Lobur Mission marked a memorable day on February 27 when the faithful celebrated the blessing and official opening of St. Irene’s Primary School by Rt. Rev. John Mbinda, Bishop of Lodwar, who arrived a day earlier to performances by pupils from the school. The MCSPA members gave an animated and interesting account of the historical trajectory of this mission.

St. Irene’s Primary School was initiated in 2018 with only a small number of children. It has progressed from nursery to Class 1, and now reaching up to Class 5 and with a total intake of 207 pupils with the support of well-wishers from Spain who generously funded the entire project under the supervision of Maque Falgas, a member of the Secular Branch of the MCSPA. The construction of the new buildings commenced in 2021 involving the participation of the villagers. The school is expected to bring about a significant change in the education sector within the parish and also to act as a peace-building initiative in the Ilemi Triangle, a border region shared by Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

After the blessing of the school, Bishop Mbinda also conferred the sacrament of Confirmation on 150 candidates from the different out-stations within Sts. Joachim and Anne Parish. This number attests to the vibrant and growing Christian community in the area, serving as an optimistic indicator of a successful endeavour of evangelization. Special thanks go to Fr. Joseph Githinji, the Parish Priest, and Fr. Andrew Yakulula, the Assistant Priest, for dedicating their zeal and energy to the missionary work taking place at Lobur Mission.

The bishop expressed his appreciation for the large number confirmands and for all the initiatives that led to the construction and opening of St. Irene’s Primary School. It is our hope that the faith may continue to grow among the people of this region and that peaceful co-existence may become a reality.

By Louis Mkweza, MCSPA Apprentice
St. John the Evangelist Lobur Mission, Turkana, Kenya.

Monday the 26th of February 2024 was a special day for the Christians of Nariamawoi Outstation under Nariokotome Mission. They waited excitedly for the arrival of Rt. Rev. John Mbinda, Bishop of the Diocese of Lodwar. Very few had seen him in person. Thus expectations were high … what significance would this visit bring? They had been singing and praying for close to 3 hours before the bishop arrived and when his car finally pulled up the dusty tracks, it was all ululations, singing and dancing!

The visit was important as some members of MCSPA at Nariokotome Mission had spent years attending to this desolate community. A water dam had been built, a bore hole dug, a nursery school built and a thriving Christian community established. The Christians however still thirst for more. They thirst for a more permanent presence of pastoral agents in their area, they thirst for more education for their children, they thirst for the Word of God on a more regular basis.

The bishop was happy with the progress made thus far and gave his blessing for the construction of a primary school, the establishment of a sisters’ convent and the building of a permanent church structure. Support will be sought from friends and benefactors to help provide these structure that will help quench the “thirst” of this community. On their part the Christian community of Nariamawoi have provided land for these developments and are very supportive of these initiatives.

A religious sisters’ congregation, the Mensa Domini Sisters from the Philippines, has been approached and they have shown great interest for this mission at Nariamawoi. The sisters are willing to run the future primary school, establish a formation house at Nariamawoi and take care of the pastoral needs in the area.

We pray for the success of this project and look forward to transforming the lives of the people in Nariamawoi, and in so doing help quench their thirst.

By Fr. Denis Odongo, MCSPA
Parish Priest, Nariokotome Mission, Turkana, Kenya

The inauguration of a building housing the new Operating Room took place near the Dispensary of Nariokotome Mission on February 23.

The building was blessed by Frs. Antonio Aguirre and Zacchaeus Okoth and officially opened by Dr. José Luis Gil and his wife Angelina Ruiz de Temiño, and Dr. Paco Galván and his wife Lola, who have been part of this project since its inception and represented all those involved in it but who could not attend the ceremony.

This project consists of an isolated building which boasts two fully-equipped operating rooms for minor outpatient surgeries. In addition, the building also has a patient recovery room for both surgical patients and for pregnant and postpartum women. Likewise, multi-purpose rooms were built for consultations and nutrition-related programs coordinated by Scholastica Wamalwa and the Health Team of Nariokotome Dispensary.

With this news, we would like to thank the efforts of all those who contributed to the development of this project, especially the missionaries at Nariokotome Mission.

We also want to thank the people who in one way or another have been part of this project, such as Jorge, Victoria, Luis Carlos, María Jesús, Begoña, Alfredo, and many other doctors, architects, engineers, and different benefactors who have made this reality possible.

It was through the Founder of the MCSPA, Fr. Francisco “Paco” Andreo who spread his enthusiasm for Turkana in 2006 to his doctor-friend, Dr. Ana Mañas, and together with her husband, Dr. Emilio Cuevas, also a traumatologist, that we created a bond of friendship and collaboration. We thank the dedication of Emilio and Ana, who continue to come to Nariokotome every year, bringing with them relatives, friends and various collaborators.

