May 2007 | Vol. 43 No 5 | Index

Reaching out to
kids in Kenya

By Fr Martin de Porres Walsh, OP  Mission Director

Dear Mission Friends:


Fr. Tom Heath, O.P. and
Fr Kieran Healy, O.P.
in Kisumu, Kenya.

   In our newsletter last October, we read the moving description by our long-time missionary in Africa, Fr. Kieran Healy, O.P. on the life and death of  Fr. Thomas Heath, O.P. As you may remember, Fr. Tom died as the result of machete wounds received when he was attacked during a robbery at our Dominican Novitiate in Kisumu, Kenya on the shores of Lake Victoria. The Mission of Kenya is under the direction of the Dominican Friars of the Eastern United States Province. Our Western Dominican Province has collaborated with the Mission through the presence of our Missionaries: Fr Kieran Healy, O.P., and more recently, Brother Daniel Thomas, O.P.


Through sponsorships,
the Dominican Friars assist around 220 children,
allowing them to attend school.

   Fr. Tom’s memory remains in the hearts of the people that he served. Because of his devotion to the children of the region, the Dominican Friars of Kisumu chose Fr. Tom as their model and example for their outreach program to orphaned and needy children, which links African students with sponsors who wish to make a difference in the lives of children through the gift of education. In this issue, I wish to share with you the work of the “Fr. Tom’s Kids Program” which memorializes this beloved Dominican priest. The “Fr. Tom’s Kids Program” pairs sponsors with children who are provided with a full year of school fees, school supplies, boarding expenses, basic medical care, uniforms, and books.

   Upon founding the Mission in the early 1990’s, the Dominicans found themselves in the midst of an HIV/AIDS epidemic, the consequences of which are intensified by the presence of the endemic diseases of malaria, typhoid, sickle cell disease, cholera, scabies, ring and other worms, Burkitt’s lymphoma, and other forms of cancer. These are made worse by malnutrition and dehydration.


As Dominican Missionaries visit local villages,
it is not uncommon to encounter children with
enlarged stomachs or underdeveloped bodies
as a result of malnutrition.


There is a rare type of cancer
found in the Lake Victoria region called
“Burkitt’s lymphoma.” 
The malignancy grows very rapidly and
a person who appears in good health
may be critically ill in a month or six weeks.
The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne will soon
be coming to Kisumu to open a hospice
for children with cancer such as this child
with Burkitt’s lymphoma

   If you wish to support the “Fr. Tom’s Kids Program” please specify your intention when you send in your donation. If you wish to sponsor a child you may contact directly Mr. Tim Strick in Colorado who is in direct contact with the Dominicans in Kenya. He can answer any questions you might have about sponsorship. Please do not hesitate to contact Tim by e-mail at: networksales@earthlink.net.


Dominican Novices at the
St. Martin de Porres Novitiate,
where Fr. Tom Heath, O.P. lived
as he served the people of the Kisumu region

   Fr. Tom remains the example and father for the Dominican Missionaries of Kenya. May he intercede for them and for us to be generous to the poor out of love for Jesus.

In Christ, through Dominic and Mary,

Fr Martin de Porres Walsh, OP

 

 

 

If you would like to remember our missionary work in your will, our legal title is: 

 Province of the Holy Name, Inc.
Dominican Mission Foundation
2506 Pine Street
P.O. Box 15367
San Francisco, CA 94115-0367

 

Prayer: Triduum of Saint Martin de Porres

How can you help?
Find out several ways you can support the Western Dominican Missions,
or make an online donation today!

 

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