File Photo of Sister Catherine Mulligan and the Daughters of Charity who were honored for their mission in Kenya, where they serve people suffering from HIV and AIDS and have improved education for children. (Photo by Marisa Alicea)
(DePaul University/Handout Photos) After an anonymous donation Irish nuns were able to ship a large number of wheelchairs, standing frames, crutches and more that they had gathered to help children and adults with disabilities in Kenya.
The Daughters of Charity (DC) Services in Ireland described the container load of equipment as “life changing” for people with a disability, according to the congregation’s Mission Development Co-Ordinator Sr Geraldine Henry.
There were worries about the cost of shipping the heavy goods to Kenya, which won’t arrive until September. Sr Geraldine told the The Irish Catholic: “It was going to cost €5,000 and we were worried as to where the money was going to come from, and we just managed to get an anonymous €5,000 donation.”
“For some it will enable them to become mobile or even sit up for the first time,” she said. Those set to benefit are service users at their centres at Thigio, Kiio, Kitale,and Chepyna.
Leitrim-born Sr Catherine Mulligan, who co-ordinated the development of DC projects in Kenya over the past 12 years, said that in the centre in Thigio and in the other centres in Kenya, they care for children and adults who have physical and intellectual disabilities.
“The school bus can reach most children to bring them to the centre but we have to help them be mobile at the centre moving from one activity to another. Mobility at home too is important if they are not going to sit in one place until someone carries them elsewhere”.
Sr Catherine said the consignment is eagerly awaited by staff, teachers, physiotherapists, families and care-givers.