A charity drive by the Catholic Archdiocese of Nyeri to feed families affected by Covid-19 pandemic has raised close to Sh. 30 million since inception in April.
Through the initiative dubbed ‘Hope 4 You’ that is a joint venture between the Archdiocese of Nyeri and the Diocese of Kitui, over 5,500 needy families have benefited from cash donations totaling Sh. 12.5 million.
According to Nyeri Archbishop Anthony Muheria, each of the benefitting families has received Sh. 2, 500 sent via mobile money transfer to help them purchase some foodstuffs.
Speaking at Our Lady of Consolata Cathedral in Nyeri Town while receiving a donation of Sh. 1 million from NSSF Saturday Archbishop Muheria said close to half of the beneficiaries are from Nyeri while the remainder are from Kitui and other parts of the country.
He said with the growing cases of needy families, they are not able to stick to their initial plan of regularly sending donations to those their surveillance team had identified as the neediest.
“We have opted to give a one-off donation to each family in order to accommodate upcoming cases,” said Muheria as he called on more well-wishers to join the effort to help them meet their target of raising Sh. 100 million.
Theirs, he said, was an effort to supplement what the government was doing in alleviating the sufferings of families that have been hard hit by the pandemic through loss of income.
“Let us be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers during this difficult period in our country by sharing what we have with those who do not have,” Muheria pleaded.
Donations can be wired through PayBill number 4023131.
Alongside the feeding program, the church has also initiated a 24-hour toll-free call center to offer counseling to individuals facing emotional distress as a result of the effects of the pandemic including job losses.
He said they had assembled a team of about 30 volunteers to man the center dubbed ‘Good Shepherd Call Center’ and eight psychologists to offer counseling to the affected.
Those in need can access the free counseling services via telephone number 0800723555.
By Samuel waititu
