By Fr. Jerome Cayetano svd

Bishops Cornelius Kipng’eno Arap Korir, the bishops of the Diocese of Eldoret, had made an urgent appeal to the SVD Superior in Rome to send a missionary to help out in the chaplaincy work of his diocese several years ago. His request was finally granted and Fr. Jerome Cayetano was sent to Kenya in 1996.

I started my chaplaincy work at Moi University (Chepkoilel Campus) and Eldoret Medical Department in February of 1996. Fr. Crowley, the part-time chaplain of these institutions for four years, gave me a good orientation before I began my new assignment.

By Fr. Eufemio Sombrio, svd

In nearly forty years, this is my first time to celebrate Christmas away form my homeland. Before I left for Africa last January, I already heard reports from many missionaries abroad that indeed there is no place like home especially in terms of celebrating Christmas. Now that I am a Filipino in Africa, I’d rather say that Christmas in Kenya compared to the Philippines is both similar and different. Different because of our cultural traditions like the Misa de Gallo, like listening to Christmas songs as early as the month of September, or house-to-house caroling. But it is also similar because the message of Christmas to the Africans remains the same that “the WORD was made FLESH and DWELT among us.”

By Sr. Rebecca G. Macugay, MM

Cecilia Wanjiku, at trainer with whom I work in the community Based Health Program in our parish, was just wrapping up the morning lessons on immunization of children when the rain clouds hovering above the halakesa tree (a variety of thorn tree) where training seminars were held released a gentle rain. Abashira, one of the community health worker trainees, directed us to her hut for cover. We huddled inside her “min”. (The min is the name of the small Orma house made of long thin poles bent to form an igloo-shaped structure, covered with palm and other kinds of grass and held together by colorfully dyed strips of bark). Abashira gave us an update in her home visiting activities. These seminars-under-the-tree or in a make-shift “min” are a recently developed feature of our health ministry.

By: Sr. Martina Machacon, OSS

How it Started

The conflict started with the shooting down of the plane of President Juvenal Habyimana, the President of Rwanda on April 6, 1994. Immediately after the incident, communications were cut off and Kigali was blocked. People started evacuating the city with their few belongings in a bundle on their heads to escape being killed.