Contacts & Publisher

Subscription Form

Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2009 /  A true friend of Kenyan orphans

by Michelle Samartino, Special to The Michigan Catholic
Published November 6, 2009

Fr. Francis Limo Riwa joins some of the more than 700 orphans in the school yard at the Children’s Village orphanage he founded.

Grosse Pointe Park - When Fr. Francis Limo Riwa stepped off the plane for a month-long visit after flying in from Kenya, he carried only a satchel with little inside.

Bud Ozar was there to pick him up. "I asked him, 'Where's your luggage?'"

Fr. Riwa responded, "This IS my luggage."

Ozar thought, "This is going to be a long month."

The small satchel spoke volumes about the priest who carried it. Before he left Kenya, that particular Sunday's reading at Mass spoke of the rich giving away all they own. After the Mass, the sisters told Fr. Riwa they were going to visit with prisoners who wore nothing but rags.

“I could not tolerate the suffering of the children in the streets,” Fr. Riwa says in regards to the children he has given a home. Sisters help take care of some of the smaller children in the orphanage. Fr. Riwa has a teaching staff of 30 to help educate those he has rescued from the streets.

Fr. Riwa, practicing what he preached, gave away all his clothing. But he did not fret over Ozar's question.

"God will provide," he told Ozar.

Bud and his wife, Sue, members of St. Ambrose Parish in Grosse Pointe Park, invited Fr. Riwa to visit while taking him out for speaking engagements to spread the good news of his mission. The Ozars met Fr. Riwa in 2006 while serving as missionaries in Kenya after Bud Ozar retired as director for the archdiocesan Office for Families and Youth.

It was then that Fr. Riwa had showed them the budding fruit of his efforts in a place called the Children's Village, a home and school to more than 700 orphans from the streets of Kenya.

"Madame Sue and Mr. Bud worked in the Children's Village for two years before returning to America," Fr. Riwa said. "I asked them, 'Please tell the stories of the Children's Village to your brothers and sisters in the U.S.' They have been singing the song of the Children's Village ever since."

One of the 570 boys at the St. Francis School/Home for Boys offers a smile during mealtime.

Support is now needed to build the three-story St. Clare Girls' Centre which will eventually accommodate 500 girls, he said. The purpose of the buildings, including the St. Francis Children's Village, home to the orphan boys, is to provide a place of education, food, clothing, shelter and leisure. It takes $480 to feed, clothe and educate a street orphan for one year, Fr. Riwa said.

After his 1983 ordination, "it was not thinkable that I would have a wife or children," he adds. "But now I am father and mother to 600 children and still more are coming."

He recalls what his own parents told him when he chose to be a priest. "You are responsible for God's call. You must never despise children or people. Give them a hug. You will be blessed."

Fr. Riwa was laughed at when he began his "rescue mission" in 1999, after bringing nine starving orphans to his parish, Nchiru (St. Rita) in the Diocese of Meru, about 250 kilometers from the capitol city of Nairobi.

"They told me the children were like animals for they had lived on the streets too long and could not be rehabilitated," he recalled. "Now, these people are my greatest supporters because the children have proved them wrong by their academic excellence."

He added, "I could not tolerate the suffering of the children in the streets. These boys, girls had to survive. Just as the Gospel of the Lord says, 'Who am I if do not help them?' I could give them bread, but that is only food for a day."

Fr. Riwa used the Chinese proverb to help convey his thoughts: "If you give them fish, it is food for a day. But if you give them a hook, it is food for a lifetime."

People were critical, but "I did not listen to those words."

The Village has continued to flourish since it began. He and his teaching staff of 30 have four pillars that are stressed in the school: Prayer, Study, Sports and Work.

"I tell them, 'Let the Bible be your guide,'" he said.

Two very popular activities at the Village are Tae Kwon Do and boxing. "They need self defense," Fr. Riwa said, "and the girls love to box."

Because of the Ozars and their efforts to spread the word, including developing the Web site www.friendsofkenyanorphans.org, Fr. Riwa wants to thank everyone for their prayers and support.

"America is so beautiful," he said with a wide smile. "People are so kind." Several times he mentioned and showed his amazement as to how organized America is. "There is a lot of land here," he said and laughed.

Since he's been here, his palate has expanded to enjoy the tastes of omelets, steaks and burgers.

"I really like vegetables and salad," he said. "And I really like yogurt." When told how healthy that is for him, he gave a jovial laugh and said, "Well, that is good then!"

His amazement as to the bounty of food in America is obvious. "I don't see farms around but the food is everywhere. And I don't see confusion. I see order. This is the land of plenty."

Though he would like to stay longer, it's obvious how much he misses his children. "The children miss me. They are fearing that I may not go back."

Every night since he's been here, he has worked on the computer to stay in touch with his staff back home. There, they are allowed only three hours of electricity a night, which is run by a generator.

Fr. Riwa has high hopes to soon raise $15,000 to have electricity 24 hours a day. With the village in the dark, "it's not safe for the girls at night," he said.

Besides serving as the director of the Children's Village, he is director of the Diocese of Meru Medical Services, Bishop Locati Memorial School and the St. Francis Hospitality Center, as well as serving as the pastor of Nchiru Parish. Little free time is spent jogging or climbing hillside mountains, he says.

Bud and Sue Ozar say he is the most amazing priest they've ever met. "Meeting him was totally spirit-led," Sue says.

She didn't want to return to the states once her work as a missionary was up, but more can be done here to help continue the work of the Village than staying there.

What little space was in Fr. Riwa's satchel when he stepped off the plane is now full. Without asking, friends and family gave him rain and winter jackets, sweatshirts and many pairs of pants. So many, in fact, Fr. Riwa said, "No man in Kenya has as many pants as me!"

Bud Ozar laughed when he recalled the story. "Fr. Riwa looked at me and said, 'You see, Mr. Bud, God provides.'"

• After retiring from the archdiocese, Bud Ozar and his wife, Sue, became lay mission helpers