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.

I have been lucky enough to spend ten days in Ethiopia working with Luz, Lourdes, and Blanca. Although the socio-political situation is not entirely hopeful. Ten days in which I have not worked on the usual, ten days of preparing the new government agreement, and the entire 2021 audit, because even though there is COVID-19, the years continue to pass. Ten days in which we continue to see that insatiable desire to try to give the best of each one. Ten days after nine years of “his hand” I continue to see people move forward. Bearing in mind that education is the most powerful thing we could offer to the generations that follow us; that human rights, in many places, are scarce; and that communities who fight for it remain unbreakable.

Zena and her mother continued without giving up. Life awaits them while they eagerly await life, but they do not sit down and wait. They wait while moving, going to and from hospitals. From the program for the malnourished to hugging Lourdes, to thanking Tigist, who are proud of what they have been achieving.

Abebe is calm, happy, doing puzzles (doing and undoing boxes too), walking, eating alone and well, enjoying his classmates, teachers, and mother. Soon, he will be taller than all of us and will no longer be able to sit on our laps as he enjoys doing while crossing his legs as Alemu does.

The other Alemu, the builder, has made a handrail for Zenabu to walk on. At the end of the exercise, he got a bench to rest and laugh, while the teachers applauded him for his great effort.

With a great effort just like all of them, Enat never left them behind. She is the head and the feet of the program for the malnourished; she knows the babies and their families. She weighs, measures, and advises them. She feels so much joy when she releases those who achieve ‘the green’ from the program. She encourages them to continue fighting to go from black to red, from red to yellow, and to reach that much-desired green. 

Many families are so grateful and happy to see us. We have spent all these days eating in the homes of workers, and friends from the center. Shiro, Kai wot, Alicha, Dinich, Kefto… nonstop. The families were so grateful to see us, be with us, and share with us. We are filled with so much gratitude (not so much our stomachs).

The wells continue to generate and improve life. It is necessary to check that they do not break, that they are maintained, and that the structures remain strong. There is Debelo´s area, and now Jesus who will be working with him hand-in-hand to give each other strength and energy.

The special need room, the classes, the kitchen, the dairy (with two pregnant cows), the great team of watchmen, the adolescents who are now scouts, and all the gear at Muketurri continues to turn well as a team, with respect and desire to continue to grow in this great community that all of us have formed.

Warm hugs!

Popy García-Ramos

From what I know, we tend to search for homes. Home as a place or as a human being. It was a sudden feeling right after my arrival that Malawi will be somehow really special to me and when leaving I knew, that this place on the other side of the world feels more like home than any other before.

I spent five weeks in the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle in Benga Parish in Malawi.

As I can get anxious very easily, it sometimes makes me feel that I have already met enough people and I become scared of meeting new ones. In Malawi, I have met so many. Some of them were just passing by. To me, more than an ordinary people they represented an impression of joy, love, openness. The strength – of the voice, body and mind. The devoutness – to God, to their jobs, to what fulfils them. But some of them became really important to me and they had an impact on me in the most positive way and I am forever grateful for meeting them. 

The moments in Malawi, when we were finding ourselves on the same place in the same time on the same path, were too short and regardless of this we were still able to surrender parts of ourselves and take something from one another. It’s not about languages, nations, amount of money or race. It’s not even the mentality, or habits, however different they are. It’s the laughter, joy and openness what connect us. The willingness to help each other but never look down on somebody who has less than you do, as the wealth can’t always be seen. The ability to accept ourselves the way we are. Get over our walls and differences, our own hypocrisy and habits and search deeper. Not to compare and always start changing ourselves before others. And most importantly – not to be afraid of being human, because that’s what we are after all.

My experience may have changed everything I’ve known up to now. The point of view, priorities, the way of considering what really matters and what’s important. It made me doubt myself as well as my goals in life. Eventually made me find myself in a better place, with realisation that everything takes time, that as we can influence our lives we can never change what is supposed to happen as well. Although we can find ourselves on a place not really suitable at the moment or accomplishing tasks that don’t seem fulfilling enough, it’s happening for some reason. And what really matters is to do it with joy and love, which can be always find around or in ourselves, doesn’t really matter where you are. You are here and now, it’s time to be present and grateful. And that’s definitely what I am while thinking of my experience – infinitely grateful. The place, community and people, the joy, calmness and openness, all this together. And one beautiful country, Malawi, which once you’ve visited, it’s too hard not to coming back. And definitely impossible to forget.

Marie Mlatečková (Volunteer)

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These past 2 weeks, 55 youth are attending a Summer Camp at the St. Joseph’s Mother and Child Centre, that the MCSPA is running at Muketuri.

We started this Centre in 2008 and, in order to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its founding, we organised a summer camp for former students and youth from the area. Our aim was to encourage them to create the “St. Joseph Youth Group”.
This activity was organised by some members of the Catholic Scout Movement from Spain together with members of MCSPA present at Muketuri.

The main idea is to create awareness among Ethiopian youth about their potential in volunteer work as promoters of change among children, youth and families of the area.

Different activities have been organised: sports, drama, fabrication of musical instruments with recycled material etc.

The topics of the drama plays have been chosen by the participants themselves with the idea to present them at the different villages and schools: How to fight gender discrimination; Importance of hygiene; Causes and consequences of child malnourishment; Peace and conflict resolution; Inclusion of people with disabilities and Taking care of the environment.

The drama groups are presenting the topics in 5 villages and at Muketuri town to create awareness on these social realities and how the community can improve the situation.

It is the first time that an activity like this is being organised in the area and this has been an extraordinary opportunity for building up the local community.

Lourdes Larruy MCSPA

Apart from pursuing studies in Manila (Philippines), the members and apprentices of the MCSPA also carry out various apostolates at Payatas II and Parola (Gate 54). These are among the largest depressed neighbourhoods around Metro Manila (pop. 12.8 million in 2015). We do family visitations weekly at Payatas and also teach basic English and Math to the youth attending classes at centres initiated by the Salvatorian Fathers at Payatas and to young children at Gate 54 of Parola at a Livelihood Centre owned by the Salvatorian Fathers as well.

We also do have our own milk program in which supplementary powder milk is provided to malnourished, lactating children whose young mothers may not produce enough breast milk for their babies.

These weekly visitations have created a bond between us and several of these families, a bond that has endeared them to us and vice versa. We have become part of their lives and they take us as their own family. They share with us their joys and struggles of living in such squalid conditions.

This is why when Aries Aquino, a teenaged boy from one of the families at Payatas, fell sick of leptospirosis, a bacterial infection due to contact with contaminated water containing the urine from rodents, his mother called us in the middle of the night to go help her son who was admitted at the hospital. His kidney was almost failing. We did whatever we could to help alleviate the pain of the boy; he had to undergo dialysis in order for his kidneys to recover. Aries has now been discharged from the hospital and is recovering at home.

These trying days for Aries and his family and for us too have taught me that no one can serve perfectly. But what is important is that one has to experience his or her ministry as a call from Christ. We are loved by Christ and called to live a life of service; we do not serve simply because it is good to do so. Rather, we serve because in love we have been called and our response is to choose to return love.

Victor Otieno, MCSPA

A team of 25 young adults from Our Lady of the Rosary Parish of Kiambu (Kenya) visited Todonyang Mission where they stayed for 5 days. The group of young professionals accompanied Fr. Andrew and the MCSPA team at Todonyang to the outstations, animated devotional activities, gave talks on the dangers of alcoholism, helped at the primary school and dispensary etc.

It was good to have this enterprising group of young people around to share their deep faith.

Fr. Andrew Yakulula MCSPA