KENYA: More trainees required for family Life Programs and Natural Family Planning
Group photo of the Participants of training on NFP
The Natural Family Planning (NFP) training has been hailed as ideal in teaching couples and families to be faithful and also lowers the spread of diseases like HIV/AIDS.
Speaking during a graduation ceremony in Lodwar where early marriage and polygamy is rampant, the Bishop of Lodwar Rt. Rev. Dominic Kimengich said that the training enhances communication of joy, cheap compared to artificial methods, scientific and easily reversible. “When couples learn natural family planning methods, they become more connected to one another and also faithful, it also reduces chances of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases.” He said.
Meanwhile, addressing the graduates at JJ Mc Carthy Centre in Nairobi, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) – National Family Life Coordinator Mrs. Theresa Abuya urged those commissioned to impart the correct natural family planning knowledge to couples to enable them space the births of children and to encourage couples to accept each pregnancy and every child as a gift from God, by promoting pro-life values.
At the same time, KCCB General Secretary Very. Rev. Fr. Daniel Rono called on the teachers not to depart from the doctrine of the Catholic Church as well as authentic principles and guidelines as set out in approved literature by the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The training of Natural Family Planning (NFP) began more than five years ago and has so far seen more than 200 candidates being priests, sisters, couples and family life coordinators from 23 dioceses graduate in training couples in NFP and other family life education that promote moral values, love and principles in families.
The teachers who graduate commit themselves to encourage married couples to meet their mutual responsibilities to each other and to their children through education and counselling.
They are also trained to be role models by foremost being users themselves and by living and promoting the moral values, principles and to promote Natural family planning in marriage for the enrichment of the couples and the benefit of every child, thus promoting an atmosphere of love and security for the family.
Some of the trained couples who are now teachers of NFP attended the workshop with their children who are evidence of how the program works and gave testimonies that they were even able to get children of the preferred gender using the method.
By Rose Achiego, Waumini Communications KCCB
