KENYA: “Be Beacons of Hope To Learners”, Says Bishop Kamomoe to Catholic Educators
Bishop Simon Peter Kamomoe
Sr Henriette Anne, FSSA
At the Holy Mass of the opening of Catholic Private Education Institutions Associations-Kenya (CaPEIA) Conference on 8th April 2025, bishop Simon Peter Kamomoe called upon educators to be beacons of hope and not just sign of hope to leaners.
“We are called to become beacons of hope, and not just signs of hope, that whenever the learners see us, their hope is revived or even strengthened. And this will depend so much on a way of life, on the way we are conducting ourselves, on the way we are practicing the Christian values”.
Bishop Kamomoe who is the Vice Chairman Commission for Education and Religious Education department at the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) asked Catholic educators to have moral authority by remaining firm in the Christian values that leaners can observe, imitate, and see them as hero in their area of expertise, so that they can bring change, shape, and direct learners to focus on God.
“We can only get the moral authority when we are firm in Christian values that learners can observe, imitate, and see you as a hero in this area. That’s how we can bring change, that’s how we can shape, and direct them properly, we help them to focus on that same God”.
In his homily at the conference held at Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), he said that it is the role of educators to remain focus, consistence, and congruent, preaching about what can be seen in their life in order to influence learners.
He further reminded the 1,000 private Catholic headteachers and administrators that they are leaders, and a leader is someone who can influence people’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior in a positive manner, and as Christians leaders influence in a spirit of Truth and spirit of God.
He added, “Evangelization is basically about redemption, people realizing, or rather people have been well formed conscious that they have sense of sin”.
Pointing out what is happening in Kenya, the evil of corruption, the prelate noted that the Church and schools are two major socializing agents that can help bring change and transform the country by helping people to get out of ignorance which going to ruin our life, country, and children and urged educators to instill good morals in their leaners.
“The Church, schools, these are two major socializing agents and we priests, bishops, teachers, we can change and transform this country. Do we help leaners, even as we teach, even if we are teaching mathematics, do we help leaners to see and to realize that corruption is evil and corruption will destroy even their own lives, because it will miss the target and come back to you? That means we are supposed to help people to get out of that ignorance, because it is ignorance. The things we see in our country, even with us the things that we see, they are self- defeating, it is just ignorance, it is going to ruin our life, it is going to ruin our country, it is going to ruin our children, so let us instill morality in our learners”, he expressed.
He further added, “There is no point for me today, emphasizing very good grades, scoring an A and somebody is a moral, scoring an A and somebody has no sense of sin. It self-defeating, for me we better emphasize today the quality of moral lives, and to help our children, and we going to mold very moral personalities, people who are responsible, people who can take care of their own actions”.
He continued, “We have been given this opportunity by God to help people to form their conscious properly and that they may have the sense of sin so that they are not going to die in their sins, and even ourselves, as they see us, having that sense of sins, having that sense purpose, having the sense of goodness, and pursuing goodness and justice”.
The three-day conference held at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), Nairobi, brought together teachers from Catholic-sponsored schools to deliberate on various concerns in the education sector under the theme: “Catholic Schools- Pilgrims of Hope; Journeying Together in Faith and Renewal”.
