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Br Lawrence NBack to our rootsrothers, I find it very appropriate to go back to theroots why Marist International Centre was founded:Bto form young Brothers well grounded in the faith foran indispensable mission to poor children and youth. In thewords of Bro. Powell Prieur, Bro. Charles Howard had love forand faith in the new generation of Brothers. He made sure thatthe project took off. Today we are twenty five years old. Hismotto was la foi solid. Other things come later. This means allwhat MIC offers or can offer should be at the service of la foisolid. Not easy task to strike a balance, is it? His propheticleadership will always be remembered.I would like to share with you his hopes for MIC. He wrote thiswhen MIC was celebrating tenth anniversary. Are they validtoday?I. May the Marist International Centre continue to helpform young men from Africa and Madagascar who have listeningand discerning hearts, alert to the call of the Lord, including thosemanifest in the needs of the young people to whom we are sent.These needs have important implications for the kind ofeducation we try to give these young people.ii.The main architects of inculturation of Marist ReligiousLife in Africa and Madagascar will be our Brothers from thosecountries. Brothers with generous hearts who have a keeninculturation.understanding of theirown culture with itsstrengths and weaknesses,and who also have a goodunderstanding of MaristReligious Life. May theCentre continue to givei m p e t u s t o t h i siii. One of the great enemies ofreligious life in the world is a lack ofsimplicity and could easily be a problemin Africa and Madagascar. Thetemptation to become a kind ofbourgeoisie is very strong for us all. If welose this simplicity, then very quickly thepassion and the fire in our lives candisappear. Simplicity of life will enableus to be in real solidarity with the poor.Article 34 of our Constitutions is veryclear on this.iv. You know how strongly I haveinsisted on the importance of the nameBrother - it is a beautiful name whichexpresses so clearly our way of relating toothers. It has nothing to do with the lure ofpower, of status, of privileges, ofpossessions etc. It helps to preserve usfrom the corruption that comes fromprivilege, status and power, even in theChurch. So may we live our Brotherhoodfully, with unselfish love, giving of ourourselves so that others may have greaterfullness of life living the Brotherhood ofChrist with everyone, especially youngpeople.v. May some of our long term hopesfor the centre be gradually realized:formation in leadership courses, studiesin religious life in Africa, inculturation,etc.I think we have something to chew, toponder and see what we can do about it.Page 4 of 19

Moses Fegher, FmsTransformative Education: It's All About Changearist School Community wants to change the worldthrough education of the youth but there are realMquestions we need to stop and ask ourselves as wecelebrate 25 years of Transformative Education: Have I reallysubmitted to God and allowed Him to transform me? Further, what ismy responsibility in ensuring that the spirit of transformativeeducation is established to actualize the Marist vision? In my candidopinion it's all about change – our positive response towards the corevalues presented to us by the Marist International University College(MIUC). This change involves more than attending church. It is acomplete change of life – Metanoia.It feels “righteous” for us to publicly denounce the “big” sin of radicalterrorists – that is an easy one to stand against, or termination of humanlife - which is a terrible crime against humanity or any number of othersins. But before we can be the “Light of the world”, we have to take thelead in our various capacities in living out the MIUC Core values.How can MIUC argue the significance of the ten Core Values as thefoundation of our college heritage, if our lives are a contradictionwithin and beyond the school premises? If we dishonor ourparents/guardians, if we are still reluctant in extending a helping handto our colleagues who are in need, if we don't respect our environment,if we aid and abet the taking of innocent lives, if we fail to protect ourneighbor and nation, if we fail to notice that a neighbor is suffering, ifwe are failing in giving direction to our students to discover their truepotentials? All these issues are embedded in the “Big Ten MIUC CoreValues”. It is not uncommon that we fight that these core values beplaced in public places but the moment someone says we really shouldobey them, that person is branded “a legalist”.Let's stop a moment and examine Lincoln's Proclamation ofAppointing A National Day of Prayer which reads in part: “Andwhereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own theirdependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sinsand transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope thatgenuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognizethe sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scripture and proven by allhistory, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord….”We are celebrating 25 years of transformative education, however aspiritual renewal is also needed where we owe God our submission andto his law recognizing himas the righteous creatorwho is behind all wehave achieved. God'slove is not a free pass to disrespect. Hiscommandments as captured in our Corevalues. This period also calls for apersonal revival that requires you to geton your knees and admit that your waysdo not work and to seek His desires foryour life.God, through the school communitywants to prepare youth for the greatestrevival the world has ever known. TheCollege offers them a spiritual andphysical renaissance that is more than adream about a bright professionalfuture. The Marist InternationalUniversity College offers to the youth ahuman education that has workablesolutions for political, economic andsocial problems in life. It is high timewe all, in the spirit of renewal andcelebration, come out firmly in ourexemplary living in promoting ourUniversity College by taking seriouslyour Marist core values. Let us all saywhat we believe, believe what we sayand practice what we believe so as towalk the talk. It is all about what we doand say. It's all about change inaccomplishing together the vision ofthe College as we celebrate 25years oftransformative education.Page 5 of 19

