With this quote from the book Acts of the Apostles 1,8, Missio is campaigning for World Mission Month this year.
Every Christian is called to bear witness to Christ, Pope Francis said. This appeal applies to the believers in Kibera, in the Netherlands and worldwide.
Mission Sunday is above all a celebration of solidarity. We celebrate being part of a global community of people who take responsibility for each other.
That responsibility becomes concrete in the worldwide collection that makes Mission Sunday the largest solidarity action of Catholics.
Mission Netherlands is part of the Pontifical Mission Societies. Missio contributes to the proclamation of the Gospel, pastoral care in the poorest faith communities, the care and education of vulnerable children and the training of priests, deacons and catechists.
This year, Missio focuses specifically on Kibera, Nairobi's largest slum.
Kibera. About 60 percent of the city's population lives on just six percent of the surface of the metropolis of Nairobi. Every day, people from the surrounding area flood into the city in the hope of work and a better future. An estimated half a million people live here packed together. Only a fifth of the houses have electricity; drinking water must be obtained from water stations. Hygiene is a big problem. However, the misery and hopelessness in the slum are only one side of the coin. There is another side: togetherness, helping each other where it is needed.
Linet Mboya is one of the inhabitants of the slum. The single mother of three children also takes care of six foster children, who otherwise would have to live on the street.
Sister Mary Wambui has lived in Kibera with her community of sisters for many years and has, among other things, set up micro-credit groups for women.
Pastor Firmin Koffi leads the Yarumal missionaries who have their education and formation home in Kibera. For them and many other people, Kibera is their home.
More information: www.missio.nl