We end this news report with a saying much quoted by Paco: “Actions speak louder than words”. Today, this has been fulfilled!

By Scholastica Wamalwa, Doctor Ana Mañas and a team of friends and doctors from Spain

Surgeons from Spain have been carrying out surgical campaigns for the last 20 years in Turkana. This programme originally materialised following the invitation of members of the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostles (MCSPA). The surgical campaigns are done more specifically at Lodwar County Referral Hospital and at Kakuma Mission Hospital which is run by the Catholic Diocese of Lodwar.

Last week, as is the annual routine, a team of 40 surgeons came to spend the weekend at the Nariokotome Mission, the motherhouse of the MCSPA prior to a continuing surgical camp. 

Scholastica Wamalwa, a member of the MCSPA, welcomed all as she introduced the other missionaries living and working at the above-mentioned mission. Dr. Carmen Hernandez warmly thanked everyone for the effort they had put in to ensure that people with medical and surgical cases in Turkana could be attended to. Thus far, 20 campaigns have been done in which more than 9,500 medical consultations, 4,900 surgeries and several mobile clinics have been carried out.  The impact on the local community has indeed been tremendous.

The following day after a colorful Eucharistic celebration, presided by Fr. Zacchaeus Okoth, they attended to 53 patients at Nariokotome Dispensary. The patients were from the different villages around the area. The mobilization team did an excellent job in ensuring that many people with different medical issues received information on the surgeons’ visit at the dispensary; the turnout was very good!

Memories of experiences and of a friendship and cooperation that stretched over a long period of time were shared over the weekend. 

The MCSPA would very much like to commend the efforts of the “Cirugía Turkana” programme that was initiated by Dr. Elena Mendia and others, now lead by Dr. Carmen Hernandez Perez, whose husband, Joaquín Vazquez, together with many others have placed great effort in concretely changing lives for the better in Turkana.

It is always an honour for the missionaries to host these surgeons!

By Lydia Imbala, MCSPA member, Nariokotome Mission.

On 21st January, the MCSPA celebrated its annual Family Day at the Women’s House in Nairobi. The occasion was graced by the presence of Rt. Rev. John Mbinda, Bishop of Lodwar, who presided at the Eucharistic celebration. It was fitting to give thanks to God for his many blessings bestowed.

We also celebrated two infant baptisms at the mass.

We would like to thank everyone who attended, contributed to our projects over the year and journeyed with the MCSPA throughout all this time. We hope to see you all next year as we extend a welcome invitation to you to come visit our missions in Turkana. KARIBUNI SANA!!!

Greetings from the Prince of Peace Catholic mission at Nyangatom, Ethiopia. It is our hope that everybody is happy with the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are also very happy to share with everybody the great news of the opening of our newly built Assembly Hall, built on the top of Naturomoe Hill, and the dedication of the mission to the Prince of Peace and Our Lady of the Embrace. The new building has been blessed by His Lordship Markos Gebremedhin, Bishop of Jimma-Bonga Apostolic Vicariate. Also in attendance were the Apostolic Nuncio to Ethiopia, Archbishop Antoaine Camillieri, and Msgr. John Mbinda CSSP, Bishop of Lodwar Diocese, Kenya.

The name Naturomoe is a Nyangatom word that means “the enemies have escaped”, and indeed, up to recent times, this was a place of violent conflict and a corridor used by cattle rustlers from different communities such as the Turkana of Kenya, Nyangatom of Ethiopia and Toposa of South Sudan. They could meet in this place just to fight.

Thanks to God’s divine Mercy, this reality has been changing for the last two years.

Today we are so happy because the blessing of the new Hall and the dedication of the Mission to the Prince of Peace and Our Lady of the Embrace gives the peace of God a chance to be well rooted in this area where before nobody dreamt of building a permanent house.

The goal of our mission is evangelization and fostering peace and development.

It is our hope that with the new building of the local community will be able to gain cohesion and peace that comes from the heart.

Our sincere gratitudes goes to those who have helped us achieve such a milestone.

We wish everybody a very happy and blessed holidays and a prosperous new year 2024.

We celebrated the drilling of the well and the installation of taps in the village of Mechela Wortu, Muketuri, Ethiopia.

We were invited for lunch where they slaughtered a sheep and made two huge traditional breads.
During the prayers, people continuously thanked having clean water, which has changed their lives. One man explained: “Many people speak of you, most are surprised at how you love children that are not your own, especially the ones with disabilities… They say that you love the children more than their own parents!”

