Kenya – Page 6 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

A Call to Christian Commitment in Politics and Economics

1 November, 2021 by Alberto de la Portilla

We share with you an inspiring letter for Christian commitment in politics and economics shared with us by Father Francisco Pierli and Sister Teresita Cortés.

Very dear friends and Colleagues,

Thanks to God, that after a long spell of silence we are now in position of joyfully communicating with you from a beautiful part of Italy where we Combonis have an institution for the recovery of sickly and elderly confreres. It is the so-called “Centro Alfredo Fiorini” dedicated to a Comboni Brother who was murdered in Mozambique during a Social Mission.

We are writing this letter to underline that our communion continues and hopefully will increase since the health of Fr Pierli is improving.

We took the opportunity to visit the House and the Museum of the great Italian Politician Alcide De Gasperi. In eight successive coalition governments he served as Prime Minister and he was always clearly inspired by the Catholic Social Teaching. He was one of the Founders of the European Union together with Konrad Adenauer from Germany and Robert Schuman from France. We did that visit to the House and Museum of Alcides De Gasperi as a pilgrimage. We are interested in the above mentioned Politicians because all of them and especially De Gasperi, were ready to invest themselves to the utmost to transform the Civil Society according to the Gospel values. They were Statesmen, with a vision of the future, totally committed to regeneration – rebuilding, after the Second World War, of their own respective countries socially and economically and to unite them into a federation as a seed of a greater United Europe. De Gasperi’s Cause of Beatification has been already started. “A Politician looks at the next election, but a Statesman looks at the next generation”. (Alcide De Gasperi).

They inspire us with their commitment, to re-interpret our Christian faith in Politics and Economics: in Parliament, in the State House and in Social life. In spite of the difficulties they met, they managed to penetrate the world of politics and in the field of economics with the Christian values elaborated in the Documents of the Social Teaching of the Church.

May their example and intercession help all of you Kenyan and African Politicians to be at the service of your people, actually people God has entrusted to you, for the liberation of the plague of the society, and for the construction of unity and communion at National and Continental level.

Fraternal greetings and best wishes! With our prayers for you,

Fr Francesco Pierli MCCCJ – Sr, Teresita Cortés Aguirre CMS

An update on our progress as CLM-Kenya

2 July, 2021 by Alberto de la Portilla

As has been our norm as the CLM in Kenya, we had our monthly formation meeting this June. This time around we were hosted by the MCCJ in their provincial house, organized by our director, Fr. Maciek MCCJ. The main lesson was the Catholic Social Teaching. During this weekend-long meeting, we had a chance to participate in the World Refugee Day celebrations organized by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Kenya in Nairobi. It was an amazing experience, being able to meet our brothers and sisters refugees from various countries who showcased their talents and capabilities.

One of the highlights of our formation was the chance to not only meet but learn from the Bishop-elect of Rumbek Diocese in South Sudan, Fr. Christian Carlassare MCCJ. Having been aware of his recent attack, we as CLM-Kenya were really glad to see him recovered and even accompany us to the celebrations of World Refugee Day. He shared with us more on the Catholic social teaching and also examples of challenges faced during mission work. His sharing was very helpful to us all especially it being that we are soon having some of the members finalize on their formation by the end of the year. We also got a chance to learn from the Provincial Superior of the MCCJ in Kenya, Fr. Austin Radull MCCJ. They both shared their vocational journeys with us and various challenges encountered in the process.

It is said that growth is the only sign of life, and we as CLM-Kenya are proud to say that we are improving in terms of membership and formation. Other than there being some of us who are almost done with formation, we have been blessed with new membership over time regardless of the COVID 19 pandemic. Our financial projects are still progressing well, and we are hoping to establish a new mission for the lay in West Pokot County. God willing, we will be in a position to host our fellow CLM members from other countries for mission work in the near future.

Angeline Thiong’o, CLM group in Kenya

African Memory Project: Daniel Villaverde

17 June, 2021 by Alberto de la Portilla

We continue this series with Fr. Daniel Villaverde, a Comboni Missionary.

For 20 years, Fr. Daniel worked in northern Kenya with nomadic populations such as the Turkana. He talks about this and other tribes, the difficult terrain and the growing (and perhaps unstoppable) influence of Western values on the new urban Kenyan generations. (Interview in Spanish).

Meeting amid an ongoing pandemic

9 September, 2020 by Alberto de la Portilla

When we last met in March this year, none of us thought we would not be in a position to meet over the next six months. We had made plans to meet again within the same month, and induct some potential new members from Kariobangi in Nairobi and Nyeri. As CLM-Kenya, we were excited to go over possible charity activities that we would be a part of. However, not only were our plans derailed with the onset of the corona virus pandemic in Kenya, so was our formation. We also knew we were not the only ones, so many more countries had been affected, some more than others. Still, we tried conducting our meetings online hoping for a day that we would finally meet again.

The departure of Fr. Claudio, MCCJ from Kenya back to Italy came as bitter sweet news to us. He has been very instrumental in our formation from the very beginning of the group’s formation. How could he leave without us celebrating him and bidding him farewell with our physical presence? We therefore decided to meet on the 29th August not only to wish him well as he prepared to leave our beloved country after serving for many years, but to also meet as a group to plan out our future.

During the meeting, we strived to adhere to the safety guidelines issued by our government as we shared our experiences over the last six months. The pandemic had certainly affected each and every one of us. But all in all, we were grateful that by the grace of God we had been able to move forward. What a joy it was to see each other again face to face. For a moment, we all forgot the fears and challenges brought about by the pandemic.

In the short amount of time we had, we were able to discuss matters pertaining to the group such as financial aspects, our honey project, online presence and future plans on how our formation would progress. The missionary zeal within the group has not faded in the least. In fact, the challenges faced seem to ignite a deeper desire to serve the Lord as missionaries in our country and beyond. We plan on continuing our formation classes, albeit for a single day in a month, so as to try and make up for the time lost. We keep hoping for a time when we can resume our usual lengthened formation. In the meantime, we will try to make the best of the chances we get. As Fr. Claudio embarks on another phase of his missionary life, we pray that the Lord blesses and stays with him always.

CLM group in Kenya

Report on the 1st assembly of CLM Kenya

22 January, 2020 by Alberto de la Portilla

The candidates of the Comboni Lay Missionaries, Kenya met in an assembly from 10th to 12th January, 2020 at St. Daniel Comboni Parish, Utawala in Nairobi. The attendance of the members was great and the moderator of the assembly was our formator Rev. Fr. Maciek Zielinski. This was our first assembly since the group was created in 2017. It therefore meant that there was much to be discussed and evaluated.

The assembly started with the evaluation of the year 2019 to determine our progress as a group and take corrective measures where necessary.

We then embarked on selecting new leaders who will oversee the group activities during this year. The chairman of the group is Onyango Martin, an IT expert, the group secretary is Angeline Njeri, a teacher by profession and the treasurer is Beatrice Imali, a medical nurse.

Later, the group started preparing the CLM Kenya Charter to guide the group’s activities and overall involvement in the missionary work of the Comboni Family. We are still in the process of drafting the group’s charter.

Overall, the first assembly was a success. We give all the glory to God.

By Angeline Njeri