Patron of Cafod in visit to Kenya

BY MIGUEL CULLEN
BISHOP JOHN Rawsthorne of Hallam visited Kenya last week with Cafod, the Catholic aid agency. He visited the largest slum in Africa, Nairobi’s sprawling Kibera, and also travelled to Mombasa on the east coast to visit areas that were blighted by floods last December.
The visits were to places where Cafod has exerted a positive influence, partly thanks to the £185,000 donated by the Catholic community of England and Wales in response to Cafod’s East Africa emergency drought and flood appeal.
While in Kibera the bishop participated in the launch of a youth initiative designed to tackle the high levels of youth violence in the slum; in Nairobi the bishop also participated in a radio programme on Radio Waumini, a station recently named by the BBC World Service Africa as among the best for on-air campaigns dealing with HIV and Aids awareness.
Bishop Martin Kivuva of Mombasa, chairman of Caritas Kenya, said: “Not only do we appreciate the financial support of Cafod, but also the spiritual. It’s a great privilege for us to have Bishop Rawsthorne here with us in Kenya.”