UNION NEWS

Holy Ghost School
Machakos - Kenya

The Blackrock College Union is delighted to welcome the first Principal of the new Spiritan school in Kenya; Fr John Wambu C.S.SP. who is visiting Blackrock College at present. Fr. Wambu is attending a number of events this week during his visit to the College including the launch of the Car Raffle by past student Ryan Tubridy (1991).

This important Car Raffle for a Nissan Note is being organised by Aidan Corless (1979) and is an essential part of the fundraising support for the new school in Kenya. At present, the car is parked outside the Junior School building at the College.

The Holy Ghost School Machakos will open on the 2nd February and has been significantly funded by the broad Blackrock College family. This includes the Blackrock College Union, the students of Blackrock College, their parents, the Willow Wheelers, and the Spiritans.

The Spiritans have a long history of education and mission work in Kenya going back to the 19th century. Indeed, many past students of the College have joined the Spiritan Order and worked with the people of Kenya in the past.

The new Holy Ghost School Machakos is a boarding school which will accommodate approximately 300 students in this economically deprived area. The school is located approximately 100km south east of Nairobi on the main highway to Mombasa. This is an area of great need and the opening of the new school brings the gift of a Spiritan education to these children in Kenya.

In 2010, the President of the Blackrock College Union; Stephen Doyle (1979) travelled to Kenya at the outset of this initiative which brings together the students of the College, past and present, with their parents and the other elements of the broad Blackrock family. The objective of this endeavour was to focus all of these groups on a common Spiritan goal in order to build this new school in Kenya. Over the last four years, this ongoing fundraising support has been very successful with approaching 400,000 having been raised for the school which will now open on the 2ndFebruary.

This combined effort of the many has made this ambitious Spiritan education project possible for those in need in Kenya. This is important as education represents the only means of breaking the cycle of poverty and destitution which unfortunately still exists in Africa and the modern world.

 

 

The Blackrock College Union is particularly fortunate in having the services of past student and architect Mike Lord (1976) who is based in Nairobi. Mike acts as the project co-ordinator with Fr Martin Keane C.S.SP. the Superior of the Spiritans in Kenya. 

The Blackrock College Union support for this Spiritan educational facility has been a real success story representing a unique collaboration of all these various Blackrock constituency groups. These have all been involved in fundraising over the last four years and each has contributed enormously to this much needed Spiritan effort.

The Blackrock College Union support for this project helps to maintain the long Spiritan tradition of education which first started when Fr Jules Leman c.s.sp. established Blackrock College for the same purpose in 1860.