When our much loved Kenyan friend, Father Daniel Kiriti came to talk to TMC and the Parish community last August 22, he gave us a first hand account of his experience as a priest in Africa. At the time, he was in the process of being assigned to the Naviasha Parish, in the city of Naviasha, northeast of the capitol city of Nairobi. A copy of that presentation can be viewed by clicking here.

Since priests in Naviasha Parish must provide their own transportation to reach the 34 far-flung worship sites in the Parish, Fr. Daniel felt daunted by the prospect of having to buy a reliable car upon his return to Kenya. Since transportation was his most significant need, and since TMC maintains a special grant fund for his work, a fundraising effort began that night.

Thanks to your very generous response TMC wired Fr. Daniel $12,150 US dollars in February. Additionally, a local parishioner (who does not want public acknowledgement) heard of the fund drive and sent approximately $7,000 directly. Some of you forwarded notes with your donations and we have forwarded those on. Fr. Daniel was nearly overcome by your response and generosity, and has asked me to convey his deep gratitude on behalf of the people of Naviasha parish.

The only thing we ask in return for the grant funds disbursed is a periodic report from Fr. Daniel on how the funds are used and to give us an idea of his future plans and needs.

Fr. Daniel's most recent report came on March 24, 2004. For the sake of space, I have summarized his report below.

Mji Wa Neema (A village of Mercy) Orphanage.

Fr. Daniel provides spiritual education and counseling services for this orphanage. The orphanage has 32 children and is staffed by a social worker, matron and two housekeepers. Fr. Daniel writes: "(I) Can be honest with you I have been there every evening and I can not tell you the number of girls and boys. I think I do see them as one. There is too much of that division in the world and sometimes it does not help."

The children are all in elementary school, which is free in Kenya except for the cost of textbooks and materials. Fr. Daniel frets that these kids will not have a chance for secondary education which is much more expensive. He struggles to see that those with the best potential can somehow go on to high school and college. Currently Fr. Daniel is working with a kindergartener who was abused by an uncle. He hopes to make a difference in her life.

Adult Spiritual Education

" Faith is very important. Jesus kept on calling his disciples, people of little faith. I would want to increase the faith of the people knowing that faith is a gift from God. I have already started adult education. Every week we have a topic, which is open to all. Deepening their knowledge in the teaching of the church might help them make a deeper commitment."

Fr. Daniel works specifically with the Parish's Catholic Women's Association and is developing a joint program with them but they have not worked out all of the details.

Youth Program

The youth program needs more work. There is a big need for AIDS awareness. The biggest stumbling block is lack of enough trained personnel.

Transportation

Fr. Daniel has put on order a RAV 4 - 4 wheel drive Toyota with the grant funds he received in February. He writes, "I will let you know immediately when the car arrives (from Japan)."

And then Fr. Daniel adds:

"The two communities (St Thomas/TMC and Naviasha) come together by supporting one another in prayer and material. I am very happy that you make my life worthy by an email, letter or prayer."

Coincidentally, friends of Former St Thomas Parishioners Craig and Mary Noke and TMC's Mary Coady have recently visited the Mji Wa Neema Orphanage on a special project. TMC is hoping to sponsor a presentation with them and view photographs from their trip. We will keep you advised on date, time and place.

Reported by
Jim Davis

Fr. Daniel Kiriti was a regular Thomas Merton Center celebrant several years ago. He is currently a missionary in the country of Malawi. Here are excerpts from e-mails about his experience in Malawi. If you want to send him a Christmas card, his current address is: Namitete Parish, P.O. Box 136, Namitete, Malawi.

"I am sure that you are aware that I am in Malawi, which is in Central Africa. It is a small country along Lake Malawi. We enjoy the waters of the lake.

"I am fine and struggling with the Chichewa language. Nothing else is spoken here though they have English as their official language. In all the officies they speak their language. I am happy that they are very proud of their language but it has had an effect on their education and their relation with other countries in Central Africa.

"My work in the village was good. I have experienced humanity at the worst level. Imagine being in a community where you are the only one in shoes? What would be your reaction? Everyday there is a funeral not of somebody dying from any human tragedy, but from diseases. On Sunday the community came together for 150 adult baptisms and the joy in the celebration was unbelievable. I could not believe my eyes. They dance in bare feet and in the heat; it was beautiful. It made me think much about the tragedy in America. I wish people would think more about sustaining life rather than terminating it. The poverty in this country is beyond belief. Kenya is ten times better off.

"My new home is great I am very happy with the place. Today I was out for mass in an out-station. I had 200 for holy communion. The last time they had mass was last year. They have many children for baptism. I was not able to do it since I had not carried the oils with me. I will make arrangements to go back very soon. I said very soon to them and one man stood up to tell me that the other priests did the same and never came back. I said I will try and make a difference. Generally the people are very good; if only their standard of living could be improved.

" I had a very busy, fulfilling week. I had two life-giving masses on Sunday. The masses were not only sung but danced. Both young and old were on their feet. The great glory that was danced was such that when the time came for prayer I had to give us a moment to rest. We were all gasping for Air. It was lively. I came into the city today to buy some books for mass servers whom I had promised some gifts of text books if they performed well in their classes. Students here do not have text books, which makes it hard for them to study during the holidays. I would want to see these students improve their education, which is very poor in this country. Many of them cannot speak English though they learn English."