First Green House for OCTC of Kandisi.

The farming project linked to the Orione Centre of Kandisi takes more shape.

Started under the initiative of the Orionines Fathers and led by Father Alex and the generosity of our benefactors, the first Green House is just born.

It is the first of eight others coming soon. Largely financed by donors and benefactors of the Congregation, the project is a continuation of the Centre, which has now become Pilot Centre of Kaburugi. It therefore have the same name, OCTC: Orione Community Training Centre. The other two components of the Centre will be the Special School and the Centre for Physical Rehabilitation.

Thank you again to all those who by their prayers and support have made and continue to make this project possible.

Do not forget to join us for the “fund-raising” and “semi-marathon” of the 26^th October.

CWA of Kandisi: Proximity and maternal love.

A mother, what could be more precious!

Who has a mother will never feel lonely.

Moreover, even distance cannot be an obstacle to the motherly love.

Maternal love always conquers all to express itself towards the children.

The Catholic Women Association of Kandisi (CWA) has once again demonstrated this reality and richness of the motherly love.

Yesterday, Wednesday 9^th of October, accompanied by their parish priest Father Peter Wambulwa our moms of the CWA of Kandisi, carrying gifts, have paid ​​a friendly visit to the Community of the Formation House in Nairobi.

“Do not confine children with disabilities behind closed doors."

In the context of the activities of the Orione Centre, OCTC, our confrere Fr Alex had an audience with Her Excellency the First Lady of Kenya yesterday Tuesday 08th October 2013. Father Alex was with Mr James Ng'ang'a of Uchumi who is an ardent surporter of the Orione Community Project in Kandisi.

""The First Lady Margaret Kenyatta has appealed to parents to shun the culture of hiding children with special needs. She asked parents to instead take them to institutions that will be equip them with skills and knowledge to be self-dependent. Insistently, she calls upon parents : “Do not confine children with disabilities behind closed doors. They have a right to knowledge and skills like other children,” she said.

Message for the month of the Missions and of the Holy Rosary

This month of October is dedicated to both the Missions of the Church and to the Holy Rosary. In this way the Church reminds us that missionary work must go hand-in-hand with prayer – meditating on Christ with Mary, which is what the Rosary is. So let us continue to try to make the Rosary a regular daily prayer whether we do it as a community or not. In the synod we reminded each other that, as the last General Chapter said, we are all called to be witnesses, shepherds and formators in our works of charity and education, in our parishes and in our houses of formation. Let us ask our Lady and St Luigi Orione to help us all to be truly witnesses, shepherds and formators all the time like Saint Luigi Orione and also Ricardo Gil and Antonio Arrue who are soon to be beatified in Spain on 13^th October. I would like to add a word from Pope Francis in his homily for 27^th September 2013:

“And what about us? … We all want to rise on the third day, and this is good, it is good, we should want this”. But not everyone, the Pope said, is ready to follow the way, the way of Jesus, in order to reach the goal. The sign that “a Christian is a true Christian” is “his ability to bear humiliation with joy and patience”. And yet, he affirmed, “there are many Christians who look upon the Lord and ask for humiliation in order to be more closely conformed to him”

Fr. Malcolm Dyer FDP

Delegate

Missionary Delegation "Mother of the Church" 

DELEGATE’S NEWS

Ireland and UK

At the beginning of August I was “baby-sitting” that is, looking after the community house and basic activities in Dublin while Fathers John Carmel and Michael Moss were on retreat with the other confreres from the UK and Br Francis from the Vatican at the Jesuit retreat house of St Beuno in North Wales.  I then flew from Dublin to Liverpool where Br Firas met me and I stayed with Fr Stephen and Br Firas for a few days at Up Holland.  At Cardinal Heenan House there is wonderful work going on caring for elderly people, many suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s.  Fr Stephen supervises the lay manager and celebrates Mass and sacraments and Br Firas was daily with the staff and residents.  I was able to visit Mr Joseph Tipping, an ardent benefactor of our Delegation and with him went to visit some of the other friends and benefactors in Penwortham, near Preston. Then I went down to London with Br Firas who was changing communities from Up Holland to London.  He was sorely missed by the staff and residents of the Home.  I spent the week-end in Hampton Wick, spent some time in Orione House for elderly people where again great work is going on in caring for our needy older brothers and sisters.  I also had a cup of tea with our Polish brothers and sisters who attend Mass in Polish with Fr Henryk Halman after the earlier Mass in English with Fr Philip and Fr Joseph Tirello.   I returned to Rome on 13^th August.  It is good to note that in the UK the Charity of the Sons of Divine Providence is now legally modified with greater participation in decision-making of the “Members” that is, the Confreres, the Delegation Council and Fr Flavio Peloso.  The Board of Management consists of Fr Philip Kehoe, Chairman, Fr John Carmel Perrotta, Fr Stephen Beale, Fr Michael Moss, and the newly appointed Mrs Ursula Harrison and Mrs Bernadette Griffin, old friends of the Congregation.  The two lay-members are appointed by the Members for a three-year term of office and can be re-appointed.

OCTC Kandisi, Fundraising for a centre to cater for children living with mental disabilities

Please join us to help children and youth leaving with mental disability. The smile you may create on the face of a disadvantaged kid is so wonderful, because it outshines the challenges the kid have.

According to available statistics, 3.6 million Kenyans are living with developmental disabilities. There is a correlation between occurrence of developmental disabilities with hunger, malnutrition and difficulty accessing the basic services necessary for good health such as clean water, etc. These also are the principal causes of mental impairment. Less than 1% have access to health care and rehabilitation services, with 99 % having to struggle to survive without any attention. It is also estimated that only 23,000 students (between the ages of 10 to 30) have access to education, in the 1,200 schools and special facilities for persons with developmental disabilities in the country. There are only 48 small residential homes and private schools providing care to only  438 persons.

Orione Kenya Communities' Meeting

This September 30th, we held our monthly Communities Meeting in the formation house of Nairobi. Were present at this meeting:

Fr Raphael Kailemiah, from Kaburugi Community

Fr James Waituika Njoroge, from Kaburugi Community

Fr Peter Wambulwa, from Kandisi Community

Fr Paul Mboche, from Nairobi Community

Fr Stanislas Gbeissay, from Nairobi Community

Deacon Morris Mawira, from Nairobi Community.

Fr Alejandro Ruiz apologized for a commitment.

The agenda of the meeting focused on the Orionine synod for Africa, which was held in Côte d'Ivoire from last September 8 to 10.

Making the feedback, Father Peter pointed a particular focus on one of the strong points on which the Synodal Fathers have emphasized: the collaboration. He also noted three other components that have defined the work of the Synod, The Formation, The Works of Charity and The Parishes.