Providing during a pandemic

“We are in exile,” were words that came from the lips of the Bishop of Nakuru, Kenya, when measures were announced by President Kenyatta Uhuru regarding the lockdown because of the coronavirus in March 2020.

The protocols established during the lockdown included banning of gatherings of more than 10 people, wearing face masks in public, sanitization of hands and maintenance of social distance. Police established checkpoints on roadways and made visits to places where people gather, especially markets and churches, to enforce the protocols. Violators could be sent to COVID detention centers, where they would have to pay for their own detention for 14 days, to ensure they did not have the coronavirus. Life became more difficult for the poorest people who lost jobs.

Parts of Kenya were also plagued with locusts and floods during the months of the lockdown. The faithful of the Church were not able to celebrate Sunday Mass for four months. It did seem as if we were in exile.

The Bismarck African Mission, that serves more than 450 AIDS orphans, was affected by the aforementioned measures. It was a very sad day when I announced, after consultation with others, that the Mission would shut down its operations until we could grasp the nature of the lockdown. For three weeks, we pondered what to do in these days. 

Working with the pastor of the parish and the local chief, we reached a decision that Mission Saturdays could continue, although they would have to be modified. We instructed one member of each family to come for their monthly allotment of maize and cash stipend. These gifts, provided by the generosity of the people of the Diocese of Bismarck, alleviated hunger and helped with other needs in the lives of the orphans we serve. These modified Mission Saturdays continued until November when we resumed the usual form of these Saturdays and began to make preparations for the resumption of school on Jan. 4, 2021.

During the months of lockdown, we were able to have seminars for small groups of orphans. Alumni of the orphan education program were summoned to make presentations on various aspects of life including education and chastity. Alumni were able to listen to the concerns and needs of the orphans and give advice and counsel. 

The last international flight left Nairobi on March 25, 2020. It was then that I, too, realized that I was in exile. There was the experience of isolation from all that was familiar and comfortable along with the uncertainties of the dangers of the pandemic, knowing there was no way I could leave Kenya as all the border crossings were closed. A saving grace during the months of total lockdown was the daily celebration of the Mass with the six sisters in their convent that is adjacent to the Mission House. I would also share daily meals with them—a great consolation.

Two projects were undertaken during these months—the first was to type the psalms and canticles of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer into Kiswahili so that I could pray with them and continue learning the language. The second project was to spend time weeding an area about the size of a football field. At the end of each day, I realized how blessed and fortunate that I have been and need to be a person of gratitude, even in exile.