68 families are benefitting from this well which has been drilled up to 72 meters, with solar panels that supply energy to the pump that pumps the water to the tank with a capacity of 10,000 liters, and from there to the taps.

Before, the girls used to fetch water from hand-dug holes in the land, this water is brown due to its uncleanness. One day a missionary went to the village with a bottle of water in her hand, people were scandalized as they believed that she was carrying alcohol so early in the morning. This is because, for them, water was brown and the only thing of such clear color was the traditional alcohol they make called ‘arake’.
Many young girls can go to school now that they have water close to them and don’t have to walk for kilometers to collect the water like before.

At the end of the celebration everyone danced and repeatedly blessed us saying: “God grant you a long life!”

These days we are especially attentive to our students from Riokomor and Kokuselei who are taking their national exams in the public schools of these two places.

They have all been part of a journey started by the families of these children and the MCSPA missionaries present in these communities. It is a journey in which we all continue to learn that only generosity in favor of the little ones will guarantee a better present and future, especially when water, nutrition, and health are assured.

We are happy that many of them are completing their primary school studies and that, little by little, they can open the doors to new opportunities to improve the lives of their families and communities.

We thank all those who make it possible for children and young people in this beautiful place in the north of Turkana to have the possibility of studying. And we encourage more people to join us and support the education of all of them, so full of talent and enthusiasm to improve!

Since its opening in 2006, the Mother and Child Centre of St Joseph of the Mountain in Mizan Teferi, has a manually dug well that offers water for cleaning and watering plants; it also receives a supply of clean water from the town which only arrives for a few hours once a week. Sometimes this supply of water breaks down, having our Mother and Child Center without water for a month. Also, this water has been seen to not be enough for the demand required by 200 children that attend the center daily.
Thanks to the help of the parish of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Madrid, we have been able to perforate a well of 60 meters of depth inside our center. Also, with the help of the diocese of Rottenburg and a charity race organized by the parish in Madrid, we were able to buy and install the submersible pump with its pipes and water tank, that can store and distribute up to 10,000 liters of water.
Through this project, we are able to improve the health of the community, especially focusing on these 200 children that can now take clean water daily, avoiding many illnesses and parasites that are extremely common in the area.

Dear friends and family,
We would like to share with you the summary updates of the activities that we have done in the previous months in ‘El Paraiso’:

Psychological support to families:

• A professor and some of the students of Psychopedagogy from Emiliano Zapata University visit us every 15 days, organising some activities with the children and youth.
• Two outings have been organised to visit Cumbres High School, north campus, together with children and mothers from Paraiso. Activities such as; celebrations, sports games and recreation, impacted positively on coexistence and the creation of bonds of friendship between youth, children and their families

. We would like to thank all the friends who took part in the Children’s Day celebration, where 150 people attended joyfully. 

• UVM students and professors also conduct workshops with the youth and children twice a week to implement Psychosocial intervention. Moreover, constant visits by Psychologists and therapists provide psychological support to different groups of people and individuals in Paraiso, as well as sharing some advice to the most committed volunteers.

Health and Nutrition:

• Hygiene evaluations, reviews and workshops on dental health have been carried out by a Dentist every 15 days. We are looking forward to receiving more support to provide dental treatments.
• Students and teachers from Cumbres high school, implemented a study among people with a high level of diabetes, they formulated evaluations, and specific care guidelines in each case and supported several families with glucometers and lancets.
• Slowly, we continue to equip the dispensary with medicine donations. Through this, we have a “mini pharmacy” in which patients can get medical prescriptions.

We continue with our support for the chronically ill people with their treatments, physiotherapy, transport and shopping of medicines.

• With the collaboration of UVM-Medicine University and some friends, we distributed 60 pantries to different families in Paraiso.

Veterinary Campaign:

• The organisation of a cat and dog sterilisation campaign was done in Paraiso. To make the campaign successful, 100 animals had to be sterilised, we achieved 122!

Housing Programme:

• With the special collaboration of ‘Dibujando otra Realidad, AC’, training was offered to the families on the construction of houses. So far, we are almost finishing another wooden house. 9 houses were built with the help of ‘Moviendo a Más’ group and  ‘Un techo para mi país’ in El Paraíso.

We thank God for allowing us to achieve an impact on the actions of love, hope and solidarity between the families, friends and close collaborators of the MCSPA in Mexico for supporting the mission of El Paraíso in Xochimilco in its different dimensions. Lastly, we also extend our gratitude to appreciate all the collaborators from different trenches of the world for the love and support that keeps us going.

.