\u201cDo not look away from the poor\u201d (Tobit 4,7) was the theme for the 2023 World Day for the Poor which was celebrated for the seventh time by the Church on 19 November 2023. It is an appointment, Pope Francis explained, “that the Church is progressively rooting in its pastoral care, in order to discover more and more the central content of the Gospel”.\u00a0 The Holy Father urged everyone to work toward providing free healthcare, medical examinations, vaccinations, and bill payment assistance to those in need.<\/p>\n
It was in response to this year\u2019s theme and Pope Francis\u2019 call that our Embassy of the Order of Malta and the Companions of Kenya elected to spend this day with the elderly and infirm at Nairobi\u2019s Nyumba Ya Wazee located in Kasarani, a home for the elderly which is run by The Little Sisters of the Poor. In this home 66 elderly women and men are looked after in a clean, serene and orderly place of at least 10 acres of land.\u00a0 The residents have at their disposal a beautiful garden and benefit from good quality cemented floors, corridors and compound where they can move conveniently with their wheel chairs.\u00a0 The other advantage of this home is that it is conveniently located on Thika Road near the Neema Hospital (a facility the Order supports from time to time) where the residents are rushed to hospital when they become ill. It is here at the Nyumba ya Wazee that the Servant of God, Cardinal Maurice Otunga, co founder of the home in the 1990s, chose to spend his final years in order to be close to ordinary men and women, his \u201eage mates\u201c as he called them.<\/p>\n
The day started off with Mass at the Chapel with the residents, sisters and other members of the surrounding community.\u00a0 After Mass, the Charg\u00e9 d\u2019Affaires Dr. Franco De Paoli and his wife Marinella, the Deputy Head of Mission of the Apostolic Nunciature, Msgr. Luciano Labanca, Mr. Sam Mattock\u2019s wife, daughter and mother and some Companions of Kenya, namely Ms. Nwando Dike, Mr. Alex Oketch and Mr. Adam spent some personal one on one time with the Residents.<\/p>\n
The Embassy contributed to the home a substantial amount of food, household cleaning materials and some other necessary supplies. In addition, it made a cash donation to help with the enormous monthly expenses.<\/p>\n
The Sisters spoke of their work at the home and similar homes all over Africa. The Embassy and the Companions of Kenya look forward to taking up the Sisters\u2018 invitation to visit frequently in order to volunteer and simply converse with the residents.<\/p>\n
The day spent at Nyumba Ya Wazee was a most humbling experience.<\/p>\n
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