Br. Tayu CelestineCULTUREulture is all that we acquire as members of a particular society.It shapes our modus vivendi and operandi. Do you haveCanything that identifies you as a member of a particularsociety? If you do not then you have NO identification document. Beproud of that value which has given you an identity, and formed you tobe the mature man/woman you are appreciated today for. That is whyyou are who you are today. Why discard what gives you an identity? Youonly need to develop it if loopholes are found. Some time we make sillyerrors to think we have inferior cultures and we fail to propagate them.This is a big mistake. You are slowly dying because he without a cultureis as good as a corpse. That traditional regalia you wear identifies you,gives you respect and above all puts you in a bond with your forefatherswho transmitted that invaluable heritage. Failure to cherish what theystarted makes them shed tears from their abode. They see sustenance andsurvival of the precious heritage which some of them gave their lives for,dying. You may not want to identify with certain aspects of your culture,but since culture is a borrower and a lender, augment yours by emulatingthe intrinsic values from other cultures.The best culture is that of Christ as it accommodates all, sheds light to alland challenges all cultures to be dynamic. If this is the message of theuniversal culture, why feel ashamed of yours? Let the light of Christtransform certain aspects of your culture that are questionable. Whybrag about “we are superior to others” when Christ challenges all tofollow his, for a harmonious co-existence?dolor sit ametPage 7 of 19

Anthony Okoye, fmsEvangelization in progressome expressed fear when the idea of opening theMarist Scholasticate for “a fresh air” to enter.sTheir fear might be a genuine, but time provedthat it is not wise to think for God or to limit him, so tospeak, by unnecessarily avoiding to take risk.The young Brothers have been doing their best intrying to combine community life and academics.To the greater glory of God, some have fullyintegrated themselves into the system, while othersor some are trying. The good thing about thisexposure is that it provides the young Brother withthe opportunity to carry on their apostolate in avery realistic way, especially by their lives.Last Easter, the community witnessed the Baptismof a student, who was touched and at the same timefelt enchanted by the life of the Brothers, desired tojoin the Catholic faith. He was catechised by twoBrothers, and when deemed fit for the sacrament,he was received into the Church by Fr Thomas, whopresided over the administration of thesacrament.We thank God for all the Brothers who aredoing their best to making Jesus and Maryknown and loved and we encourage otherBrothers as well.George O. (Centre) just after receiving theSacraments of Baptism, Holy Eucharist andConfirmatiionSuperior General addressing the CommunityBrothers at the service of the CommunityPage 6 of 19

