HERALD PHOTOS BY CAROL MOORMAN
On Thursday, Fr. Robert Olima and Mary Menya spoke at the Senior Dining Site. Kathy Knoblach, who is the same age as Fr. Robert Olima, kid that they are a twin brother and sister. “Now don’t we look alike,” she said smiling.
Mary Menya holds a wrap that women in Kenya wear.
By Eric Eveslage
Holy Family School in Sauk Centre welcomed two special visitors to school Monday, Sept. 24, as they hosted Fr. Robert Olima and Mary Menya of Kenya for an afternoon of learning and fun in the gymnasium.
Fr. Olima and Menya are connected to Holy Family's sister school, St. Joseph's Ombo Primary School in Migori, Kenya. Fr. Olima is a parish priest, and Menya is a former teacher who specialized in working with the deaf. There are about 10,000 people in Olima's parish.
"I see a lot of faces," he said.
The pair shared their life stories and other experiences with the students, helping them to understand just how lucky they are to have been born in the United States.
When Fr. Olima asked the students how many of them were driven to school by their parents that day, several of the students raised their hands.
"We do a lot
of walking in Africa," he said. "Children are not driven to school by parents. You are very lucky you do not walk a lot. We walk for miles just to get water. When you take water, think of Africa."
Menya described how many Africans have to collect water to perform everyday household chores that we take for granted as Americans.
"We need water for food, baths, to clean clothes, and to drink," she said. "It is not always very clean, though, and we have to boil it before we drink it."
She added that the trip to central Minnesota was the first time either of the two had ever drank water without having to boil it first.
The students listened intently as the two described school life in Homa Bay, where children go to packed nursery schools until grade eight before moving on to a four-year secondary school and then possibly college or a university.
"All of you children would be in one class back home," he said of St. Joseph Migori's, where class sizes can range from 60-100 pupils.
They also explained how there is no electricity in most homes, which in many cases are made of mud walls and grass thatched roofs.
After their introductions, Fr. Olima and Menya taught students Swahili words. Among them were jambo (hello), kwaheri (goodbye), asante sana (thank you very much), habari (how are you), and mzuri (good).
When it was time for the students to ask them questions, nearly every hand in the gym shot up in the air. Many students asked questions about Africa's famous wildlife, asking if the two had ever seen lions and cheetahs and if they'd ever been chased by elephants. While they had seen all of the animals, they had never been chased by any.
Students also gave gifts to their Kenyan visitors. Younger classes sang and danced, and fifth and sixth graders performed "This Land is your Land." They also presented the pair with a cookbook, prayer book, and school supplies for their brother and sister students in Africa.
"Thank you very much," Fr. Olima said. "You have given us something that will make us remember you every time we use them."
He ended by saying that even though there are a lot of problems in his homeland, there is a lot of life in Africa.
Kenyans keep busy,
hosted by local families
Mary Menya and Father Robert Olima arrived with their Kenya delegation in the St. Cloud Diocese on Sept. 15, and the following Sunday they attended the Harvest for Hope celebration at the Spring Hill farm of Rosie and Urban Spanier where Bishop John Kinney celebrated Mass.
Menya and Olima have been busy since arriving in Sauk Centre on Friday, Sept. 21. A few of the items on their agenda include visiting school and attending sporting events, Senior Dining Site, the hospital, nursing home and Lakeshore Estates, Sinclair Lewis Home, Interpretive Center and Museum, the foodshelf and the Primus Fresh Air Farm; toured Sauk Centre, Camphill Village and the Sauk Centre Herald; talked with the youth group; attended a wedding reception and wedding Mass, spoke during Sunday Masses, went boating and moonlight bowling and attended a concert.
Fr. Olima will celebrate an African liturgy during the 5 p.m. Mass Saturday, Oct. 6, at Our Lady of the Angels Church and during the 8:30 a.m. Mass that Sunday at St. Paul's. Later that day he will attend the West Union Sausage Supper.
Before leaving Sauk Centre, Fr. Olima will play soccer with Holy Family School students.
Sauk Centre hosts include Fr. Todd Schneider, the Jamie Hooper and Amy Trisko family and Deacon Tom and Kathy McFadden, plus other members of St. Paul's and Our Lady of the Angels parishes.
Reader Comments
Posted: Thursday, October 04, 2007
Article comment by:
christine menya
That was a very good opportunity for the team from Kenya and espcialy Mrs. Menya who has worked hard for the deaf children and the church. They can at least now see the other side of the world and make a comparison. Congratulations!
