July to September Updates
By Fr. Francis Wambua, SJ
For about seven months, the Rumbek Jesuit community has not been without one of their members, Fr Lucas, who was in his third probation in Mwangaza Tertianship. However, in the month of August he joined the community and it is now ‘a full house.’ His experience seems to have been really a fulfilling one, physically and spiritually. Our community now comprises of three Jesuits-Abuna Lucas, Abuna Eric and yours truly-as well as two lay collaborators-Caroline Sanga and Abuna Shete Wangira. Caroline Sanga works with the province development office in Nairobi. She is a great help to our Jesuit works/apostolates in South Sudan. Abuna Shete is working with the Jesuit Hakimani Center in South Sudan. He has been of great help to the community and in our apostolates as well. He has been generous with the training of our teachers at St Peter Claver Computer and Ecological Center and the St Theresa Kindergarten. There is a richness in that our extended community give a certain perspective outside the Jesuit circles.
Together with the Cueibet Jesuit community, we organized and celebrated St Ignatius day in style, inviting all the religious communities within the central deanery of the Catholic Diocese of Rumbek, not forgetting all our collaborators from our respective apostolates.
The new academic year 2024/25 of St Peter Claver Computer and Ecological Center was opened with the Eucharist presided by the director Abuna Lucas Ng’hwagi. In addition, on 9th September 2024, on the feast of St Peter Claver, SJ, the Computer and Ecological Center and the Jesuit community came together to celebrate the feast of our patron. On the side of the Computer and Ecological Center, the director made a presentation on educating both the students and staff of St Peter Claver. He started by introducing St Peter Claver as a catholic saint belonging to the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits. He then talked about the Catholic Church, its principles and guiding values. That was followed by a talk about the Society of Jesus and finally a video clip on St Peter Claver himself. The celebration was crowned with the celebration of the Eucharist. It was the first time that the celebration included such presentation and the Mass. Historically the celebration meant just food and drinks.
Abuna Eric attended the third edition of DRC Social Innovation Summit in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 4th to 6th September 2024. The summit was about the creation of employment for young people, women and vulnerable people using local and available resources. The summit was under the theme “Amplifying Voices: Youth and Women Innovating for People-Driven Development in Africa. It included participants from different parts of the world.
Apart from the good happenings we are experiencing floods that have been caused by the largest river in Rumbek, Barnam, that has busted its banks, maiming transportation of goods from Juba to Rumbek, as well as rendering some of the surrounding people homeless. There has been floods in Akoljal too, the place where MAJIS is located.
May God continue to protect and guide us as we serve him in our different apostolates through the province.
