| The parish of Mother of Good Counsel at Clare Priory is twinned with the Augustinian parish of the Sacred Heart in Baba Dogo, a suburb of Nairobi in Kenya. Baba Dogo is a poor area of the city, with a very high level of unemployment and with around 80,000 people crammed into the parish boundaries. |
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Whilst we might take things as simple as a football for
granted, the children of Baba Dogo are showing here how they have to fashion one
out of a plastic bag stuffed with old cloth and paper, and then tied up with
string! Clare Priory's One World Group is very active - and very successful - in raising funds for the Parish Council of Baba Dogo, which has no other source of income. The money raised is used for a variety of social and pastoral activities. Baba Dogo has a powerful ministry to poor children, many of them orphaned or homeless. |
| Up until recently Sunday masses had to be held in
buildings which were used during the week as the community school. Thankfully,
sufficient funds were raised to enable the construction of a proper building,
and the Church of the Sacred Heart (pictured below) was opened on the 14th of
December 2003. |
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Prayerfully and financially, Clare Priory supports the work of the Sacred Heart parish in Baba Dogo in its educational, social and welfare projects. Visits to Clare from Baba Dogo parishioners have taken place (indeed Fr. Mike Boni visited Clare in 2001), and a reciprocal visit from Clare to Baba Dogo took place in August 2004 when parishioners Julie Chartron and Camilla Whitehouse spent a few days there. For a more detailed report and photos of their visit please follow this link.
In March 2005, Clare Priory parishioner Tony Hornby went out to Baba Dogo for a 3-month sabbatical, and was joined for a few days in April by Lawrence Garside. Lawrence's report and photos can be seen by following this link.
The One World Group at Clare Priory was established in 2000. Its aims are:-
- To promote awareness of one world issues in the parish and in the area
- To ensure that concern for justice is at the core of our parish life
- To pray for those who are suffering and those who are working to end suffering
- To support the work of CAFOD and the Justice and Peace movement
- To build links between our own community and the rest of the world
If anyone is interested in finding out more about the One World Group they would be welcome to contact Lawrence Garside c/o The Priory.