MISSIONER NEWSLETTER – Fall 2025
Theresa Glaser, Kenya
Mr. Rodgers leads a lesson in the newly equipped computer lab at St. John Bosco Rehabilitation Center, where students now gain hands-on digital skills that open doors to brighter futures.
When I came to Maryknoll as a lay missioner about 18 months ago, my desire was to work with the “poorest of the poor,” a phrase that I associated with the work of St. Mother Teresa, whom I admire greatly. I was led to a ministry at St. John Bosco Rehabilitation Center in Kitale, Kenya, an informal school which prepares children rescued from the streets, as well as other vulnerable children of poverty, for entry into the formal Kenyan school system.
Daily, seeing the scrubbed, happy children in uniform in the classroom, I asked myself if I was, indeed, working with the very poor. But when I began to accompany our social worker on home visits, the poverty I witnessed in homes in the informal settlements surrounding Kitale was more extreme than I had imagined possible.
My dilemma, now, was how to respond to this poverty. What could I do to change for the better what I had witnessed? It was not possible to give food to individual families who did not have the resources to provide their families with more than one meal a day. It was not possible to replace a mud home that leaked in every downpour, choosing one family over another. Good advice from a Maryknoll mentor led me to my answer: “Focus on your ministry.”
Theresa visits a family in one of Kitale’s informal settlements, where she witnesses firsthand the daily struggles that inform her ministry of compassion and empowerment.
I could apply my 35 years of experience as an educator to support the work of the dedicated staff working to change the pattern of the lives of our students. I understood that improving the lives of our children was contingent upon empowering their teachers in the classroom. And more help came from generous donors to the project.
When I first arrived, Mr. Rodgers was teaching a computer class for 28 students using one desktop computer. On occasion, 28 additional students who attended formal schools but lived in residence at St. John Bosco, would also join the class. Mr. Rodgers delivered excellent lectures on computer vocabulary and theory, but the students had no opportunity for the practical.
We made it our priority with the help of incoming donations to supply a well-functioning computer lab. We have been able to purchase enough laptop computers and wireless “mice” to have one for every two students, a projector and web cam to aid in instruction, a secure cabinet in which to store this equipment, and the installation of reliable wi-fi.
It was rewarding to see the uplifting effect that our new computer lab had on not only students, but also on the teachers who had struggled in the “technological dark” both in the classroom and on a personal level. And so, we didn’t stop there.
Our next purchase was an on-site printer and printer cabinet. The teachers had always taught using only a chalkboard; students’ responses were recorded in small exercise books. The acquisition of a printer opened new possibilities for the classroom and for other professional needs.
Our wi-fi-supplied computer and printing lab has given our staff new enthusiasm and vision and has increased opportunities, both in the classroom and professionally. My understanding of how I can effect change that will empower the lives of the very poor is now rooted firmly in my ministry.
Please consider supporting my mission work with a donation via the button below.
If you are able, I invite you to walk with me as a “COMPANION IN MISSION.” Companions in Mission are friends and generous donors who give financial gifts on a regular (usually monthly) basis. For more information, visit Become a Companion in Mission. Thank you so much for your generosity!
Theresa Glaser joined Maryknoll Lay Missioners in 2023. She is serving at the St. John Bosco Rehabilitation Centre in Kitale, Kenya.
