We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Lay Missionary: 'The Bright Light'
FREE Catholic Classes
67 Year Old Vicki Smith is called "the bringer of light" by those in Kenya to whom she ministers with the love of Christ.
Highlights
Catholic News Service (www.catholicnews.com)
11/30/2007 (1 decade ago)
Published in Africa
PORTLAND, OR (CNS) - To get to her job, Vikki Smith sometimes wades through floodwater fouled by human waste. At other times, she must make way as men carry dead bodies down narrow pathways.
In sub-Sarahan Africa's largest slum, the small but fiery 67-year-old woman from Oregon is known as Shushu, or grandmother. Some call her Namutenya, which means "bringer of light."
Smith, a Maryknoll lay missioner, directs nine Catholic schools and the only public library in Kibera, a crowded 550-square-acre district in the middle of Nairobi, Kenya. Home to about a million people living in small huts and without utilities, Kibera is troubled by pollution, crime and disease.
But in partnership with the local Catholic parish, Smith tries to maintain bits of culture and joy.
Many residents come to her to solve problems and get aid of every kind. Often, she spends five or six hours with people in the lobby before even entering her small office in the teeming slum.
"This ministry allows me to live out my obligation of meeting Christ," she said in an interview with the Catholic Sentinel, newspaper of the Portland Archdiocese. Smith was back in Oregon for several weeks to get some rest before returning to Kenya.
She is associated with Christ the King Parish, which has two churches, five outstations and the schools. The Fathers of Guadalupe, missionaries from Mexico, lead the operation.
The majority of people in Kibera live a half dozen to a hut. The shacks, 14-by-14 feet or so, usually have a single bed and a wax-burning stove and few other furnishings.
Residents earn less than 70 cents a day. Most families can barely feed their children or afford medicines and health care, let alone pay school fees. They eat one meal a day.
Young girls -- many who have been forced into prostitution -- give birth on the streets and leave their babies lying on the ground. Rescue workers do what they can.
Corruption and tribal conflict complicate the already-tough environment.
"I notice the smiles on the faces," said Smith. "They are not really happy but they still smile. Life's a constant struggle for them."
The Kenyan government has no schools in Kibera. There is no running water, sewers or electricity.
In her work, Smith serves about 1,200 students, 47 teachers and 17 school staff members. She provides formal and informal education and resource materials to school-age children, young adults and dropouts. She ensures students get a full range of subjects taught by qualified teachers and a chance to participate in sports, drama, music and other extracurricular activities. They also can visit a real library.
"Some of these kids had never seen a library," she said. Students come from all over to study, even from universities.
Her dream is to help students pass entrance exams for admittance into higher learning institutions, while preparing them to be responsible, self-sufficient and concerned citizens.
Smith has begun a new project, trying to help Kibera's poor women start small business enterprises to support themselves. Some pedal charcoal and others sell food or recycle paper. The money helps the women support families in general or pay school fees for their children.
A resident of Salem for 40 years, Smith became Catholic in 1991, but was involved at the Benedictines' Mount Angel Abbey well before that. As a Presbyterian, she was the abbey's first Protestant oblate.
She still lives by the Rule of St. Benedict, which teaches one to balance good works with prayer on a daily basis. It also calls disciples to hospitality, greeting others as if greeting Jesus.
She lost one of her two sons to cancer in 1983 and divorced her lawyer-husband in 1993.
She has been a paralegal and a professional photographer and taught English as a second language in Italy.
She joined the Peace Corps and spent 1998 through 2000 in Namibia. When civil war began in nearby Angola, she was forced out. She returned to Oregon to have a hip replaced before taking on a new assignment.
In 2001, she went to Ghana with the Peace Corps, developing a butterfly sanctuary as part of building an economy of ecotourism. She also became a Peace Corps manager.
In 2003, she began a six-month backpacking tour of Europe, including a pilgrimage walk in Spain. "I was observing, looking at God's people, my brothers and sisters," she said.
She decided she wanted to work within the church and headed back to Oregon. In 2005, she joined the Maryknoll Lay Missioners program.
---
Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.
-
Mysteries of the Rosary
-
St. Faustina Kowalska
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
-
Saint of the Day for Wednesday, Oct 4th, 2023
-
Popular Saints
-
St. Francis of Assisi
-
Bible
-
Female / Women Saints
-
7 Morning Prayers you need to get your day started with God
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Cinco de Mayo - What is the day really about?
-
Cinco de Mayo, the Fifth of May: A Day to Celebrate Heritage and History
-
Chaplain Reveals Unrest at Columbia University Caused by Communists
-
Discovering Who We Are: God's Truth in Scripture
-
Pope Francis Advises Parish Priests on Fostering a Missionary Church
Daily Catholic
- Daily Readings for Monday, May 06, 2024
- St. Dominic Savio: Saint of the Day for Monday, May 06, 2024
- Nurse's Prayer: Prayer of the Day for Monday, May 06, 2024
- Daily Readings for Sunday, May 05, 2024
- St. Hilary of Arles: Saint of the Day for Sunday, May 05, 2024
- Padre Nuestro - Our Father (Lord's Prayer): Prayer of the Day for Sunday, May 05, 2024
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.