Meeting of Heads of Schools

In my capacity as Assistant to the Provincial for Education, I convened a meeting of the heads of schools of the Eastern Africa Province of the Jesuits (that includes Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda -- and now we can say SOUTH Sudan).


The meeting exceeded my expectations. We enjoyed one another's company, profited from the experience of one another, and grew from the collegial encouragement.

I also had the opportunity to meet up with two Jesuit friends: Cyriac Francis Malasi, a scholastic who had worked on this pro now studying theology at Hekima College, Nairobi, and the rector of Hekima College Jesuit Community, Fr. Gabriel Mmassi.

Not only that, I also had a chance to see the school sponsored by our lay friends in the Christian Life Community, St. Aloysius High School, on the edge of the infamous Kibera Slum of Nairobi. I was very impressed by the students and staff of this high school.

It was a good trip, but I was away from school for some excitement that it would have been better if I had been present: We had a fire in the boys' dormitory. The cause of it remains uncertain. Damage was limited to one room. The good news is that the dormitory was empty AND that all our systems worked. The alarm went off, Sr. Maria (in charge of boarding) went to investigate and saw the black smoke rising; when she arrived, she found workers already extinguishing the fire. The whole incident (dealing with the immediate issues, police reports, contacting parents, etc.) was very ably handled by Fr. Kizito, who acts as my deputy in my absence.