The Catholic missionary said the family is a ‘small church’ which should be respected and kept clean and holy.
He said strong family units bring up obedient, respectful and disciplined children, meaning less crime in society.
Sacred Heart Shanzu’s David Simwa and Father
Vincent Alicho on Sunday / BRIAN OTIENO
A tug-of-war between men and women at Sacred Heart Shanzu
Church on Sunday / BRIAN OTIENO
The family unit is a source of healing, rehabilitation and a
foundation for the future, and must be strengthened at all times, a Catholic
priest has said.
Sacred Heart Shanzu parish priest Fr Vincent Alicho on
Sunday said all good things in the world start at the family unit.
“The family plays an important role in the society. If you
remove the family, there is no society, no humanity and no church,” Fr Alicho
said.
He spoke during the family fun day hosted by the church in
Shanzu where all the four stations of the parish, including Shanzu, Bamburi,
Maweni and Majaoni, converged to celebrate the family unit and help strengthen bonds.
The Catholic missionary said the family is a ‘small church’
which should be respected.
Fr Alicho said all the values instilled in children start
from the family unit, even before the children start going to school.
“That is why you see a good child, a child who is well
trained, if mixed with other members of the society, there will be a better
community.
“But in a situation where children are not well trained,
there would be trouble in the community. If every child follows the parents’
rules and regulations, the society will be a better one,” he said.
He said strong family units bring up obedient, respectful
and disciplined children, meaning less crime in society.
Matilda Ouma, a Sacred Heart Shanzu parishioner, said family
helps people do extraordinary things because of the strength drawn from it.
“For instance, today, I did things that I normally don’t do
when I am alone. I have benefitted because we acted as a family,” she said.
She said the family unit can be a readily available and
cheap therapy for life stresses.
David Simwa, a church member, said embracing the family
makes it stay together as required.
Simwa, who participated in the tug-of-war between the
fathers and mothers, said there should be a level of sacrifice and compromise
in the family to stay strong and together.
“I am one of the frustrated people in the competition. You
see, we won four times, but we kept on repeating until the mothers won once.
And that is when the competition was over and they were declared the winners,”
he said amid laughter from Fr Alicho.
Simwa said that was a lesson in sacrifice, compromise and
perseverance.
