Kenya: pilgrims on peacebuilding journey to Ugandan shrine

More than 30 Christians are on a pilgrimage to the Namugongo Martyrs Shrine in Uganda as one of the peace building activities initiated by the Catholic Church here. Cardinal John Njue flagged off the 33 pilgrims on Saturday at the Holy Family Basilica. He prayed for them and sent them off with three doves. The 13-day pilgrimage, dubbed Peace Pilgrimage,, is one of a series of national peace building activities lined up by the Kenya Catholic Episcopal Conference in the aftermath of the post-election violence. The pilgrims were drawn from slums and parishes which were hardest hit by the crisis. Japheth Oluoch, a secretary of the Channels of Peace initiative, said the pilgrims will walk 20 kilometers daily, and will cover 200 kilometers "as a living remembrance of the pain of lack of peace and how expensive it is to get peace back after we allow it to slip out of our hands. The significance of the pilgrimage, Oluoch said, is to pass on the message of love, peace and reconciliation to those afflicted by the post-election violence. Pilgrims will have moments of reflections with different parishes and dioceses. They will also visit Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps en route. Cornelia Nafula, a pilgrim, said that she was happy to be on the pilgrimage as she felt the need for repentance for all the lives lost during the post-election violence. The Post-Election Peace Initiative under the stewardship of Archbishop Peter Kairo, chairman of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission. It has six committees spearheading different initiatives: Youth United for Peace in Kenya, Counselling and Liturgy, Symposium, Mass Media, Channels of Peace, and Truth and Justice Committee. Source: CISA