Dear Friends

Greetings from Ewuaso Kedong.

a very happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all….. also as we are so near to Easter I take this opportunity of this edition of the Newsletter to wish you all a very happy Easter.

Many thanks to all who have been in touch with me over the last two months to express your concern and support. It has been a tense and difficult time but thanks be to God there was no violence at all within the boundaries of the parish. This wasn’t something that just happened but was due to the hard work and many meetings and interventions of the chiefs in the area.

Kenya has now faded from the international news and as they say ‘no news is good news’. Thanks be to God and also Kofi Annan a peace deal has now been worked out and a power sharing agreement has been put in place between the two parties which will hopefully bring the country back to normality. The parliament met for the first time on Thursday of this week and that is the first step of many that has to be taken to heal Kenya.

The following piece is taken from what our Bishop wrote recently in the Diocesan News and gives an idea of some of what happened in other areas of the Diocese:

Many people queued for hours to vote on 27.12.07. After elections, followed three days of worrying and anxiety as the results took long to be announced. What followed is now history which should be forgotten forever. The Diocese was affected especially in Narok, Mulot, Lemek and Ololulunga. Camps sprung up in these areas. Other parts of the Diocese there have been tension. In Transmara, there has also been some clashes and even now there is no member of parliament as the results were disputed. Kajiado and Loitokitok Districts have been calm, thanks to the area members of public who were able to come in and preach peace immediately.

It is encouraging to see how the people have responded to help those who have been displaced. A lot of food, clothes, medicine, soap, mosquito nets, money and other essential things have been donated very generously. We thank all those Parishes that responded very well.

The Justice and Peace Commission has played a great role in distributing these items to the Red Cross Organization.

Fr Dominic Waweru and Fr. Ambrose Musyoka, two priests of the Diocese had a nasty experience which I include below in Fr. Dominic’s own words and which appeared also in the Diocesan News.

On 13^th January 2008, at 4.30 pm, Fr. Ambrose Musyoka and I found ourselves as temporary residents of Mulot camp after we had been rescued by the police from the hands of some who had lost their heads.

We were driving to Ololulunga parish from Mulot parish when we stumbled upon an illegal road block that rioting youth had mounted on Narok-Sotik highway, not too far from the junction to Mulot parish. The irate youth banged on the doors of our car and when we did not open, they did it for themselves. They smashed the windows and threw us all out of the car. We had given a lift to a couple and a Catechist and we were towing a car whose occupant was a religious sister whose brother was driving her back to CUEA to resume her studies. We pleaded with the youth and shouted at the top of our voices that we were Priests. They answered back, “Mapadre ni kitu gani?” (what are priests?)

What happened after that is history whose narration I find dwarfed by the late Fr. Michael Kamau incidence. Fr. Michael Kamau died in exactly similar circumstances like ours. We were harassed and stoned. The couple was robbed and the wife threatened with rape, but apart from the trauma, we all survived. God be praised.

During the melee, Fr. Ambrose was noticed by a Christian lady who went to his rescue by tying lesos (Cotton cloth used by the women to dress) around him and hiding him in her bedroom - till the police came to his rescue. I ran for several kilometers and found an old man taking a bath in a river. He came to my rescue by alerting me of a group of a not too friendly gang just ahead. I had taken a village back path where another group of youth who were running amok would not have spared me. He advised me to hide in a nearby thicket that he pointed out to me and kept me protected till twilight when things cooled down. It was like I was running into the open fangs of an anaconda while escaping from the talons of the members of the Jurassic Park.

When I tried to make a phone call to the Mission, I realised the place I was had no network. I kept crouched under the thicket like a rabbit or a fowl that had escaped the snare of the fowler. I did eventually get rescued by the police, thanks to Fr. Ambrose who since his rescue never stopped calling from Mulot Police station where he had stayed put till he was sure I was found.

I am full of gratitude to God and I also believe that all those whom we underwent the trauma together are equally grateful. I have also forgiven the youth. I have more sympathy for them than hate and I do not think it’s their mistake that they had pumpkins above their shoulders instead of heads! I doubt that I will ever meet that mzee who never gave me out and if I will, he will be dressed. May God bless him and all of you who have sympathized with us since the story broke out.

