Overview of the Diocesan African Mission

For the 32nd Annual African Mission Appeal conducted March 6-7, 2021. The following is an update on the Mission and their work.

Orphan Program and Orphan Education Program

At the beginning of the new school term in January 2021, the Orphan Education Program had enrollment of 465 children and youth at Gekano, Ichuni and Manga parishes in the Diocese of Kisii. On Mission Saturdays, they come to receive an allotment of maize and a monthly stipend.  We pay school fees and give money for required school uniforms. We have orphans in 216 schools: three in Polytechnics (trade school), 85 different secondary schools, and 128 diverse primary schools in Kisii and Nyamira Counties. We serve 337 Catholics, 89 Seventh Day Adventists, 20 Pentecostals (PAG church) and 19 of other faith backgrounds.

In November 2019, the Mission fulfilled one of its goals—expanding to the Manga parish where there are 61 orphans enrolled. With the permission of Bishop Joseph of the Diocese of Kisii and working with the pastor, Bismarck Mission was able to extend its reach of serving some of the most vulnerable children in Kenya.

Post-Secondary Education

The Bismarck Post-Secondary Education Scholarship Program is designed to assist former members of the Bismarck Mission with continuing financial support for schooling beyond secondary school in a college, university or trade school. A qualifying student is one who is a past member, in-good-standing of the Bismarck Mission and otherwise meets all requirements for acceptance into a post-secondary academic program. At the beginning of the January term, Bismarck Mission was sponsoring 25 students.

Vivian, a young woman taking a course in fashion design and dress making at an area vocational school, was granted a sewing machine to assist with her schooling. Once finished with school, the sewing machine will enable her to operate her own business of making and mending clothing.

Bismarck Beneficiaries (Alumni Group)

After the Christmas gathering for the orphans in December 2019, alumni of the Orphan Education Program met and discussed among themselves the idea of forming into a group to assist the Bismarck Mission as a way to express their gratitude. Eventually, they named themselves “Bismarck Beneficiaries.” They have served the Mission by conducting small-group sessions for current orphans during which they addressed life issues of an orphan from their experiences.

The Beneficiaries seek to raise funds to assist with school fees for orphans in the Education Program. Their trial project was making bricks, a labor-intensive process of mixing clay soil, earth and water and placing this mixture into moldings to dry. Once dried, a kiln is constructed and the bricks are fired. The alumni have completed their first project; as of this writing, they are in the process of writing a report detailing their expenses and profits once the bricks are sold.

Christmas Celebration

The Mission’s annual Christmas gathering brought our orphans and staff together to celebrate the birth of Christ along with distributing gifts of flour and cooking oil used to make holiday treats like mandazi (a form of fried bread). Each orphan also received a bottle of soda and a loaf of bread. Thanks to a generous donor from the Diocese of Bismarck, each child was excited to get $5, which is equivalent to a day’s wage in Kenya.

Housing Program

Seven houses were constructed for Gekano widows and orphans this year. Bismarck mission awarded the supplies for the houses and the approved families supplied the labor. With proper maintenance, each house will last 30 years.

Heifer Program

We have welcomed Bismarck Mission alum, Joseph Gwaro, recently hired to assist with our Heifer Program. Joseph holds a degree in agricultural sciences and we are proud to claim him as a former Orphan Education Program student.

The Heifer Program gifts heifers to local orphans and Catholic widows of Gekano parish. Families are required to raise their own grass and care for the heifer. The heifer, in turn, provides them with milk and a way to become economically independent. As part of the program, the heifer is also inseminated.  The subsequent calf, if female, goes to the next program participant. If the calf is male, the current participant keeps that cow. We could use your prayers for females as our current ratio of three bulls to one heifer has been disappointing!

Water with Blessings

We are proud to report that the success story of Water With Blessings (WWB) continues to grow. This woman-to-woman ministry focuses on providing clean water to single mothers and grandmothers caring for children and mothers who care for sick and elderly family members.  Lilian Kwamboka, project coordinator, is a graduate of our Orphan Education Program. Since July 1, 2020, Lilian has trained 93 area women to use this unique water filtration system and provide safe water for their families.

WWB has substantially cut down on the cases of dysentery, diarrhea and presence of parasites in participants. Women are able to filter and store sanitary drinking water for their families at no cost. This program is a prime example of empowering women to take control of their future and improve the destiny for themselves and their families.