This Year's Wishes

All of us who work at Mwangaza Jesuit Spirituality Centre in Nairobi are given the unique gift of meeting extraordinary — sometimes heroic — people doing extraordinary things for others whose lives are hard. They run schools, homes for street children, orphanages, refugee camps, hospitals and dispensaries, serving even those who might reject them because they are Christians. Some live in great isolation among very simple people. We are honoured to meet them and to hear their stories when they come to us for an eight-day retreat.

Mwangaza — meaning “enlightenment” in Swahili — is a spiritual oasis and rest stop for these good people. Mostly Catholics come, but many Protestants too: nuns, ministers and lay people. We receive people from eleven nations: South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, Burundi, Ethiopia, the Congo, Djibouti, Somalia and Kenya. Some arrive exhausted, stressed, or carrying the trauma of war.

We offer them eight days of complete quiet, nutritious meals, their own room with a clean bed, and above all the opportunity to rest mind and heart while pondering the Word of God — to hear once again God speak His great love to them. Each person is matched with a well-trained guide and meets them daily for up to 45 minutes. Then we send them back to their places of service with renewed hope.

Over the last five years there has been a steady increase in requests for retreats and courses at Mwangaza. Thanks to generous donations, we were able to increase the Centre’s capacity from 24 to 54 bedrooms, and a further grant made it possible to turn the 24 older bedrooms into self-contained facilities.

We ask you to join us in welcoming the extra guests we presently cannot accommodate but who long for that one special week of renewal. You could hardly support a more worthy cause, or a more deserving group of people.