NEEMA PASTORAL CENTRE, EMBULBUL (NPCE)
The proposed project shall be called “Neema Pastoral Centre – Embulbul”. Neema is a Swahili name that means ‘grace’ and shall be used for this building to signify God’s graces upon his people through the Church of Embulbul.
Introduction & Background
The Parish of Embulbul is found in the Catholic Diocese of Ngong, in Kajiado County. It is situated along Ngong Road, 4 Kilometers from Karen town in Nairobi. It has 3 Outstations. Its population comes from a mixed background of the well-off to the most vulnerable. The highest population is from a humble background from the slum area near the main Parish. Embulbul Catholic Parish has been the focus of the vulnerable population in terms of aid and empowerment. The Parish has been responding to community needs since its inception in 1997 in the Kerarapon area. From the initial stages, the Parish offered spiritual, health, educational, training, and social services like feeding the hungry, clothing, and sheltering those from humble backgrounds. As time went on, the Church came up with the construction of Churches to cater to spiritual needs, an education center to accommodate children from baby class up to form four, a dispensary to cater for health issues, a borehole to provide clean water, and the counseling Centre to train and cater for mental issues. This assistance continues even today. However, there is a challenge in responding to these needs since most activities were externally funded, especially from Europe. Also, as the population grows with the rural-urban migration, the cycle of poverty continues, unemployment rates grow, and social vices increase, including crime. This notwithstanding, the Church has the capacity to explore other avenues to find African solutions for African problems.
Main Features
PWD-Friendly, Training Section, Conference Rooms/Halls, Offices, Kitchen and Dining Rooms. Guest and Convenience Rooms, Recreation Areas, Cyber Café, Library, Shops, Sunday School Classes, SVP & Feeding Program area, Youth & games area, some parking space…
Main Goal
To meet basic human needs through physical, human, spiritual, intellectual, technological, and psychological growth through leadership, entrepreneurship, and management.
Main Objective
To foster formation, leadership, and management through a facility that allows training and growth of children, youth, men, and women in society.
Problem Statement
Embulbul is full of talented youth, but they don’t go far because of poverty and opportunities to showcase their talents. Some have fallen prey to the influence of drugs, alcohol, bhang, prostitution, etc. There is a high level of general domestic abuse of every kind, including sexual abuse, especially children. Due to this, the cycle of poverty continues as even underaged children beget children. Young women need empowerment to be dependent other than relying on their abusers. To respond to such needs, we require a space and room to operate. The Church seeks collaboration from well-wishers to assist in combating vices of poverty, ignorance, and unemployment. Neema Pastoral Centre, Embulbul, is a multidimensional project meant to respond holistically to the needs of society. There may be other initiatives around Embulbul trying to respond to such needs but in an isolated manner. This multidenominational project is unique as it focuses on the development and welfare of the whole human person regardless of religion or background. This could be witnessed by the activities already initiated in the Parish. For instance, in the past few years, there have been free medical camp sessions comprising psychological, physical, and spiritual counseling carried out in the Parish compound. Nevertheless, these activities and services were carried out in the open. This project aims to foster the privacy and confidentiality of individuals when such activities are carried out.
Beneficiary Type
The Society – Children, Youth, Men, Women, Persons living with disabilities, the sick and the aged.
Projected Activities
Psycho-Social Support Services, Catechetical programs at all levels, Safe play physical exercise areas, Charity, Entrepreneurship development, Technology-based skills, Empowerment programs, Training, Business and awareness workshops.
Projected Donors
Now that the facilitation from Europe and America is declining, we need to explore other means, both local and external. The Parishioners will be the main benefactors assisted by internal and external donors through the Office of Development in collaboration with the Mustard Development Organization. Fundraising options, banks, and other avenues could be explored.
Aims
The main aim of the Church is to promote holistic human development by improving the lives of people through spiritual care, formation/training, education, healthcare (spiritual, physical, and psychological), and engagement. Through training, mentorship, and entrepreneurship, society could be empowered to unlock their potential, which otherwise may not be with no or scarcity of facilitation.
The NEEMA PASTORAL CENTER is a visionary project meant to respond to growing societal needs, thus becoming a versatile and vibrant multi-purpose facility to benefit parishioners, neighbors, visitors, donors, and other stakeholders. It is a five (5) phase project aimed at responding to Parish and societal needs concurrently.
- To establish a self-sustaining resource for our community’s growth and development.
( To help the Church and the society to become economically sustainable through employment, shops, rent, and hire). - To empower parishioners and the community through Socialization.
- To create an environment that promotes hospitality, spiritual growth, learning, and cultural exchange.
- To strengthen the bonds of unity among parishioners, our neighbors, and the society.
- To provide a platform for outreach programs and charitable activities.
Cost Projection
The estimated project Cost Projection of the project is 78,069,212 Kenya Shillings minus parking/landscaping, furniture, and fittings. The administrative block will cost 50,534,500 Kenya Shillings, while the Entrepreneurship section will cost 27,534,712 Kenya Shillings.
Project Description
The project shall have administrative and entrepreneurship blocks. The first block, known as the administrative block, shall consist of offices, workshops, training, meetings, conferences, convenience, storage, chapel, and related activities. The second block, known as the empowerment block, shall consist of thrift shops, Medicare, banking hall, formation, apprenticing, etc., and associated facilities.
This project is a follow-up of the 2019-2023 Parish Strategic Plan (PSP). It came as a result of a survey research conducted among parishioners and the surrounding community. In the research, they expressed their urgent needs, which the project seeks to respond to. These are spiritual, intellectual, technological, physical, psychological, and socio-economical needs. The project implementation was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The project is in line with the Charism of the Church and the Society of African Missions (SMA), which strives to respond to the needs of the community especially the less privileged.
Project Benefits
- To create jobs in this highly job-competitive society.
- To empower the children and youth through entrepreneurship and educational programs. (We live in a society that scarcely gives opportunities to individuals to unlock their potential. The building foresees the promotion of talents among individuals, especially the youth).
- Income-generating venture for the increased demand of the Church’s income.
- Provision of avenues for sensitization, awareness, and reprimands on the rising social concerns of substance abuse and other ills.
- Create space for training, meetings, conference rooms, and services for the Church and the society.
- To become a recreation center for relaxation, enjoyment, and rest.
NB: It is time for religious, civic, and political leaders in Africa to provide solutions to our African problems. We have skills in human, natural, and financial resources to combat underdevelopment, poverty, conflict, unemployment, and sustained abuses among us. As a Church, we have tried to respond to these needs by offering those who are most vulnerable opportunities to learn and become better people in society.
For instance, for the hungry and the sick, we have the Society of Saint Paul (SVP) and the Feeding Program committee, which attend to their daily needs. Each week, we provide medicine, clothes, and food to the most needy. We also support school fees for such vulnerable yet brilliant children. Thanks to local well-wishers. The beneficiaries are children who are orphans or abandoned and left with relatives, friends, or single parents. We provide them with food at least once a day during weekdays so that they can concentrate at school.