Emilien Twagirayezu, fmsCELEBRATION OF FOUNDATION DAYhe foundation day was a great day of joy forMarist Brothers, Marist lay, benefactors andTcollaborators. It is the day we remember theunforgettable event undertaken by St. MarcellinndChampagnat. It was on January 2 , 1817 whenMarcellin Champagnat founded the religious Instituteof Brothers, under the name of Little Brothers of Mary.(C.1). The whole Marist world celebrates this day asththe birthday of the Institute. This year is the 195anniversary of the Institute. How was this daycelebrated in Marist International Center, Nairobi?L i k e o t h e rM a r i s tcommunitiesin the world,in MIC theFounder's dayw a scelebrated with joy. In Marist communities when wehave such feast, we invite people and share this joywith them. We share with teachers, students andother religious communities around us.Here at MIC the liturgy was animated by the singingcommission and the chief celebrant was our residentpriest Father Thomas Kambele. He started the massby wishing a happy birthday to all Brothers. This wasnot surprising since it was the birthday of theInstitute to which they belong. After the Gospel, Br.Cyprian gave us a reflection about the day. He linkedthe Gospel (Jn1:19-28) with the Foundation Day byasking the question: who are you? Are you a Deaconor a priest? In the Gospel this question was asked bythe Jews to John the Baptist .This question has beenasked to us many times as Marist Brothers.He reminded us that the Church sends forth ourInstitute, which draws its life from the Holy Spirit inorder to evangelize people, especially the youthsthrough education. Champagnat often said “I cannotsee a child without feeling an urge to teach himcatechism, without wanting to let him/her know howmuch Jesus Christ has loved him'' (C.2). This is ourCharism. Evening prayer that day was well preparedand animated by Chanel Fraternity. The prayer reallyhelped us to come back to our roots and think about ourfuture. At the end of prayer a brother reminded us thatwe should keep our Marist institute alive by promotingvocation .He insisted that in years to come if there willbe no Marist brothers, young people will blame us (Br.Charles Howard, the Superior General (1985-1992) inhis circular Marist Apostolic Spirituality (1992)pointed out that we must continue to be faithful to whowe are and to what we are called to be. The SuperiorGeneral continued to invite Brothers to be men of thepresent, yet always turned toward the future. Thoughthis circular was written in 20 years ago, it is stillrelevant today. I imagine if the Brothers in the 1990shad not been what they were supposed to be many of uswould not have joined Marist Brothers. At this point Iwould like to congratulate the vocation promoters inour respective countries for their dedication in keepingthe Institute alive. I would not forget the members ofAFA 2: Vocation promotion and YCS here in MIC fortheir commitment.The foundation day was an opportunity for us to go toour roots and to see what Champagnat had in mindwhen he founded the Marist Brothers. As we preparefor the bicentenary of our Institute we continue tocommit ourselves to be apostles of the youth. MayMary, our Ordinary Resource be on our side!Page 8 of 19

Br. Edward BoimaAre We too Weak to make a Difference?Inspiration drawn from Robert Frost’s poem: The Road Not TakenTwo roads diverge in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd look down one as far as I couldAnd where it bent in the undergrowth;Then the other, as just as far,And having perhaps the better claimBecause it was grassy and wanted wear,Though as for that the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I marked the first for another day!Yet knowing how leads on wayI doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,I took the one least traveled by,And that has made all the differenceSome people do things because everybody else does it and itdoesn't matter what that thing may be.Some people strongly believe that our human natureprevents us from living and striving for what is right andjust; and anyone who sets principles and lives by them isacting abnormal or sometimes they say 'pretending' to begood.Some people would not dare strive against the waves ofhuman weaknesses, because it just might make them odd tothe bigger group of which they are a member. I am notagainst the fact that we are weak. WE ARE! But how weakare we if we haven't tried our strength?Our vows do not make us any different from the peoplewithout them. LIVING THE VOWS DOES. The RegionalLetter from Africa to the XXI General Chapter puts it likethis: some Brothers have developed the attitude of living“like anybody” instead of taking their prophetic role asconsecrated people.Does this mean we have not understood our consecrationvery well? I doubt. Or living like “anybody” is one of ourhuman weaknesses?The Provincials att a b l e w i t h t h eGeneral Councilorduring their annualmeeting where theyd i s c u s s i s s u e sc o n c e r n i n g t h eoverall running ofMIC. Indeed theyhave all expressedMIC is a real homePage 9 of 19

