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| Fr. Jim Conard and Susan |
THE BEGINNING
I began 1985 in Tanzania, the first place I served as a Maryknoll Lay Missioner. This past month I made a trip back to Kowak Hospital which didn't exist when I arrived. I came with Sandy Cavendish and we found a small bedded dispensary and the old Maryknoll Sisters Convent which was empty. I used $10,000 that my grandfather had given in memory of my grandmother, Alice Loess, to begin renovating the convent. When I moved to what is now South Sudan in 1991 we left behind a 32 bed health center. Fr. Jim Conard continued on with other Maryknoll Lay Missioners to make improvements and it is now a full fledged hospital with 170 beds.
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| Susan with replica of the Maternity Hut |
During the construction Fr. Jim found a concrete slab that was the foundation of the original hut the Maryknoll Sisters built in 1951 to deliver babies. He reconstructed the hut and it is now used for a tea room for the staff. Maternity services were always a priority and during my six years we delivered over 3000 babies. Because the Maryknoll Sisters had done such a good job of educating women about the need for prenatal care for pregnant women they were happy to use our new facilities. I met Maria Teresa, one of the traditional birth attendants who worked with us. She is now retired. Her little girl, Letitia, is all grown up and the mother of four children. She works at the hospital as a nurse aid. It was encouraging to see that the first health care services begun at Kowak in 1948 by the Maryknoll Sisters continue to this day. I feel privileged to have been a part of it.
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| Susan Joanne Judy Coralis |
Another reason for this trip was to visit Judy Walter. We lived together for five years and last year she moved to Mwanza Tanzania to help begin a House of Prayer on Lake Victoria with Maryknoll Father Jim Eble. Coralis and I were supposed to be on retreat but of course we had to meet up with other lay missioners in Mwanza too! This picture shows four women with 107 years of ministry in East Africa and Bangladesh!!! Judy is the person overseeing the house for women and Jim oversees the house for men. They begin the day with a 'bell' that Judy rings at 6:20am calling all to prayer in their cave like chapel. (The 'bell' is actually the metal hub from the tire of a big truck!) 15-20 local neighbors of simple means join them for meditation from 6:30-7am
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| Coralis and Susan with the 'bell' |
followed by Mass. They have another meditation period from 4:30-5pm in the evening. Judy says that their neighbors are naturally inclined to contemplative prayer. The desire to create a prayer space open to people with less means was what attracted her to this ministry in a special way.
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| CORALIS GABRIEL SUSAN |
On March 28th we celebrated Coralis' birthday. She is our Regional Director for Kenya and a wonderful source of inspiration and support for all we do. Kenya is in the midst of some perilous times politically but we come together to suffer through the challenges, support one another and bring hope for the future. Even though we are still in the midst of Lent we know that our vocation is to move towards the light of Christ in the resurrection at Easter.
MAY THE ACTIVE NONVIOLENCE OF JESUS
BRING YOU EASTER JOY AND PEACE!!!
