I am packing my bags to return to Kenya for a second time in less than a year, and am filled with nervous excitement. I have been honored with a second documentary project that is further connected to our mission of finding educational opportunities for bright but needy students.
On Friday, February 3, 2012, myself and members of St. Denis Parish and Hearts Open to the World, a Christian-based non-profit group formed to help improve education and healthcare, as well as offer Christian teachings in Western Kenya in Hanover, N.H. We will volunteer our time and talents along our 10-day journey, as well as use this as a learning experience to see not only the tremendous impact of the work of the Dominican Order, but also to see first hand the immediate and longer-term needs of the communities here and communicate them in a compelling way to parishioners, teachers, doctors, philanthropists and stakeholders back in the U.S.
Our itinerary begins with a stay at the Dominican House in Nairobi, and we will then travel (I am going by car, others will go by plane) to Kisumu where we will work with the children at Our Lady of Grace School & Father Tom’s Kids, which works to provide a home life for kids orphaned by AIDS or political violence, or abandoned due to poverty. We will then travel to Konditi, where we will visit with the St. Denis Konditi Primary School, which is in need of a school lunch sponsorship program, since many kids go without food. Finally, we will visit the Nyanda Hospital, which I believe is without electricity, and short on trained staff and supplies.
It is again my hope that the power of documentary storytelling will help us to raise funds back in the United States to help address some of the need across the world.
I am hoping to complete the project by June 2012 and will be sure to share it with you then.