Br. Edward BoimaA CHANGE FOR A BETTER COURSEne morning after breakfast Irushed to the kitchen to arrangeOwith sister Rahab to buy somebread for me when the bread-car comesaround. As I arrived in the kitchen, I metsome of the cooks and asked to bedirected to SISTER. I meet SISTER in thedining hall as per the cooks' direction, butshe wasn't the SISTER I asked to see.I approached her, “Good morningSISTER.” She looked at me as if someparts of my body were missing andretorted, “good morning, Brotha.”My brief encounter with Sr Faith (the new manager) told mesomething about Sr Rahab’s leaving, although it was anunannounced reality. And all the challenges she might haveencountered ranging from facing the Administrator of the Kitchento supervising the activities of the cooks were at the threshold ofending. It was a sad moment because she was leaving peoplewhom she had worked with and had gotten used to. It was sadbecause she was going to miss the cordiality and friendship ofmost Brothers who were indeed close to her. Again SISTER washappy or probably glad because she felt she wanted to pursuesomething she thought was not too late to grasp. Whatever it was,it made her want to leave gracefully.On February 2012 Brothers gathered at the veranda of both thedining hall and the visitors' sitting room to bid Sister Rahab 'goodbye'. The community prayed the following prayer for sister, afterwhich she cut the cake and said 'goodbye'.Draw her closer to yourself in hereveryday experiencesFree her from sicknesses of any kindGive her enough zeal and strength andthe eye to see the good works started inher will be accomplishedMary, our Mother, help Sister Rahabto be able to love, and with kindnessmake her life happier for othersLord may you help her not to bediscouraged by the trials and troublesshe meets in life.All this we ask through Christ ourLord. AmenHeavenly Father, we thank you for this dayWe thank you for Sister RihabWe thank you for her family, her life and for calling her to serveyou in a special way as an Assumption SisterAbba Father in this evening prayer, we pray you grant SisterRahab's heart desiresJourney with her in the life you have called her to liveChildcare Delightdolor sit ametPage 11 of 19

Raymond Mbao FMSNATIONAL YOUTH TALENT ACADEMYhe academy started in March 2010 through the initiative of thegovernment of Kenya under the ministry of youth affairs andTsports in conjunction with UNICEF. This was in response to thecry of the youth especially the vulnerable and marginalized in order todevelop their talents. The academy offers skills such as music, sports andtheatre. Recently the government has included life skills which is beingoffered at Marist International University College.The students at National Youth Talent Academy come from all parts ofKenya. The government came up with eight youth centers country widewhere youths meet and expose their talents. The best participants areidentified by the facilitators and selected to come for training at NationalYouth Talent Academy. The ministry of education works hand in handwith the ministry of sports and youth affairs by insuring that 25% ofparticipants in these centers are pupils while 75% are out of school. Theselection is done every six months, that is, July and December. Theschool going youth find there time in youth centers during holidays.The main aim of training the youth is to market them at the internationallevel in various clubs and develop their skills for self reliance. Everyyear students are selected from theacademy to participate at the annualinternational Ukraine festival andevery December they participate inSakata auditions. This brings aboutexposure to the students and thewinners become self dependent andhelpful to the society. Mr. Okwembathe Deputy CEO at the youth talentacademy testified that the school has sofar produced a big number of youngpeople who took part in the statedcompetitions and won a big chunk ofmoney and are now self reliant whileother footballers are in the nationalteam of Kenya.As the government has requested ourcollege to offer life skills to thesestudents this means that they havebecome Marist students and it may bethe opportunity for Marist to capture allthe cups around our college duringCUEA and Tangaza tournaments whichhas been the desire of our principal.Page 10 of 19

