"Chaplains can help students become mature and responsible citizens. They can assist in moulding their behaviour," Nzimbi said on 25 September while addressing thousands of people at celebrations in Embu, eastern Kenya to mark the 25th anniversary of Christian church missionaries.

Schools in Kenya have been hit by violent protests, sometimes leading to the death of students, and heavy destruction of property through torching of school buildings. Nzimbi said the chaplains could act as role models, as well as inculcating good morals among the students through spiritual guidance.

Agreeing with Nzimbi, the Rev. Maloba Wesoga, the Nairobi Roman Catholic diocesan administrator, said many young people had been lost as useful citizens, due to lack of guidance.

Wesoga said chaplains could be beacons to steer young people in the right direction, but he had reservation about the proliferation of denominations in Kenya, saying it would not be easy to know which churches to draw them from.

The Rev. John Mwirichia who heads the Presbyterian Church of East Africa's department of Christian education said churches had been urging the government to pay for their services or to train some teachers in pastoral work.

"They have not been as fast as we would have wanted," Mwirichia told Ecumenical News International in Nairobi on 29 September. "Unless they [the government] do that, the problems [emanating from unruly young people] will persist." Mwirichia recalled that the government used to second chaplains to schools, but dropped them several years ago, without any reason. Since then, discipline in the institutions has plummeted, he asserted.

All articles (c) Ecumenical News International
Reproduction permitted only by media subscribers and provided ENI is acknowledged as the source.

Ecumenical News International
PO Box 2100
CH - 1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland

Tel: (41-22) 791 6088/6111
Fax: (41-22) 788 7244
Email: eni@eni.ch