By Fr. Dominic Waweru

And below I quote from an article that I read in the local Newspaper at the height of the crisis and which I thought rang very true.

Anyone in any way familiar with the many civil wars in Africa, Rwanda, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Nigeria… and others, can see emerging in Kenya the unmistakeable signs of catastrophe.

We have been witness to political power struggles, alleged assassinations, grandstanding in high places and attendant lip service to commitment to peaceful resolution to the big questions of the day.

Thirst for power walks hand in hand with contempt for democracy. Leaders, who publicly profess peace, privately hold the philosophy that the great questions of the day will not be solved by dialogue, speeches or resolutions of the majority. They believe that resolution will come only through blood.

While overtures are made at peacemaking, the protagonists engage in doublespeak. In the meantime their dogs of war are at work generating fear, they kill, rape and loot. They barricade roads, burn property, close schools, murder women and children and engage in appalling depravity.

More pathetic is not that Kenya is at a crossroads but that all the warnings were ignored. Not only the tribal clashes which occurred before this election but the many clashes that have occurred since the early 1990’s have been the signs to the people ‘who had eyes to see and ears to hear’. Tribal rivalries were stoked by many of the same people who now grapple over power in their desire for that power.

The people of Kenya live in a permanent state of denial of the fact that they live in firm tribal blocks and until this can be overcome the carnage we have seen since the elections will continue, if not overtly then covertly, every now and again blowing up like a volcano until the country is destroyed.

Parish News

Work, both developmental and evangelical , continue in the parish. These I will report on in the next edition.

With Easter just around the corner the preparation of those, both adult and children, who will receive baptism is nearly complete. Later on in the year we will be having the celebration of confirmation.

I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and holy celebration of Easter. May the Risen Christ bless you all.

Other News

For those of you living in Ireland I recommend the following if you have time during the coming months……

“What a few can do” is an exhibition of photographs from Dublin-based photographer Elaine Ryan. The exhibition explores the scale, variety and value of missionary work in Tanzania and Kenya in 2007.  It takes a photojournalistic look at the work of the Missionaries and how they respond to the needs of the local communities. The exhibition looks at how their commitment and faith brings hope as well as sustenance.  It shows how a small group of dedicated people with the much-needed support from people at home can have a far-reaching and long-lasting effect on the lives of developing communities. 

“What a Few Can Do” is a journey through the reality of life today in Tanzania and Kenya.  It is full of joy and hope without ignoring the injustice and imbalance that exists in society.  This exhibition reinforces the need for missionary work to continue into the 21st century.  As the number of Irish Missionaries reduces the level of African missionary involvement increases in a positive turn-around essential to the future sustainability of development. The Irish Missionary Resource Service (IMRS) co-funded this initiative as part of its work to raise awareness of missionary development work. 

“What a Few Can Do” is showing in new locations over the coming months:

• Now to 19th/20th March - Dun Laoghaire Library

• 25th March to 7th April - Blanchardstown Library;

• 9th April to 1st May  - Balbriggan Library;

• 6th May to 21st May - Malahide Library.

Admission is free. For further information contact Catherine Ryan on: rosminians@iolfree.ie.

As always:

Donations are always needed and appreciated for the work in the parish and can be sent to:

Fr. Patrick Pierce I.C.

Rosminian House of Prayer,

Glencomeragh House,

Kilsheelan,

Co. Tipperary,

Ireland

Tel: + 353 52 33181

Or directly to

AIB Bank 65/67 O’Connell St.,

Clonmel,

Co. Tipperary

A/c Name: IPIC Ewuaso

A/c No.: 40016297

Sort code: 93 53 79

Or in the U.S.A. to

Fr. Christopher Fitzgerald I.C.

St. Francis of Assisi Parish,

P.O. Box 1218

Seffner,

Florida 33583

U.S.A.

Tel: +1 813 689 4241