Br Dan BandaThe Superior General and his Council visit MIChen Br Lawrence announced that the SuperiorGeneral and his council including the ProvincialsWand their councils from Africa and Madagascarduring their extended General Council meeting in Nairobi wereto visit MIC and have mass with us, everybody was driven intoecstasy and anticipation that none of us could fully explain.A Malawian saying goes “When you are walking along a dustyfoot path at around mid-dayand you do not see anyfootprints then do not proceedas this is a sign that people arenot using that path” At around3pm I bumped into the MICSuperior, Br Lawrence. Helooked busy, occupied andwas eagerly moving up and down the center to make sure thateverything was in place. Yes even the sister working in thekitchen and the entire staff were as busy as bees, so that at supperour visitors would have enough to swallow and go back withtheir stomachs filled to capacity. One could see the MICAdministrator Br John Bwanali driving up and down. By 5.30pm almost all the visitors had arrived at the center.During Mass, the young brothers at the center produced theirmasterpieces of Kiswahili songs. Fr Patrick Thawale from theCatholic University gave a moving homily on this day of theFeast of the Holy Innocents. Just as Joseph took responsibility oftaking Jesus and Mary into safety for fear of Herod's wrath, FrThawale called on the Marist brothers especially our superiors totake responsibility of the people entrusted to their care. God usedthe death of these children, innocent as they were to showhumanity that His ways of doing things are not our waysconcluded Fr Thawale.Upon arrival in the cafeteria, Br Ochemetook charge of the proceedings and theother activities that followed. Of courseafter opening prayer and remarks theAngels were called upon to visit ourguests, you could see some hiding theirfaces behind their brothers afraid of theheavenly hosts. Our visitors were servedwith a delicious meal courtesy of SrRahab and her team. All this was spicedup by the music, various dances andsongs prepared by the young brothers atMIC. Br Superior General gave abeautiful remark here when he called onthe brothers to realize how delicate andessential “their call” is. He described theInstitute as an eco-system which had to bemaintained and nurtured if it is to beeffective. He stressed that our vocation isvery fragile and therefore is to be handledwith care and prayer….” What a movingremark. The Brothers on their partassured the Superior General throughtheir clapping that they would take hisremark seriously so that the candle lit bySt. Marcellin would continue giving lightto the world as observed in their song….“Light up your candle…….”Yes, it was a great moment for the centerand indeed for all the brothers at thecenter. Almost the entire institute was atMIC!!!!!! Come again we imploreyou?????Page 13 of 19

Patrick Banda (FMS)PROTECT, DEFEND AND PROMOTE CHILDREN'S RIGHTS?nless you are sensitized, you will not know you areacting in ignorance in some things. When you walk,Ustand, sit, open this or that paper, and switch on to TVs,radios, what do we hear and see? Children being: harassed,abused, violated, oppressed and neglected. What is our roletoday?Thanks to Bother James Jolly (FMS), the Director of the ChildRights Advocacy team for FMSI in Geneva who out of hisgenerous heart imparted the knowledge of the rights of children toMIC Brothers. To be specific, second years. Some other Brotherswho wanted to profit with the second year Brothers in thisenriching workshop of December 2011, the door was opened forthem.The question to those who took part in this workshop was that:what is the way forward in defending and promoting the rights ofthe children? Brother James surely did the best. Have we stoppedhearing this heartbreaking news of violating, oppressing,harassing abusing and neglecting the innocent children? Shouldour ears and eyes be opened to the world of children? Every hourand every day, we hear and see children being maltreated in oneway or the other.There are some aspects of child abuse that are conducted by thosewho claim to be the defenders and promoters of the rights of thechildren either knowingly or unknowingly. Physical abuse whichinvolves the actions that cause physical harm to children; sexualabuse that includes forcing or enticing a young person to enterinto sexual activities; emotional abuse which involves continuousemotional ill-treatment of children and finally neglect whichincludes the omission or paying zero attention to the conditions oflife of children that expose them to significant harm or impairtheir development.Are there some guiding principles to the promotion of children'srights? The Convention on the Rights if the Child (CRC) presentto us four of them that underline the requirements for any or allrights of the children to be realized. These include: NonDiscrimination (Art.2); Best interest of the children (Art.3); TheRight to Life, Survival andDevelopment (Art. 6) and The Right toParticipate (Art.12). Should theseprinciples be put into practice, there isa certainty that the children will ceasesuffering from all these kinds of abusesand probably enjoy life to the full.Back to those who have knowledge ofhow to protect, defend and promote therights of children. How have youempowered others to know andpromote these rights of children? Thisknowledge, I think should be wellgrounded in each of the MaristBrothers and Lay Marists who are theministers of the youths. At a personallevel as a Marist Brother or a LayMarist, do you defend, protect andpromote the rights of the youths inyour daily apostolate in schools,parishes, hospitals, prisons,orphanages and streets? Or, do youpromote violence, abuse, neglect,harassment and oppression against theyouth?Remember, even Jesus calls thechildren to draw closer to him. Why isthe world abusing, harassing,neglecting, oppressing, and violatingthem? As the followers of Christ, let'sstand up to protect and promote therights of the children.Page 12 of 19

