Kenya
The Brothers went to Kenya in 1976 to develop and manage Baraka Agricultural College, Molo, Rift Valley Province, on behalf of the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru. Over the years they developed Baraka College into one of the primary institutions in East Africa for the promotion of sustainable agriculture and rural development (SARD). Today the focus of the college’s six programmes is on rural communities of the Region.
In 1979 the Brothers established St. Joseph’s Junior Seminary in Molo and managed it until 1992 at which time they handed it over to the diocese of Nakuru. The Brothers also developed and manage one of the most successful day schools in Kenya – St. Francis Secondary School, Lare, Njoro District. Also in Lare Division they run a poly technical school and a rural development programme for the promotion of the integrated development of the Lare geographical community. In 2009 at Molo, the Brothers also started a Peace and Environment Centre for the promotion of peace and care for the environment.
A key part of the mission of the in East Africa over the years has been the formation of young African men as Franciscan Brothers. These men come mainly from Kenya and Uganda are now gradually taking over the work begun by the Irish Brothers in 1976.
Adara (Uganda) Mission
The Franciscan Brothers officially opened their mission in Western Uganda in February 2012. With increasing numbers of African members, the Brothers felt the call to move further afield. From the discernment process gone through (which included visits to several diocese) it was clear from the great needs of the people of northern Uganda and the charism entrusted to us through our patrimony that God was calling on us to serve His people in this part of the world.
As the only Franciscan Community in the north of the country we have the added responsibility of promoting the broader Franciscan Charism that has so much to offer humanity at this point in history. Our mission is in West Nile, the most westerly part of Uganda bordered on the west by the DRC and to the north is the recently formed country of South Sudan. Our new home is in the village of Adraa which has Nebbi town (pop 30,000) to the south and Arua (pop 60,000) to the north. The establishment of our mission in West Nile has been made possible with the support of the Bishop, priests, religious and people of Nebbi Diocese, as well as our many friends and partner agencies that support us.
Much of Northern Uganda is recovering from the ravages of civil war inflicted on the region since 1985. Combined with economic and political isolation this has resulted in high levels of rural poverty. Rural communities live in nuclear villages and land is held under customary ownership.
Farms are fragmented and the emphasis is on growing food rather than seeing the farm as a business and a source of a sustainable livelihood. Some villages of a hundred plus households in our area don’t even have a pit latrine.
The Franciscan Brothers believe that sustainable agriculture is the most appropriate development strategy in response to the realities facing rural communities in Northern Uganda. As a concept, sustainable agriculture is a process, based on four pillars – economic, environmental, socio/cultural and political institutional.
This concept, properly understood and implemented, will lead to the achievement of sustainable livelihoods of the farmers concerned and lay the foundation for sustainable rural development. Sustainable agriculture will be at the core of the Franciscan Brothers’ ministries in West Nile.
As is the case with everything we do in Africa, our work in Kenya and Uganda depends on the generosity of many agencies, and our good friends and local community groups that believe in and support what we do.
 |
 |
