“Our personal encounter with the Risen Lord empowers us to be sent and to live as witnesses.”
(Capitular Acts 2023, page 24)
Shared by Sr. Redempta Kabahweza, Malindi Community Kenya
Malindi Community celebrates 10 years of existence this year 2025. Through these years, we have witnessed God at work in us and around us. Living at the Pope Francis Rescue Center with children who have been sexually abused has been a challenge to us and sometimes we feel helpless and overpowered by the situation. However, just being present to the suffering, even sometimes in silence, means a lot and changes situations.
For example, we have had a number of cases where the girls are sexually abused by their own fathers and end up with child. Such girls go through a lot of emotional pain which sometimes leads them to have unpleasant behaviors, for example, rudeness, refusing to eat, insulting others, refusing to breastfeed their babies, etc. When we have situations like these, the matrons call us to intervene. Sometimes we do not know what to do with the girls but just sit with them in silence or we tell them how we understand their pain and that we do not judge them. Expressing our compassion to them either through words or silence, normally brings them relief and when we later request them to eat, breastfeed their babies, etc., they respond positively with respect.
Being a MSOLA in a place where corruption and bribery are rampant, our commitment to JPIC-ED has impacted many especially those with whom we work. We appreciate the work of different stakeholders, for example the judiciary, the children department, the police, etc. We appreciate the good collaboration. However, we have also come across those who are corrupt and wanted to compromise with some of the victims’ cases. We always speak to them with assertiveness and tell them that we have to follow the right process or else we will take another step. Most of them are now afraid to play around with the cases we handle at the Home. One officer said,
“Pope Francis Rescue Home, you are the best when it comes to anti-corruption.”
Transparency, accountability and truthfulness are our guiding values as we carry out our duties. The workers recognize these values and some of them are living the same. The workers are also aware that no corruption, bribery or any form of injustice is practiced at the Home and some of them do their best to live these values even outside the home.
As our apostolate here in Malindi is challenging and sometimes stressful due to the horrible experiences the children have gone through, we have always done our best to make our community a source of life and strength.
Almost every day we share our lived experiences; we listen to one another with understanding and carry each other in prayer.
We dedicate two days, Wednesdays and Fridays, to pray for our apostolate by entrusting it to Our Lady of Africa. We pray the Rosary and read our scriptures after the rosary especially, “Listening to Mother Marie Salome”, “Thoughts of Cardinal Lavigerie”, “Thoughts of Mother Marie Salome” and the Capitular Acts of 2023.
We believe and trust that through our prayers, God has done and is still doing a lot in the lives of the broken-hearted children, their families, all those who support us to care for them and of course our community.
Most of the girls appreciate the sisters’ care and love, and they express their gratitude. One of them said to a sister one day:
“Sister, I thought life had no meaning for me anymore after losing everything…my father, my family, my dignity, my everything. However, I was wrong, I now feel loved! The sisters have shown a lot of concern and have taken good care of me, thank you”.
