A Reflection on the Vincentians and our Kenya pilgrimage
This article originally appeard in the winter 2024 issue of The Vincentian, the quarterly newsletter of the Congregation of the Mission Western Province.
I came to work as the Communications Manager for the Vincentians in the Congregation of the Mission Western Province in March of 2021. After more than 30 years as a journalist and communications professional, a 2020 layoff, and several months of unemployment, I was seriously considering that, at age 55, my communications career might be over.
Then, the phone rang one afternoon—a recruiter who found my resume online and asked if I would consider interviewing for a new communications position at this organization. I said I would, and several weeks later this amazing chapter started.
From the very start, as I wrote articles, designed brochures, and set up web pages, I started hearing about Kenya and the Vincentian presence there. The Western Province went to Kenya in 1981 and established a mission, which has since grown into a Vice-Province. This is what Vincentians do; they go to the poor, and there is much poverty in Kenya. Through their work in Kenya and many other places, the Vincentians live the Gospel every day, which has inspired me to support their work as a monthly donor.
My new boss, Teresa, had been to Kenya several times on mission trips and hinted I would have the opportunity to go at some point. That chance finally came this September when, after a year of planning, 11 other people and I set out for a pilgrimage to Kenya.
Over a very active eight days, this diverse group from southern Missouri, St. Louis, and Chicago visited several parish communities in the region surrounding Nairobi.
We prayed with small Christian communities in Nyeri, where I met a little boy named Vincent (pictured above). We visited St. Vincent de Paul School in Kamulu, where we divided up and taught lessons to the eager students there. We visited with young parishioners at Holy Cross Parish in Thigio. We witnessed great Vincentian programs like the Jitegemee Program for entrepreneur education, DePaul Woodworking, and the St. Louise de Marillac program for distribution of food to the poor.
Everywhere we went, we heard the same word, “Karibuni,” the Swahili word for “welcome,” and we were embraced as members of those communities. We learned the fitting response, “Asante sana” (“Thank you, very much”).
The other unmistakable feature in the people we met was joy, even amid the struggles and poverty—a lesson for us all. In the places we visited, faith and community are inextricably intertwined. People oftentimes walk two hours or more to attend Mass, and they linger long after it has concluded.
I believe that we are responsible for building the communities in which we live. We are the change we wish to see in the world, and that starts with lifting each other up. St. Vincent knew this to be true, and, clearly, the Kenyan people do as well.
Asante sana, indeed.
-Christopher Duggan