Over the years there have been attempts to define Mission & Development, to come up with a sentence (or two) that gives a clear picture of what it is all about.  The more time that passes however, the more difficult this seems to become. More curious perhaps is the fact that it is precisely this state of “fuzziness” which keeps me glued to this chair. Where else and how else could I have encounters such as those I share now?

One of the great joys of M&D work is the opportunity to be on the ground – where the action and the actors are, whether that is in Ireland or as happened recently, in Kenya.

Regular readers of M&D sharing will know that there have been other visits, other occasions when my focus was following up on ministry funding while also trying to support Mercy efforts. This time, this visit however stands apart, and it seems appropriate to share my experience because, strange as it may seem, it comes very close to illustrating what Mercy, for me, is all about.

Time on the ground in October included a (return) trip to Lokori – not my first nor hopefully my last engagement with that community. Lokori, as some of you may know, can present challenges as a ministry location, all of them, I hasten to add, to do with the climate, the physical environment.

In my years with Mercy however, rarely have I experienced the same level of discomfort as I did this time around.  Willing and able as I am to adapt to the local environment, trying to keep a smile fixed firmly on my face in the sweltering heat of 40 degrees Centigrade was a challenge too far for my fair Scottish complexion and I was obliged to cut short my engagement with students at the school where a Mercy Sister is on staff.

It was, however, within this (physically) rather hostile environment that I found tangible and irrefutable evidence of the impact of the Mercy presence with not one, but two stories providing the narrative.

My first story begins with a young shepherd boy who, by chance or perhaps serendipity, decided one day that tending sheep was not enough. He had heard people in his village talking about a sister who helped boys like him learn to read and held evening classes not far from the parish.

That was the first step and his introduction to the community in Lokori.  With reading mastered, the next step was how to form his letters. So, primary then secondary school and then, why not? It was on to college.

Qualifications achieved, the boy, now a young man, decided that the obvious path to take was returning to where it all began and join the staff of a programme set up and run by those same Sisters. Today this young man is second in command for the Lokori PHC programme managed by Sr. Selina Mbuli. Watching him translate my garbled words of appreciation for the welcome received and for the celebratory dancing, it was not difficult to imagine him as that young boy herding his sheep and dreaming of a life that he did not yet know.

At the other end of the spectrum then, we have the story of another boy whose life has not yet begun. In this instance, we encounter him in the middle of a community gathering. He cannot talk but is desperate to understand what is going on. He is small for his age (13) but insists on being part of whatever excitement he can find so elbows his way into any place and space where others are congregated.  Later, we learn that he does in fact “escape” from home on a regular basis in a bid to be where Life is happening.

After research and conversations with the family, then investigations by the Sisters, the opportunity of admission to a school which is structured for young people like him is established. His family find it difficult to believe that their son’s life is about to change. They had given up on any chance of rehabilitation at any level and in any form.

Just two small instances of the Mercy presence, and Mercy in action. Without fanfare or fuss, two young people are on a different path thanks to what Catherine might have described as “fitting them for earth”. What better way to keep her words alive?

Maria Douglas
Mission & Development