Project Kenya: Library Books and Science Kits
When their youngest of three sons was completing his last year in college, Bud and Sue decided to dedicate the next chapter of their lives to missionary work. With a lot of reflection and research, they joined the Lay Mission Helpers (part of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the oldest lay mission group in the U.S). After four months of formation they were assigned to serve in American Samoa in the South Pacific. After three years in Samoa, they returned home for a year and now are missioned to the Diocese of Meru in Kenya. Bud assists the bishop, especially with financial matters, establishing workable systems for reporting and administrating the parishes and the work of the Diocese. Sue is working at a Children's Village which is home to 250 orphaned or abandoned children who have been rescued from the horrors of the streets.
Recently, Bud and Sue Ozar contacted our Department of Education and requested that we assist in their ministry in Kenya. They would like to "stock" their library with books and "outfit" the schools with science kits. We asked them to share some information:
The priest who began this "Mission Impossible" seven years ago is Fr. Francis Limo Riwa, a charismatic man who believes the Lord loves these children and will not abandon them. His trust in the Lord has not been disappointed as local merchants, farmers, etc. come to his rescue just when it begins to look like he cannot feed the children. Miracles just don't surprise him anymore. He expects miracles and they happen around him constantly. He picks the children off the street himself, brings them to the Village, cleans, clothes, feeds and educates them. Besides being the director of the Village, he is also one of the teachers. Fr. Riwa is a pastor of a parish with 15 out-missions which he attends to. He also serves as the medical director of the diocese. One busy man!!
As an English teacher, one of the things Sue noticed immediately was the absence of both textbooks and reading books. Sue appealed to her teacher friends in the Grosse Pointe Schools and they immediately collected four boxes of used books and shipped them to Kenya. The effect was magic. At first the students were reluctant to pick up these "strange items" but once introduced to reading, they have begun to devour them. The children have fallen in love with reading, signing out a book, quickly reading it, doing their written and verbal book report and then getting another new book. Those four boxes of books comprise their library ….. and to some extent, their world.
Kenyans are convinced of the value of education. Parents go to great lengths to provide education for their children for they realize it is the avenue out of the terrible spiral of poverty in which they are locked. They feel like failures if they cannot afford the school fees and their child must return home and just work on their little plot of land and eke out a minor existence raising maize and beans.
The Catholic Church is the major educator in the country, going into the most remote places, establishing a school, and then when it is operating, turning it over to the government. Without the gifts of church-run schools, there would not be any public education system in Kenya. The country is just too young and too poor to have built schools. However, the schools have two major drawbacks. One is the lack of books; the other is the lack of labs for scientific work. As a result of not having a good scientific background, students cannot go into the careers which demand science (engineering, medicine, etc.) and these are the exact careers needed for Kenya to move forward, to build the roads and bridges, to provide good medical care. The Kenyan government has developed a kit, complete with lesson plans and all the equipment and chemicals a primary school would need to teach science for all the grades. It comes in one box and it only costs $250 ($215 for the box-kit and $35 for the cabinet in which it will be locked). This kit would be all a school needs, but this $250 is beyond the reach of any of the schools.
Books and lab kits!!! These are the two biggest obstacles Sue has seen. Adding these to the life of these young people would change the face of Kenya. They will be able to pursue careers which are presently impossible for them, and they will be introduced through books (especially books written in Africa by African authors) to the richness of their own history and also to other cultures.
Sue loves teaching these children, for they are so eager to learn. Can you imagine having 40-50 high school aged boys in a class who are so hungry to learn?! The Monday after Easter, after a three day break, Sue walked into the classroom and the boys stood up and applauded. Can you imagine?! They stood up and applauded. They know education is critical for their lives. They have no homes or families to which to return, so they want to learn. They need to learn for if they don't they will be back to the horror of begging and sleeping on the streets in rags.
Thank you for whatever help you can give.
Bud and Sue Ozar
We, in the Department of Education, determined that these two goals would be good projects in your various ministries and felt it worthwhile to garner your support now so that you can plan your participation between now and Christmas 2007. We are asking that you only raise money and not purchase the books or science kits. This endeavor will conclude on December 31, 2007. Please send checks payable to the Archdiocese of Detroit to:
Sister Frances Nadolny, OP
Gabriel Richard Building
305 Michigan Ave.
Detroit, MI 48226
Specify your contribution: books or science kits or both. If you would like to send a message with your contribution, that will be forwarded to Bud and Sue Ozar.
Assisting our children and youth and young people to learn the value of good relationships is primary in our ministries. Thank you for making the world a better place!
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