KENYA: How a Parish in Mombasa Archdiocese is Helping Mitigate the Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic
Fr. George Omondi distributing foodstaffs
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Following the Coronavirus pandemic that has hit hard on many households, Consolata Catholic parish at Likoni in Mombasa Archdiocese has come up with various strategies to alleviate the effect COVID-19 has caused, which the Parish Priest Fr. George Omondi has shared with AMECEA Online.
“Through its Caritas office, the parish carried out a needs assessment by conducting interviews to some individuals during pastoral visits. We were able to come face to face with the real situations on the ground,” Fr. George Omondi said on Thursday, July 9.
“We realized that our people are really suffering. Then we decided to find ways to be of help not only to the Christian fraternity but also to the non-Christians in the environs,” Fr. Omondi told AMECEA Online adding, “The number of people knocking at our doors for help was growing bigger day by day since most people were rendered jobless as Likoni is largely populated by slum dwellers.”
The parish Caritas office which was created early this year prior to the detection of Coronavirus in the country has so far supported over 1,000 households with foodstuffs, clothing and sanitary items, which they receive from Christians, the Congregation of the Consolata Missionaries Kenya region, a mining company in Kwale county and Mombasa Archdiocese Caritas office.
“I found out that for many years, the parish was supporting a group of needy and vulnerable households through the Christian fraternity. But the worst happened when Covid -19 hit our nation, and Christians could no longer come to Church,” the Consolata Missionary (IMC) priest explained.
Catholic Church Likoni parish, Mombasa Archdiocese
“This implied that there was nothing to feed the needy and vulnerable households and I had to think of a system that could sustainably provide support in different ways, giving priority to the basic needs such as food. That is how this charitable initiative was born,” he added.
Fr. Omondi further narrated that they have also began a psycho-social support program where they offer counseling services to the jobless, families experiencing domestic violence and, where necessary, helping some to go back to their home villages if they are unable to pay house rent.
On her part, the Coordinator of Caritas Likoni Sr. Teresia Ndumi said that the Parish has also created a Covid-19 Response Recovery and Adaptation (CoRRA) program in a bid to educate the people on the recovery processes.
“We have come up with a program called CoRRA and the parish plans to organize seminars to teach people about trauma, life with Covid-19 in family set-up and in the community,” Sr. Ndumi a member of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart (DSH) disclosed.
