I was living in Malawi with the members of MCSPA for six months. These six months were one of the greatest times of my life.

I observed, that going to Africa, going to an economically poor country like Malawi changed myself more than I maybe changed the feeling of the people living in Benga.

The members of MCSPA tought me that to help and to serve people in need can open your heart, not only to their needs and problems but also to your own belief and spirituality. Being back in Germany I still feel the connection to the people in Benga.

Furthermore I am able to feel new connections to people more intensively here in Germany, because I have really learned that beside all our individual problems in daily life, at the end of the day we all want the same –  we all want to be loved, accepted and part of  a community. I am more than thankfull for this experience and life lesson.

Valentino Amian

(Germany)

Today June 23, 2017 marks the 30th anniversary of the arrival of the first members of the MCSPA to start living permanently in Turkana. It was on the eve of St. John the Baptist’s Day and in spite of the precariousness of the situation we managed to celebrate the feast the best way possible. We arrived at an empty house and with a few things that we had been able to carry in a borrowed car. So many things have happened since then! From the small dispensary that already existed, we were able to go to the border with Ethiopia and South Sudan with our presence and work covering an important part of northern Turkana to this day: health, water, nutrition, education, agriculture …. Also From Turkana, cradle of Humanity, we went out to the whole world, America, Europe, Asia to continue sowing hope and to make Africa known to those who did not know about it to promote solidarity among all peoples, in the style of St. Paul.

One of the most interesting things is that children of those days are now adults, with their own families, growing and improving their lives and those of their families. The integral development of the human person has been and remains to this day our primary goal, including evangelization, showing the world a Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the full Life for all. As Bishop John Mahon, the first bishop of Lodwar (Turkana) said, our mission is to liberate all those oppressed by hunger, ignorance and opportunities.

We thank God for bringing us to the desert, a place of trial and at the same time a wonderful place of encounter with the Creator, where you can contemplate beauty of the human being in its purest, simplest state. We entrust ourselves to Mary, Mother of the Church, so that we may continue along this path to the end.

Cecilia Puig, MCSPA

Yesterday we inaugurated and blessed the new St. Lorenzo Ruiz Mother and Child Centre at Nakorukoru, an outstation of Nariokotome Mission.

The centre has 80 children at pre-school level who receive an education and a proper diet. The centre is close to a borehole that was already drilled by the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle for the people in the area. This will allow us to teach the mothers practical skills of agriculture and so would be able to feed their families better. In addition the centre will serve as a meeting point where families will be able to learn and share many inputs with the Mission.

We would like to thank all who have this dream a reality. Thanks to all who participated in the celebrations, Fr. Antonio, Fr. Francis, Patrizia, Escolastica, Lenny and all the visitors from Singapore.

Lenny Jillo