Father Kevin and the Mission in Kenya
Poverello
was blessed to be visited again by Father Kevin McGarry--a missionary
from Embul-bul, Kenya. His work in Kenya is miraculous as he and his parishioners
work as God's instruments on Earth to live and breathe the Gospel. Included
are a few pictures from Embul-bul and part of an article taken from the
October 1, 2002 issue of Come Home to Rome (a Catholic Missionary
Magazine). This article is an example of the work Father Kevin accomplishes
in Kenya. He has accomplished much including the completion of a beautiful
church that was designed as a Maasai tribal hut and the creation of a
primary and secondary school for the children of the area. Our prayers
are with him and the people of Embul-bul.
Segment of Article:
"Fr.
Kevin of Embul-bul is an example. In 3 short years he has managed to do
the impossible. Friends in the local government told him one Friday evening
that the church land he was occupying, and where there was a small rundown
wooden building, was going to be taken over by the government the following
Monday. The Muslim controlled
local officials wanted the Catholic Church out of the area. Fr. Kevin
called a few of the local women together and told them, .go out into the
streets and find any children you can and tell them that Monday morning
we are going to start a school here and that the first quarter tuition
is free. He and his workers then spent Saturday and 
Sunday
whitewashing the building and cleaning the inside of it. Fr. Kevin laughingly
told us that he expected 20-30 kids. By Monday afternoon there were more
than 300! When the government officials and the police showed up to evict
Fr. Kevin, they were faced with all these kids who would be refused an
education if the school closed. That's not good for votes, even in Africa,
so after calling Fr. Kevin a few choice names, they left the school alone!
Somehow the tuition is still free for most!
With
the aid of his lay workers and Sr. Lilliana, a Capuchin Franciscan nun,
he spent the next several weeks just killing lice and stomach parasites,
and giving them a hot meal each day so they could start to learn. You
would not believe the difference in these children. Fr. Kevin has built
up their confidence and self-esteem to the point where they feel they
can do anything. The staff of the school has a program for the kids that
would be an example to special education programs anywhere. One physically
challenged street child sang a song for us about how he was going to become
a doctor and come back and help others, just as he had been helped. I'm
betting on him!
Love
can do some great things. The kids and the volunteer staff of the school
are fiercely loyal to Fr. Kevin and his head mistress, Momma Cannini.
Momma had come from a battered past where she was the co-wife of an alcoholic
and abusive husband. She had to cook and clean for everyone and was not
allowed out of the house. When Fr. Kevin met her she would not even look
up at him or speak, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to set
us all free. By God's mercy and Fr. Kevin's insight she now holds the
school together with cords of love a hurricane couldn't break. We had
the honor of visiting each classroom and the street kids would sing us
a song and recite a poem for us. They lit up the rooms with their beautiful
smiles. I thank God for Fr. Kevin and his staff, and you and I must help
them with this vital work. Faith without works is dead!"