It was June 1993 when a friend in HEDCO asked me if I would be interested in managing a project in Tanzania. HEDCO supported Higher Education projects in developing countries. Most of its funds came from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). When…
My contracts with ODA entitled the two of us to annual leave in the form of economy flights up to a total distance of roughly 6,000km in whatever direction we wished to fly. With the help of good travel agents we were able to convert this into some…
I had a distinct 'Africa Addio' feeling as I left Malawi in September 1992. It was the end of an era in Africa for me, and I did not expect to be back there again. I had no plans for what I was going to do in Dublin. I worked as a supply teacher for…
In 1986 my uncle Eamon Farrell spent a month with us in Malawi. For the rest of his life he talked about the wonderful time he had with us. We enjoyed every day of his visit. He was enthusiastic about every activity and outing that we suggested…
We were happy in Swaziland. Work and golf were going very well for both of us. I may have made the mistake of thinking that I was in some way indispensable, and I definitely thought that my contract would be renewed. This all changed when I received…
We were called for interview to Gardiner Street in north Dublin in July 1969. There we met a man from Christians Abroad in London. He offered us the choice of Cameroon, Sierra Leone or Malawi. To help us decide he directed us next door to meet with a…
The Kiltegan presence in Kenya expanded rapidly during the late 1950s and early 1960s. By 1963 there were about 40 Kiltegan priests in the Diocese of Eldoret at any one time. They were all Irish. At that time the diocese stretched from Lake Turkana…
On day three Fr. Fintan arrived and brought me to the minor seminary at Matunda Catholic Mission, a couple of miles from Hoey's Bridge and 15 miles from Kitale. This area is part of the Eldoret Plateau, then known as the White Highlands. At roughly…
