Laying Foundation of Faith and Learning in Bonga
By Ayele Shalamo, SJ
Dear companions,
Warm greetings from Bonga! We continue to be deeply blessed by the present of visitation at our proposed Pedro Páez Jesuit Community and the site of our upcoming Ariyo Catholic Learning Institute. The last and this month have been a season of fruitful discernment, rigorous evaluation, and shared hope.
The visitation our guests began with Abba Silas Kipkorir, the Province Coordinator for Child Protection and Safeguarding in the mid of February. The primary goals of his visit were: to identify existing safeguarding strengths and potential risks within our new context, embed safeguarding policies into the very bedrock of our foundation, promote a consistent culture of protection that aligns with the highest Jesuit standards, ensuring our future students have a secure environment to flourish
This month, we were honored to welcome our Fr. Provincial alongside Mr. John Tierney from London, one of our key potential donors for the school construction project. Joining them was Mr. Collins Ob’bayi from our Province Development Office in Kenya, who arrived earlier to conduct a formal monitoring and evaluation of our construction progress. Our community Superior, Abba Groum, warmly welcomed our guests upon their arrival, offering his heartfelt wishes for a fruitful visitation and expressing our community’s joy in hosting such a significant gathering.
Abba Peter, our Director of School Works, presented a comprehensive report on the current construction status to the donor and the Provincial.
A constructive session followed the report, addressing the current challenges and the long-term impact our apostolate aims to have on the surrounding Bonga society particularly to the marginalized community. After witnessing the physical progress on the ground, Mr. Tierney expressed his happiness and confidence that the funds are being utilized effectively toward our shared mission. It is heartening to see that our potential donor find the future of the school as promising as we do. His witness to the hard work reaffirms the importance of this project for the community.
Beyond the local scope of Bonga, the Father Provincial shared a comprehensive status update of the Province. This exchange was a source of great encouragement, as it allowed us to see our local struggles and successes as part of a much larger, vibrant tapestry of Jesuit service.
Hearing of the growth, challenges, and apostolic shifts across the Province reminded us that while we are geographically distant, we are never isolated. This consolation of the whole reminds us that the Ariyo Catholic Learning Institute and the Pedro Páez Community are essential organs in a larger body dedicated to the Greater Glory of God. The Provincial expressed his profound satisfaction with the progress of the school construction and the spiritual health of the companions here. His visit has left us with a renewed sense of purpose and the assurance that the foundations we are laying both in stone and in spirit are firm. As we continue to build, we do so with the confidence that our mission is supported, our vision is shared, and our path is guided by the Spirit. To enter into a new mission is to trust that the Lord has already prepared the soil; we are simply the laborers invited to the harvest. May the grace of our Lord continue to direct our hands and inspire our hearts as we labor to raise this sanctuary of learning and faith. We remain deeply grateful for the providential generosity of our donors; may God abundantly bless them as they walk alongside us in this sacred mission.