Br. Obinna Osuagwu.THE STATUS - QUO OF THE MARIST INTERNATIONAL CENTREhe efforts of the administration of MaristInternational Centre to maintain the status quo isThighly commendable.In August 2011, when the provincials and district superiorsstormed Marist International centre and expressed theirdisappointment over the disastrous approach oftechnology in the lives of the young brothers, they agreedto abolish the ownership of sophisticated gadgets. Thisdecision raised uproar in the community and discomfort inthe young brothers. The superior's aim in conjunction withthe Provincials’ and the District Superior’s for taking thisdecision was not to discomfort the young brothers, but tosave them from the consequences of the efforts to acquiresome of these gadgets.This decision launched us into a historic drama which willbe indelible in the history of Marist International Centre. Italso substantiates the efficacy of prayer from a brokenheart. During this event a voice was heard shouting in themidst of the young brothers and the superiors saying:surrender and obey your superiors, trust in them for theyare your fathers, they know what is good for you. Beholdthis soft and gentle voice was the voice of the Superior ofMarist International Centre (Br. Lawrence Ndawala).In a similar development, the liturgy commission wastouched by the sorrow of the young brothers. They decidedto select on a daily base the song titled Surrender all, inorder to uplift the spirit of the young brothers who weremourning their gadgets.Subsequently, the tone changed, I have heard the cry of mypeople, whom shall I send. A man of integrity, anindefatigable leader in his full dynamism as an eruditescholar rose up and accepted to go for us. This is thePrincipal of Marist International University College, Br.Joseph Udeaja. He cured theemotional trauma of the youngbrothers, saving them from prematurehigh blood pressure. He providedcomputers that are almost the numberof brothers in the centre. It mightappear simple, but it is indeed a rightthinking in the right direction, and atthe right time. This is a nobleachievement because it drove awayfrom Marist International Centre thespirit of superiority and inferioritycomplexes among the young brothers.It actually subpedalled the spirit ofpride that propelled into the reality ofour consecration as brothers. MaristInternational Centre may havec h a n g e d s t r u c t u r a l l y, a n dacademically, but the spiritualstandard is maintained.Bravo to the past and presentadministration of Marist InternationalCentre for your effective and qualityjobs you have done and are still doing.May Jesus and Mary always be yourguide.Page 15 of 19

Dorbin Emmanuel (fms)MIC TEAM OF THE YEAROnce upon a time, MIC took the initiative to animate their2011 Christmas, 2012 New Year and the 2nd Januarycelebrations. It was told on that faithful day that theseimportant days would be celebrated with soccer. The firstyears were to take on the 2nd year Brothers while the thirdyear Brothers were pitting against fourth year Brothers.After the groupings had been done, eachgroup startedmurmuring among themselves - we will emerge winners ofthis tournament.It made me wonder, whether all the groups were going toemerge as winners. But I doubted because with every gamethat I have witnessed growing up there have never being twowinners in a soccer competition. There is always a looser anda winner in every event especially when it comes to sportingevents. So, I told myself under the warmth of my breath weshall look forward to the outcome.Interestingly, I am a third year Brother, what came out of mymouth were excuses: we the third years have good playersalthough many of them have injuries. And so we may not govery far into this competition. Other Brothers said to me donot use this as an excuse if you are defeated. As the longawaited day drew near, the first year Brothers, fresh from thenovitiate, started intensive training in preparation for thematches ahead. While the second and third year Brotherswere relaxed thinking thatexperience is the same as success.Then came the long awaited day.And the first years played againstthe second years and emergedvictorious. while in the secondmatch, the third years lost to thefourth years. This meant the twolosers, (2nd and 3rd years) were tocompete for the 3rd position whilethe 1st and 4th years, respectively,had already taken the first andsecond positions.After the match, when the trophyhad been presented, I interviewedone of the first year Brothers and hetold me they are capable of winningthe title in subsequent tournamentsfor as long as they remain in MIC.At the moment I would like to say tot h e f i r s t y e a r b r o t h e r s .“Ayikoooooooo……..”Background: Marist Lay/Brothersfrom Australia pay a visit to thecommunity where they had theopportunity to take participate inthe liturgy.Page 14 of 19

