THIS TOO WILL PASS

As the Churches and other places of worship shut down due to the Corona Virus Pandemic, the People of  Nadonjukin, an outstation of Good Shepherd Simanjiro Parish which is run by the Divine Word Missionaries believe that after this pandemic is over, they will need more space. This is why they have not abandoned their plan to build a permanent Church because their mud one is falling apart.

At the beginning of April, the construction works began and by the close of last week of the month, it had reached the lintel. When you ask any person if they are afraid of the virus they will tell you that “Tunamwamini Mungu” Swahili for “We trust in God”. Many people here do not access even local news because they are either poor or no radio coverage at all. Very few can afford digital tv sets and very few have smartphones.

What I have learned is that the lesser the people know about the pandemic the lesser they are worried about it. This may have twofold implications. On one side, they may be very much exposed incase the virus finds its way here, and on the other side, they may not be mentally and psychologically affected like those who watch the news every day.

However, the people here have not been spared by the effects of the new coronavirus. Maasai culture is one of the main tourist attractions, the impact of the collapse of the tourism business has a direct effect on the economy here. I have some parishioners who have lost businesses and employment because the hotels that depended on foreign tourists have closed.

Here in the Parish, we have been doing our best to relay important information to the people because we still have masses. The people are very optimistic that the virus will go away and life will go back to normal.