Fr. Paul Kapochina: Situational Report

SITUATIONAL REPORT JULY 2020 

The saying goes that ‘it is not good for an old man to be reminded to clean his nose’ Indeed it will not be good for me to keep you silent over this long period without giving you information concerning the work and the situation of the work as at now. In this light I will also like to inform you about the progress made so far in the work and to suggest some initiatives to you for advice or at least that you are in the know about my plans or what is in my mind concerning the work. As much as I will like to appreciate you for making it possible to keep me busy throughout these years I will like also to present the challenges and the way forward. 

PROGRESS OF WORK 

This year has brought much blessings and many have been blessed with much support. It was also providential that the abundance of the resources coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic which has done so much to alleviate the sufferings of many. The main food stuff we bought was maize, rice, beans and groundnuts. Per the quarterly reports I have been sending all information concerning the cost and number of bags can be ascertained. 

We started sharing this food in March of 2020 at the beginning of the lean season. I have some dedicated strong widows who help me buy the food and still distribute it to the far places. These same widows are also traders in buying food stuff and selling so they are able to help me purchase the food from the remote villages for storage at reasonable prices. I also send bulk food to them in the distant villages and districts to distribute to the poor who are in the support list. We can appreciate from the reports that a lot of support has been received and many many poor and needy people have benefitted. 

The food stuff support goes to different categories of the poor. 1. We have the home bound who are weak as a result of age or sickness, these are the blind, lepers, cripples aged etc . I have to transport the food to these category of the sick 2. The second category of the poor are the orphans, widows, students, mental patients with children who are fatherless, this group can congregate at a particular spot to receive their support. The widows form the very large portion of the poor who receive support because they are many with many children to feed and educate. Due to the polygamous marriages a man can die leaving three widows with children and the life’s span for men is very low here in our region. Many of the students we support are of single parenthood. 

We have not experienced any death resulting from the corona virus but the lockdown and economic stagnation has brought dire consequences on the rural poor as prices are shooting up while no economic activity to get income. School children from primary to junior high and Senior high schools have a least a meal in school but with the closure of the schools, all children now live with their parents and it has become difficult for poor parents to feed their children because parents now bear the full cost of feeding their children throughout. Some parents care for about five to seven children who also attend school. 

A month ago the people of Kandiga from Sirigu Parish and the people from Doba from the Basilica Parish have been engaged in a conflict resulting in the death of more than ten people and over thousands of refugees fleeing from their homes which have been burnt. Many houses in the conflict area are burnt rendering many homeless. The case has become more serious because the rains have just set in and is difficult to construct a house during the rainy season. These refugees are now living in people’s houses outside the conflict zone. The people are fighting because of land. I am making arrangements to buy food for them at least those I can reach. 
 

CHALLENGES 

1. Though I have four ladies who are stationed in the vantage sections of my catchment area I will need more hands since I want to take a long leave to rest and reorganize the work in a more effective way because I gain much fulfilment in doing this work 

2. I am thinking of creating an income generation activity as an additional support measure. In this regard I am in a process of fencing 15 plots of land before I can think of the next move. 

3. My 6 years old Nissan Pickup needs major repairs or replacement, having carried these huge bags of foodstuff across the entire region on a very rough terrain 

4. There are many people who come for support with huge bills both medical and tuition whose request I often turn down with pain because I can’t meet them but I am consoled with the fact that my work begins with the poorest of the poor, therefore I don’t consider this as a challenge but an essential aspect of the difficulties in the support system since one person can’t solve the problems of this world. 

WAY FORWARD 

This is my 25th year in ministry so I intend to take a long leave which will afford me the opportunity to reorganize my work for more effectiveness 

I am thinking of going in to Guinea fowl rearing in large quantities to help to raise guinea chicks to support the poor widows. I want to invite the ministry of Agriculture (Livestock division) for technical advice. I will elaborate this plan when the technical team makes an input.