 |
Freddy Gray Deputy Editor, The Catholic Herald [1] |
|||
FATHER STEVEN KABOKA is a dynamic missionary who spends his time improving lives on the Ethiopian-Kenyan border, teaching locals how to fish.
Among many achievements, he has overseen the building of a local school and brokered a ceasefire between the local Turkana and Merille tribes. Both groups hold him in high regard: one Turkana couple even went so far as to name their baby girl FrStevenKaboka. Having heard this man was in London, I sought an interview. “I would like very much to help you,” said Fr Steven in a kind, fruity Kenyan voice over the telephone. “But I think, for reasons of vanity, my missionary community would not allow it. But please come see me so I can show you what we do.” “We don’t really want publicity, you see.”So we met in a London hotel. He spoke to me about the Turkanas and the Merilles for some time and showed me photographs of both tribes. As we said goodbye I asked Fr Steven if he wanted me to write an article with a “plug” at the bottom so people could see how to give money to his cause. “No, I think maybe not,” he said. “We don’t really want publicity, you see.” I was surprised, even a little suspicious. Journalists tend to regard people who shun press coverage as shifty – particularly if they are engaged with good causes. But speaking to Fr Steven and others who know him, I realised how different his understanding of charity was to mine. In our culture aid agencies want nothing more than publicity – and cash, I suppose – and thus fixate themselves with celebrities and the media. Obviously Fr Steven’s Missionary Community of St Paul is less effective at generating funds than, say, Amnesty International. And of course – cue alarm bells in the secular psyche – their motivation is to spread the Christian faith. But is it not healthy for a charity to regard the proclamation of its virtuousness as distasteful and even perhaps morally wrong? > Fergus Drake: The church and the mafia [1] > More features [1] |