Cavan answers Kenyan prayers

A religious sister from the area of Mutomo Kenya has extended her gratitude to the people of Cavan for their generous donations to her home country, writes Michelle Taite...

Sr. Mary Okumo has taken the long journey to Ireland to speak at a congregational meeting in Dublin, however she made the extra effort to travel down the M3 last week to thank those who have helped change the lives of her native people.

“In gratitude for the support that our hospital has received from the people of Cavan, I had the desire to visit Cavan and meet the people who have generously shared their resources with the people of Mutomo over the years.

“My congregation is holding a general meeting in Maynooth Ireland. I am one of the delegates from Kenya and gratefully acknowledged the opportunity to visit Ireland.”

Sr. Mary attended three different masses while she was in the Breifne County. She started off the weekend on Saturday evening where she joined Fr. Peter in the Cathedral of Saints Patrick and Felim in Cavan. The following morning she attended a sermon led by Bishop Martin in St. Aidan’s Church, Butlersbridge, before returning to the Cavan Town based Cathedral for a Mass by Fr. Kevin Faye.

Sr Mary works as an administrator in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Mutomo, which has received generous donations from Cavan over many years through church gate collections and other fundraising events.

The medium sized hospital, which has 124 beds and a staff of 135, was founded by four Sisters of Mercy from the diocese of Elphin. Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital caters for around 100,000 people in the area and half of the population are under the age of 15.

“The money received from Cavan has been used to support our feeding programme. In the programme we have HIV and malnourished children as well as patients suffering from TB.

“Nutritional boost is very important for these groups particularly in our area where food is scarce or not well balanced. Children receiving Antiretroviral therapy as well as TB patients are required to feed well so that they can boost their immunity. The programme has also helped inpatient compliance to treatment as well as keeping clinic appointments.”

The funds raised in Cavan for Kenya is led by The Cavan Famine & Aids Committee. This is a Christian registered charity which was established by the late Rita Sheridan from Drumalee, Cavan.

While much more donations are needed to assist the region of Mutomo, Sr. Mary is incredibly grateful for the impact made by Cavan’s generosity.

“On behalf of the people of Mutomo who have benefited from the generosity of the people of Cavan, I say a very big thank you and wish all God’s blessings.”

Located in Eastern Africa, Kenya’s average temperature is 29 degrees celsius which makes it prone to drought. This means that if they don’t get sufficient rainfall, the lack of water could have devastating results.

“The area is semi-arid and therefore dry and hot most part of the year. The families are poor and rely so much on rain to grow crops for their use,” she continued.

“Very few people are in formal employment. This means that the source of income is unreliable.”