Answering a higher call

Jerushia McDonald is proud to have grown up in Las Vegas in the 1960s and the ‘70s, with a cherished family heritage of strength, courage and beauty. She has enjoyed a front-row seat to the transformation of her community, having borne witness to everything from civil rights protests to the modern struggle for economic justice.

As host of the popular radio broadcast “Africa’s Cry,” it was a personal calling that led her on a recent trip to Kenya that lasted from April to the end of June. “I went to Africa as a mandate from God, to tell the people of Africa that God has heard their cries,” said McDonald. “I have experienced a vision of the cries from the people in Africa since 1988. I could see and hear the cries of children and women, and recently this vision had increased and I could no longer ignore it.”

McDonald couldn’t have selected a more critical time to communicate that message. Already reeling from famine, Somali militants have targeted the country. A brutal September 2013 terrorist attack at Nairobi’s Westgate Mall shocked the world with the killing feature of 68 innocent people.

“The most impactful thing that I witnessed during my visit to Kenya was the vast number of homeless children who are products of a war that took the lives of their parents,” said McDonald. “Many of the parents with children in Kenya were killed, leaving their children with no family to provide for or protect them. The terrorist attacks could be heard while I slept, consisting of burning and gunshots in order to take the cattle from other villages.”

While attending a conference of Christian ministers concerned about life in Kenya today, McDonald witnessed the resiliency of a proud, determined people. “The people in [the region of] Kenya where I visited are mostly farmers, carpenters and they work with steel,” she said. “The majority of them are entrepreneurs, and all they need is someone to teach them how to successfully operate their businesses and invest. Kenyans are some of the hardest working people I have ever met. I have visited Africa before, but I have so much respect for the Kenyan people.”