25 yrs of MICTwenty five years have passed.What do we have to hold unto?What have we achieved?And where have we gone wrong, failed?And how ready are we to straighten.Where will the next 25 years meet us?Rejoicing or regretting,Expanding or quitting,Playing at the fringe of reality or toiling.That is determined by how we celebrate thisoneAnd what plans we put in place for the next25yearsHave we been building or destroyingEating or working,Then it is time to be balanced and focused.This is not one man's job,A collective effort is needed,Of all within the Marist family.JokeA hungry man is the happiest man.Once upon a time there lived a hungry man who wasalways angry for no apparent reasons. He would not getrid of his anger because he was always hungry. One dayhe decided to seek help from a wise man who helpedhim to discover the root cause of his anger. When thishungry man entered the house of this wise man hedemanded for ugali, rice, and okro. Later, the wise mangave the hungry man a stick and pointed at the road thatseemed endless. When this hungry man saw a pot alongthe road, he was to point and say: “pot, pot, pot, can Ihave something to eat, I am hungry” and the pot willreply I have no food.As he went further, he met another pot and asked: “can Ihave something to eat”? The pot replied “I only containfood of laughter”. All of a sudden, after this hungry manhad finished eating, he started laughing, laughing,laughing and finally went back to thank the wise manfor showing him the way of becoming the happiestman.Let's support one another on this ventureEncourage one another on this visionBring our minds together in Champagnat'smission.Since we all have a feedback to him,By virtue of belonging to the Marist family.Tayu Celestine fms.Page 16 of 19

THE EXTENDED GENERAL COUNCILThe Provincial of Southern Africa, J. Walters (FMS), had his experience to share with MIC DigestThe extended general council for Africa took place at the House ofthe Little Daughters of Saint Joseph, located near the MaristInternational Centre. It is in a forum of conversation with somebrothers who attended the Extended General Council that came andI became aware of how Brothers shared their experiences and howthey felt the heart of our call as Brothers.The Extended General Council strongly expressed the importance ofthe prophetic roles and the process of deepening in ourselves thecentrality of Christ as the source and reason for our life and missionas Marist brothers. It also mentioned that Africa is a young continentin many ways, it has a large number of young brothers at MIC, theCentre of Post-Novitiate formation, 102 Brothers from differentProvinces with great energy and a young average age. On the otherhand, the overflow of children and young people in all the societiesthat make up the continent with evident challenges for the Maristmission. Without allowing ourselves to be overwhelmed by themore superficial aspect of this reality we believe that only from aheart strongly anchored in Christ, lived in the way of Mary, will it bepossible to give adequate responses with consistency and strengthnecessary to transform the most urgent realities.The Extended General Council also accentuated the fraternaldialogue which emphasized the importance of focusing our life andmission on Christ and his Gospel, lived in the style of Mary. BrotherEmily's presentation stressed the irreplaceable role the commitmentto develop a spiritual life and an experience of prayer capable ofsustaining and giving vitality to our life must play. Inspired by theproposal of the XXI General Chapter inviting us to generate adialogue characterized by 'fraternity', a Decalogue of points werepresented to be taken into account in constructing a true 'fraternaldialogue within our provinces and also in councils themselves,convinced that what we do or neglect to do affects the whole system,from the most immediate levels touniversal scale. Many times we think ofourselves far too frequently as justindividuals , separated from oneanother , whereas we are connected andwhat we do affects the whole world,when we do well, it spread out; it is forthe whole of humanity.After having been challenged by therole of being a prophet it also remindedme of the experience I had as a novicewhereby the master of novices alwaysmentioned 'a brother as the fifthGospel' and is this gospel that all peopleno matter what may be the ability of theindividual will be able to read it, thisbeing our life as religious and as MaristBrother who most of the times interactwith children and young people aroundour schools and our parishes where weteach catechism. The question thatcomes to my mind is what kind ofGospel do I portray and if people wereto be given a chance to write about mewhat could be the kind of a personwould they say I am? To be prophetinvolves a lot of sacrifice and that alsocan only be achieved through prayer,dialogue among Brothers and fraternalcorrection as the Extended GeneralCouncil invites us to do.Page 17 of 19

