Mission Statement | Emergency Appeals | Current Appeals | Donate Here By Debit/Credit Card | Legacies

Sponsor A Child | Recent Appeals | Newsletters | Downloads | Birth of SPICMA | Donate Now | Contact Us

  Go to Page >>>  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |

Page 2

Building of the Church in Kibokoni, Kenya

Some time ago, the Rt. Rev. Francis Baldicino, Bishop of Malindi and and his Vicar General, Fr.Albert Buijs asked if we could help the parishioners of Kibokoni to build a church for their community. The people there had already raised a substantial amount of money but they needed additional financial support in order to complete the work. We appealed to our members for funds as well as advertising in the Catholic Herald and Plain Truth publication.

The seeds for the project weresown as far back as 1992 when local Christians started praying at Kibokoni Primary School, using one of the classrooms. A sister from the parish church was conducting Sunday Prayer services, but these stopped after two years when she was transferred. They were resumed by a catechist in 1997 and continued like that until 2002 when the parish started sending a priest to celebrate Mass on alternate Sundays while the catechist led services on the other Sundays. However, some worshipers began to join a nearby Baptist and Pentecostal church because they were purpose built buildings.

In January 2002 the community decided on a fund-raising program and, after much discussion the committee decided to use the proceeds to construct a brick-built church, as opposed to a traditional (and temporary) structure, made from stout branches filled with rocks and mud and thatched using local materials.

It was hoped this ambitious plan would accommodate 400 worshippers and also serve the nearby villages of Sabaki and Kwandomo. After the foundations were laid, construction was suspended as funds had run out. At this stage somebody declared, "This church will not be built by man, but by God". A year later, a second fund-raising event was organised and with the receipt of some quite substantial gifts, work resumed.

Thereafter, two tentative opening dates were set but passed. Meanwhile, the cost of building materials was increasing significantly, which made the task of completing the church more difficult. The project was then blessed by two events. Firstly, Mr and Mrs Leonardo Cero donated enough money to fund the purchase of all the doors, including a large hardwood door for the entrance and the laying of a concrete path around the building, to protect the foundations from erosion during periods of heavy rainfall. Secondly, a generous gift from SPICMA made it possible for construction work to reach a stage where the church could be used for Sunday services; although it was still not quite finished.

A new date for the official opening was set for 26th November 2006 but this was once again in jeopardy due to continuing rising costs and budget overruns. However, another blessing was received. SPICMA was approached by Mr and Mrs Danes from England wishing to make a donation in memory of Mrs Ladner, the mother of Mrs Danes. Their generous gift enabled work to resume and the official opening to take place as planned.

Without this gift, the unthinkable would have happened, forcing yet another postponement to the official opening. The community were desperate for this to take place on the feast of Christ the King and by the grace of God, the help of the local people and our generous benefactors, this was achieved.

Below are pictures of the opening ceremony and the local worshippers.