Sr.
Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
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| Fr. George Omondi distributing foodstaffs |
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.
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| Distribution of Foodstuffs Consolata 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.
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