Adventists Implicated in Kenya Power Company Payment Theft — and More News Shorts
In this week’s news round-up, Adventists are implicated in Kenya Power Company theft, Adventist Dominican youth help rebuild a church destroyed by Hurricane Maria, and Loma Linda University Health concludes its 12th annual healthy living youth camp.
Adventists Implicated in Kenya Power Company Payment Theft. The Kenya Power Company has dismissed 13 of its employees who were implicated in illegal sale of tokens worth Sh35.2 million, according to the Acting Managing Director of the company, Jared Othieno, who was appearing before the Senate committee to shed light on theft that involved tokens and billing at the company. Othieno said that the company summoned more than 3,000 customers who admitted that they knowingly bought the tokens from rogue staff of the company. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said that the consumers colluded with rogue Kenya Power staff and brokers to fraudulently benefit 5,000 consumers. Some of the entities which were summoned include the Seventh-day Adventist [Church] in South Nyanza, Uchumi Supermarkets in North Rift, Moi University Campus in North Rift, Kenya National Mills in Nairobi and Safaricom Investments Cooperative Society Limited in Nairobi. “They went ahead and bought the tokens and none of the money was sent to Kenya Power Company. For instance, a customer used Sh1,000 to purchase 26.2 units instead of the required Sh3,200, and the money was never sent to the company,” he said. From Nairobi News, “Kenya Power fires 13 employees linked to Sh35million tokens racket.”
Adventist Dominican Youth Rebuild Boetica SDA Church. Seventy-three Adventist youth campers launched a mission to rebuild the Boetica Seventh-day Adventist Church which was completely destroyed by Hurricane Maria. The Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Mission of Seventh-day Adventists through its Youth Department planned and executed a Senior Youth Mission Camp themed IMPACT Dominica 2019. The campers were able to run up all the blocks for the church in three days. The project was started by the Maranatha International Volunteers, and the SVG Mission of SDA partnered with them to see this project through to completion. Pastor Brent St. Jean, Youth Director and Jemalie John, Camp Director and President of the Adventist Youth Ministries Advisory Council (AYMAC) thanked all those who made the mission a success. The SVG Mission intends to bring this project to completion by the end of 2019. Of the 36 Adventist churches on the island, all were damaged, and only eight were operational immediately after the passage of the hurricane. Up to present day, the South East District remains without a church, and services for Boeticans are held at the home of one of its members. From Searchlight, “Adventist Youths rebuild in Dominica.”
Loma Linda University Health Continues Heathy Living Youth Camps. Loma Linda University Health last week concluded its 12th annual Operation Fit, a series of week-long wellness camps for Inland Empire children and their families to learn how to live healthier lives through sensible food choices and physical activity. This summer, 75 kids, ages 9 to 15, participated in each of the three Operation Fit camps held June 24 through July 19 at Loma Linda University Health. Camps were led and staffed by Loma Linda University School of Medicine and School of Public Health medical students, pediatric residents, and dietetic students. Through dynamic, interactive educational activities, campers learned [about] portion control, read food labels and incorporated more fruits and vegetables in their diet. Kids were also introduced to fun exercise games and physical activities.
Marti Baum, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, said camp participants are referred by SAC Health System pediatricians and family medicine physicians if the patient’s Body Mass Index (BMI) is over the 85th percentile, which means the child is considered overweight or obese. Parents of campers had the opportunity to learn about their own health during parent education night. Campers got hands-on cooking experience by preparing healthful meals for their parents. Families had the chance to sign up for an additional five weeks of health education at SAC Health System upon conclusion of the camp session. “The Inland Empire region has many food deserts, vapid of fresh fruits and vegetables due to food insecurity, lack of grocery stores and access to wholesome food,” Baum said. “Healthy living is further complicated by lack of transportation and the fact that community members don’t feel safe walking in their neighborhood or playing at parks.” A 13-year-old, eighth-grade camper from San Bernardino said her favorite part of the camp was the exercise activities, like dodgeball and pickleball. She said she is looking forward to incorporating physical activity into her daily life. Baum offers this simple advice to parents: “Be proactive. Make wholesome eating part of the conversation with children at restaurants, schools and churches. That will make it easier for them to develop long-term healthy habits.” From Loma Linda University Health, “Wellness camp gives community kids tools to make wholesome lifestyle choices.”
Please note: Spectrum news round-ups are an aggregation of regional, national, and international publications around the world that have reported on stories about Adventists. As such, the accuracy of the information is the responsibility of the original publishers, which are noted and hyperlinked at the end of each excerpt.
Pam Dietrich taught English at Loma Linda Academy for 26 years and served there eight more years as the 7-12 librarian. She lives in Yucaipa, California.
Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash
We invite you to join our community through conversation by commenting below. We ask that you engage in courteous and respectful discourse. You can view our full commenting policy by clicking here.
