Once again, we launch our Christmas Appeal in support of Queen of Peace Primary School for Girls, our parish outreach project in Lodwar, Kenya. Last year a total of €13,960 was generously contributed. (See school Facebook page here and photos).

The photo on the right shows Fr Fergus with Bishop Dominic Kimeng'ich in Nairobi in August 2016, giving him our summer contribution of €5,290. A further €12,480 was raised at Christmas 2016. 

The school is developing very well, as Bishop Dominic outlined in his November 2018 email. There are now 700 students and it is expected that this will rise to 720 in the next Academic Year (January 2019).

Bishop Dominic pointed out that:

"This year the school did exceptionally well in the National Exams. Out of 45 students who sat for their Class 8 Examinations, 30 of them are assured of going to good quality secondary schools in Kenya. We are all elated and are very grateful to God and Our Lady Queen of Peace for such good results. 

 

... the completion of the new dormitory was possible due to the donation of almost €14,000 we received from your Parish of Our Lady Queen of Peace, that you raised in December last year. Thank you so much for your wonderful generosity.

 ... the construction of the Convent for the Sisters (photo below) ... got stuck along the way due to lack of funds.  We need about €20,000 to complete and furnish it. Our inability to complete the construction of the convent means that we cannot accommodate more Sisters in the school.  Currently we have only two Sisters who are overstretched in their effort to run and manage the school.

A very important and crucial project planned, after the completion of the Convent, is to build more classrooms for the Nursery children.  Originally we had planned for a school that would accommodate 640 students. Now we have almost 700 and with the new intake due in January we expect the population to go up to 720. That is why we desperately need at least 4 classrooms."

 A total of €15,996 was donated between summer and Christmas of 2015.

During his visit to Lodwar in July 2015 Fr Fergus celebrated Mass for the students and staff of the school in the new multi-purpose dining hall. The liturgy was enhanced by the beautiful singing of the choir. Afterwards there was some poetry and singing to entertain the visitor, which among other things illustrated the talent of the girls and highlighted their dreams for the future.

It was a joy to see how much has been achieved already and to be able to assist in the ongoing development of this wonderful project.

Our initial donation was in fact the catalyst for launching the construction of the school.

Fr Fergus stayed with Bishop Dominic and also met Fr John O'Callaghan, a Kiltegan missionary from Kilmallock, who has been very involved in the execution of the project and Mr Tony Woods, from Doon, the diocesan administrator.

In 2014 our Christmas Appeal raised €10,539.

The visit of Fr Joseph Ekalimon, Vicar General of Lodwar Diocese, to our parish in June 2013 further cemented our links with Queen of Peace School. Fr Joseph spoke at all weekend Masses expressing the gratitude of the people of Lodwar for our support. He also highlighted the need for this project: the provision of quality integral education for young girls, who tend to be overlooked due to shortage of resources. We are very pleased to be able to lend our support and will continue to do so. The Christmas 2014 contribution was slightly up on the €10,471 donated in 2013 and is an indication of our ongoing commitment to this worthy cause.

Our 2012 Christmas Appeal, raised €9,264 for the second phase of the project: the construction of 4 more classrooms and some administrative offices.

In 2011 we raised €14,095, which gave the initial impetus to begin the project with the building of the first 4 classrooms of the Queen of Peace Primary School for Girls in Lodwar.

The ongoing generosity of our parishioners  is giving a welcome boost to this very worthy project and helping these young girls to have a brighter and better future through the empowerment that access to education will give.

This YouTube video gives some background to the project. See especially comments of Bishop Dominic at 2'52".