in the area.
Janna had heard about the ministry through her parents, who are friends with the Taylors from college. She went to Haiti on a mission trip during spring break of her sophomore year in high school and then placed her name on the waiting list to go to Africa.
The cost of the trip was $ 3,500 and participants were responsible for raising their own money to pay for the trip. Janna sent out letters asking for donations but also raised her money through babysitting and by selling a painting she finished of the University of Arkansas.
Trip Begins
The first day in Nairobi was spent learning about the culture of the country, so the Americans would not show disrespect to anyone, Janna said. She learned that it is important to shake everyone’s hands.
She said she also learned that in Kenya, women and children are discarded. Women do all the work but many women do not have steady jobs and walk around in search of ways to earn money. Many will do laundry. Others are very talented with hair and bead-work and would make money that way.
The team helped with several programs in place.
They spent time at the Baby Nest, a place for babies who are orphans and can be adopted, and Big Nest, a home for older children.
“A lot of the babies just needed to be held,” Janna said. She especially became attached to a 7-month-old baby boy named James. James’ mother was in prison and his older sister lived at Big Nest.
One of the hardest parts of the trip, Janna said, was hearing the stories about the children and what they had gone through.
The most shocking story, she said, was meeting a child who had been raped as an infant. The girl is 6 years old now and doing a lot better.
She ministered at a school called the Little Rock Center for Disabled Children. It’s name came from the fact that the children are little and have to be like rocks, Janna said.
The center, started by a woman who saw many disabled children in the Nairobi slums, provides a safe educational environment for the children, along with daily food. It is a place for children who have been left behind with nowhere to go.
The team helped at the ABC Children’s Home for children who have been rescued from the streets, are orphans or have parents who are too sick or poor to care for them. This home was started by a woman named Thorrun from Iceland.
She takes in children to give them food, shelter and an education.
The team brought over “tons” of donated shoes and distributed the new shoes to more than 400 children at the ABC home.
“They were all grateful to have a pair of shoes because many didn’t have any shoes or couldn’t afford them,” Janna said.
They also visited a men’s prison and a women’s prison to greet and show care for the prisoners.
Janna said she was surprised by the reaction from the men in prison.
“They were really nice and showed us so much respect. They were grateful for us to be there and spend time with them. They were so joyful even though they were in prison. It was the same with the women. They were all joyful.”
The group made home visits in the second largest slum in Nairobi and prayed for the families in the homes. The homes were made of tin sheets and extremely tiny. Most did not have electricity or bathrooms. One home housed a mother and five children who all slept in one bed together.
“Every mother there puts her kids’ education first,” Janna said. “That was the first thing they asked us to pray for.”
In Kenya, it costs to go to school. Doss said she learned it takes so long for children to finish school because a family may be able to afford school one month but they do not have the money to pay it the next month.
Janna sang with the children, danced with the children and held lots of hands. Most of the children are very “touchy” and constantly wanted to hold someone’s hand. She held children, loved on children and helped to feed the children.
Executive Director Speaks
Taylor, who serves as executive director of Go Near Ministry, first met the Farmington student when the group left for Africa.
“I love Janna. She is absolutely, unbelievably compassionate and sensitive,” Taylor said as she talked about the trip this summer.
People who go on the mission trips must be flexible and able to live in the poor conditions of the country.
Janna fit in with that, Taylor said.
“She didn’t mind the dirt and the fact that there were no showers. She was totally flexible.”
Children in Africa do not have mirrors or cameras and so they do not know what they look like.
Taylor said Janna would take photos of the children with her camera and then let them look at the images.
“I saw her come alive. She loved on the babies, helped with songs, programs and activities.” She added, “When she was there, she was selfless at every turn. She had such a heart and the components that make for a good missionary.”
Karen Doss, Janna’s mother, said she had some fear about letting her youngest daughter go to Africa but said she knew it was something she had wanted to do since middle school.
“It was a lot of money and she was going to have to raise it herself. I just thought if the Lord wants her to go, all that will work out. And it did. So I guess she’s supposed to go,” Karen Doss said.
She added that she felt comfortable in that she knew Janna would be with Melody Taylor and that it would be a good experience for her.
Since her daughter has returned home, Karen Doss said she’s loved listening to her talk about the children.
“Janna has a really kind heart, she’s always been that way, and it’s neat to see her be even more tender toward those kids because she’s experienced it now. It’s more real to her.”
Looking Back
Looking back, Janna said her favorite part of the mission trip was spending time with the children.
“I loved seeing them so happy to have visitors everyday. Also I really enjoyed learning about their culture.”
The trip was an emotional one, Janna said, and the last day was extremely hard as everyone told each other goodbye.
When she returned home, she said it took some time to get used to American culture again.
She is sponsoring a girl at the ABC Children’s Home for $40 a month and Doss said she looks at the costs of things now in relation to the poverty in Kenya.
“If I go buy something, I’m thinking that’s $40 that could sponsor a kid for a month for food and to live,” Doss said.
She returned home to fireworks displays celebrating July 4 and the fireworks bothered her, she said.
“We spend money on things we don’t need that could go to a kid who is starving right now,” she said.
Doss hopes to return to Africa. Until then, she plans to stay in contact with some of the people she met in Nairobi and with those who went on the trip with her.