BARAKA-NANYUKI

Baraka Prison Fellowship aims at sharing the transforming love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ  to impact the hearts and lives of incarcerated men, women and youth, as well as their families, to become loving and productive citizens of their communities. Baraka Staff members under the leadership of Fr. Martin, visits the Nanyuki GK prison every month, celebrates Holy Mass with them and share a day with the prisoners. We  the Baraka staff members are planning to celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ (Christmas) and the gift-exchanging with the Nanyuki prisoners on December 20, 2017.

The poultry project of Baraka under Chalice to teach the Baraka groups and the local people how to make profit out of it. Poultry are domesticated birds that are bred specifically to provide meat and eggs for human consumption. This poultry project includes Kienyeji chicken. It has been seen in many times that poultry rearing can be more profitable than many other businesses. The general scarcity of land calls us to do farming that does take little space. In the African context, it is a waste of time to think always about cows when you do not even have enough land and the greens. Just get the chickens and make business go your way.

In Baraka Site, Chalice offers family renewal programs at Naromoru. In Naromoru, this centre is known as Chavara Renewal Centre (Carmel Garden) . Here we concentrate the  sacramental life of the family members; especially the Eucharist, Catholic Marriage and their communal life in the Church. It offers talks on how to live better their Catholic faith in their marriage, how to build a strong Christian family and teach the faith to their children. Fr. Joy Chirayath, CMI leads the main sessions here. This renewal program includes talks, prayer sessions (praise and worship) and the Adoration to the Blessed Sacrament. It also aims at healing and deliverance of the individual Christian. This program offers one day session (on every second Saturdays) and the three days (begins on every second Sundays) residential renewal programs . Many people come here and experience God and renew their life as well as their families.                                                                  AL

All-hands Baraka Meetings are often held on a regular basis (monthly) as a means of keeping the staff members up to date on important events and milestones. This is an open forum for all the staff members to share their views. The staff members share their activities of the previous month and also their next-month planning. This always helps the members to feel the 'togetherness'. It empowers the staff to work more efficiently than previous month. This meeting has a schedule: begins with an opening prayer - follows the staff sharing - concludes with a final prayer.

The students from Carmel Hill School (run by Apostolic Carmel Sisters), Naromoru visited Carmel Garden and the Chalice site (Baraka) at Naromoru in the month of October. Rev. Fathers explained the social (Baraka) and Pastoral (Chavara Renewal Centre) activities done there. This educational visit could enable the children to develop social and spiritual awareness in their minds. Carmel Hill Students with Fr. Joy Chirayath CMI (Director, Chavara Renewal Centre) and Fr. Jose Martin CMI (Site Director, Baraka)

Baraka staff visited all the beneficiary schools in October 2017. The children were so anxious to face the upcoming exams. Fr. Jose Martin, CMI prayed for the students and wished them to come out with flying colours in exams. The teachers also appreciated the visit and the children were so happy.