I was at an advanced stage of preparation for a Training Conference in Nairobi in April, 2020 for MMM Sisters in East Central Africa (ECA) health units – hospital and health centres.  I realise that we have a vast outreach to hundreds of thousands of people through our medical facilities.  My desire and hope is that Human Trafficking can be included same as any other heath subject.  Enter Covid-19 and we had to postpone the Conference till next year.

From November, 2019 to January, this year we had negotiated with leaders and Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) in four large slums, how to return if possible some young Karamojan girls who were trafficked to Nairobi some months or years earlier.  Then through the police of both countries and the Ugandan embassy in Nairobi we were finally able to repatriate 96 girls in a planned move back to their country.  We had negotiated that they were received by “Dwelling Places” – Safe houses in Uganda to assess each one and offer them training or safe return home to their families.  Life in Nairobi had become very harsh for the majority of them – they were in forced domestic labour, sexually exploited, others sent to Somalia as wives of Al Shabbab fighters, others were possibly sent to carry out bombings.  Some had managed to escape and were sleeping rough in the streets of these dangerous slums in Nairobi.

As 2020 ends we remember God’s Faithfulness to us despite all the uncertainty and turmoil we felt and with grateful hearts we journey towards Him with hope.

I wish you a Happy Christmas and a Blessed New Year 2021.

Love & Prayers.

Sr. Mary O’ Malley, MMM