Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) - Famine, drought, early marriages, orphans, the elderly, human promotion, evangelization, these are some of the priorities of the sisters of the Congregation of the Social Missionaries of the Church who work in Kenya.
"We are the Congregation of Social Missionaries of the Church, an Ecuadorian foundation that has been working in Kenya since 2000", explained to Fides Sr. Ligia Giròn, who, together with her sisters, follows various humanitarian contexts in the African country.
"We arrived in Kenya for a 3-year missionary experience, but then we decided to stay, after realizing that our presence in the middle of the desert, and our charisma gave many young people the desire to serve the Church through our Congregation. There are currently 20 of us, including 17 Kenyans and 3 Ecuadorians. We mainly take care of pre-school children, from 0 to 7 years of age, in very remote areas near Ethiopia.
We also work in a reception center for nomadic girls forced into marriage and with orphans. Our goal, besides evangelizing, is to give them food, education and shelter. Unfortunately, since the Covid-19 pandemic, we no longer have staff to help us take care of 500 elderly people and we can currently only take care of a few dozen of them".
The commitment of the missionaries also extends to the diocese of Eldoret, in the Rift Valley, where they deal mainly with evangelization and human promotion, "we take care of children, women, families,
and it is there that we temporarily hosted our novitiate - explains Sister Ligia. We were invited to the diocese of Homabay, Nyanza province, to set up a reception center for girls who are forced to be circumcised even if it is prohibited by law. Let's pray the good Lord to give us the means to start this other work which would help so many innocent victims".
Sister Ligia also speaks of the drought emergency affecting the area (see Fides, 30/3/2023).
"In Turkana, we had rain for a few hours this week, although it was devastating, it wiped out many animals and claimed lives among children. The positive side is that this rain will allow grass to grow for grazing, although it can do nothing against the severe famine that the whole population is experiencing. Here in the desert, the water supply depends on wells. The water level is always very low and there are not enough in the desert for people and livestock. The Church and NGOs continue to help us as much as they can". (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 31/3/2023)
