Bits of the Gospel

Kisarawe District is one of the six districts that make up the Coastal region of Tanzania . This district covers an area of about 3535 kilometers squared. About ¾ of this land is suitable for agriculture while national forests, military zones, and a game reserve occupy the rest. According to 1988 statistics, the district has over 100, 000 people. It is further divided into 4 divisions, 11 locations, and 72 villages . Kisarawe Parish covers almost the entire area of Kisarawe district. The church was founded in 1969, consisting of six families, all of which were either military or government officials. It was then part of Pugu Parish. In 1999, Kisarawe was hived from Pugu parish, and was officially launched on 11 December of the same year. In 2004, the parish was handed over to the Cottolengo Fathers Society. In its short history, Kisarawe Parish, dedicated to St. Stephen the martyr, has seen a rapid increase in the number of parishioners. It has 16 outstations, which receive Mass on...

Anybody who has been following the predicaments of this beloved country of ours must have suffered to some degree. We watched, horrified and mesmerized to say the least, as our own countrymen butchered one another for a flawed election. We have seen leaders duping an entire population and brainwashing others. We have seen MPS fight outside and inciting us young people to fight while back in parliament they are friends who hike their salaries and argue over power sharing as if that is what we had sent them in parliament to do. In sum, we have seen all sorts of evils land into our territory to devour us. Kenyans are a people with a unique sense of hope. While the Rift Valley was burning and blood flowing in place of water, we saw people of good will gather lorries of food and other necessities to go and console our very own Kenyans turned refugees in their own country. While the leaders were busy arguing over who should address the public first, we witnessed a section of private sector l...

Today my pupils are doing their final duties at school. Tomorrow they will live. It is the beginning of August Holiday. Eighty four of them will be sitting for the National Exam [ KCPE ] next term. The rest will be spending their third term [about 9 weeks] revising and revisiting whatever they have studied in the last two terms. They will be expected to attain the minimum of 250 Marks out of the possible 500 marks in order to be promoted to the next class. Today I have seen relaxation in the eyes of the teachers. I have seen tension dissolve slowly in the actions of these pupils. There is chatting and giggling all over as the children end their term. Yet, these children and their teachers are part of the Kenya bearing the burden of lack of water, food crisis, power rationing, environmental degradation and unnecessary political bickering just to mention but a few problems. These children full of energy and will to build a bright future are leaving school today for a three-week holiday w...