Br Cho NchangNyuambani wazee – a unique experiencethOn the 29 of November 2011, the Brothers ofL'hermitage fraternity had the opportunity of visiting“nyumbani waze”, a home for the aged run by the LittleSisters of the poor. This house is located just oppositethe kasarani stadium at Kasarani itself. So it took usabout an hour and a half to get there afterencountering many challenges along the way. Wewere going there for our advent project of 2011.What struck me just as we got there was an old manwho opened the door for us just to confirm that wewere really at the home for the aged. We were wellreceived by one of the Sisters of that community whotook us around showing us the various old people theyhad there as well as the facilities available. As wemoved round, we came across very old people ofvarious categories. Some were so excited to see us whileothers did not look pleased at all. Some were confinedto the wheel chairs and others to their beds. For most ofthem, everything had to be done for them.The Sister who took us round shared a little bit abouttheir mission to us. She said they lived on providenceand did not accept any grants from the governmentdue to the strings that these grants came along with.She further mentioned that begging waspart of their way of life as they begged inorder to help the old and poor ones theyassisted. Finally she gave us the criteriathey used in admitting people at theirhome; such a person must be at least65years old, he/she must really be poor andneedy and finally he/she must have noother means of survival. Some of the peoplethey admitted did not meet these criteria.The reason she gave was that they had beendeceived. Once such a situation is noticed,the person concerned is asked to leave thehome and put on with his or her relatives.As we moved along, we entered the room of one ofthe patient, Sr Elizabeth. Apparently she appearedto be asleep with some tubes connected to her nose.On further enquiry, we came to discover that SisterElizabeth had come to their house for a little rest.However, she fell down and developed a strokewhich paralyzed her. She could therefore not doanything for herself and had to be fed with tubes.She was unconscious and had been in thatcondition for the past two years. This taught us tobe grateful to God for our lives.Finally on our way home, we may a Sister fromIndia aged 97 gently moving around. She did notlook like someone who was 97years old, yet shewas. She had spent the last 30years of her life inKenya. After interacting with her, she told us threethings. “Live a good life, pray and do what Godwants you to do in order to be happy”.She was the last person we met on our way home.Our advent project was a success and it was a goodopportunity for us to be reminded of what we willall be and look like once we begin to reach a certainage.Childcare Delightdolor sit ametPage 18 of 19

Anthony Okoye, fmsCommemoration of the first vowsThe young Brothersfrom West Africa,Kumasi Novitiate,saw it fitting toremember their oney e a r r e l i g i o u sexperience.This came as a resultof their reflection ontheir life as religioush e r e i n t h eScholasticate. Theysay it necessary tot h a n k G o d f o renabling them tobegin, and after oneyear, they could see reason why the life is worth living and felt encouraged to continue.It was not a big celebration as such, for the journey has just begun, but a way of taking stock of their lifeas religious and to revitalize themselves to forge ahead given the demands of the future mission.They had recollection, the Holy Mass and a light refreshment where they shared their experiences andencouraged one another. Indeed, it brought them more closer to one another and helped them in thelight of their experiences to see hope and motif to journey on. We thank God for everything, and wecontinue to pray for many fruitful years in the Lord’s vineyard.Childcare Delightdolor sit ametPage 19 of 19

For comments and suggestions, kindly contact MIC Digest through;Marist International CenterP.O.BOX 24450 – 00502, Karen – NairobiEmail: champagnatmediagroup@gmail.com