Pastoral Internship in Africa

NYUMBANI VILLAGE, KENYA - As a part of the Master of Divinity degree program at the Washington Theological Union I was given the opportunity to do a ten-week pastoral internship in Kenya. My internship was at the Nyumbani Village, a home for AIDS affected children and seniors near the town of Kitui, about a three-hours drive due east of Nairobi.

Here, children who are orphaned because their parents died from AIDS are brought together and placed in extended families under the care of elderly grandparents who have lost their own grown children to AIDS.

The grandparents care for the children now, and in the future when the children are grown, they will in turn care for the grandparents. There are currently190 children and 25 grandparents living in the village - eventually there will be up to 1000 children and 200 grandparents living there.

When I first heard about Nyumbani Village I was hesitant to go there because living conditions at the village can be somewhat harsh. Not only is Kitui located in a rather remote area of Kenya, but also the climate there is semi-arid, which means it can get oppressively hot - just think of conditions similar to the deserts of the American southwest.

There is relatively little contact with the outside world, no electricity or potable water, pit latrines, and lots of very poisonous snakes! However, getting to know the children and grandparents who live in the village more than makes up for any of the hardships one might face.

During the time I spent at Nyumbani Village there were other seminarians - three Rosminian and two Camillus brothers - there as well, and together we shared a variety of ministerial responsibilities.

Our biggest project was helping to establish small Christian communities. Each of these communities was made up of about twenty or so villagers who would meet once a week to listen to the Gospel and pray together, sometimes sharing Eucharist and a meal.

We also planted vegetable gardens for some of the grandparents who were unable to do so, and we planted and watered hundreds and hundreds of trees. We also helped to install solar electricity panels in the school so that the children could have some place to do their homework in the evening - they had been doing it by candlelight in their homes.

In addition, I served as deacon for the local parish at the village, and when the Papal Nuncio of Kenya, His Excellency Alain Paul Lebeaupin came to visit, I was the deacon for that Mass. I also served as deacon at the wedding Mass of five Kikamba couples. I had a very enjoyable and rewarding summer with the people of Nyumbani Village.

Herman Kinzler, O.Carm.