KENYA: Catholic Diocese of Lodwar Loses a Pastoral Centre to Harsh Climate Changes
Compound of St. Theresa Pastoral Center Lodwar
The Catholic Bishop of Lodwar Rt. Rev. Dominic Kimengich has expressed sadness at the destruction of St. Theresa’s Pastoral Centre by recent flash floods in Turkana County. He termed the destruction as an effects of global climate change and appealed to people to heed the call of the Holy Father Pope Francis to take care of the environment.
In an interview with AMECEA Online News, Bishop Kimengich said the flash floods came from the hills towards Uganda where it has been raining heavily. This resulted to the busting of River Turkwel banks leading to floods sweeping across the region.
A part from St Theresa’s Pastoral Centre, St. Kevin Secondary School founded in the Diocese by Saverian Brothers was equally affected.
“The flooding was so huge that the water which got inside the rooms, was reaching about 3 meters high. The water rose high up to the windows and so it destroyed everything that was inside the rooms,” Bishop Kimengich said.
“The wooden beds were pushed against the walls and got broken; the bedding and mattresses were carried away by the raging waters; the refrigerators which were there as well as the TVs, were all destroyed. The electrical wiring of the place was not spared either and the floods carried away a generator which we were using at the Centre. Part of the centre’s kitchen cracked and sunk so we don’t have a kitchen now. And even livestock, we had about 70 goats and sheep. All these died,” Bishop Kimengich described the extent of destruction.
At St. Kevin Secondary School, Sr. Beatrice Wanjiru Nyaga, a member of Assumption Sister of Nairobi who heads the department of Guidance and Counseling told AMECEA Online News that they too lost everything.
“We had to buy new furniture for the form four candidates who are currently sitting for their national exams. We also had to request and negotiate with our equipment suppliers to give us laboratory equipment just for the sake of the 228 candidates for their practical exams,” Sr. Beatrice said.
The school caters for vulnerable children from the region and currently has a population of 1,300 students.
According to Bishop Kimengich, the damage is estimated to be over 100,000 US dollars and the Diocese is currently in dire need of financial support from partners and well wishers.
“First of all, we need to clean up the whole place because the floods dumped a lot of sand at the centre. Just next to the centre was a farm: as the floods swept through, it removed all the top soil from the farm and deposited it at Pastoral Centre, which now looks like a river bed,” Bishop Kimengich said.
In addition to answering to pastoral needs, the pastoral Centre was also a source of income to the Diocese as it would host conferences and events in the region.
“Climate change is an issue that needs to be taken seriously. It is unfortunate that some people have chosen to ignore the calls for care for the environment. Instead, they continue to invade forest lands, destroying trees and vegetation. The effects are quite severe and costly,” the Bishop said adding that there is urgent need to start conserving the environment so as to avoid such calamities in the future.
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