More than 8,000 miles separate St. Patrick Church in Eastwood from the African continent. Yet Deacon Mark Rougeux has managed to bridge the distance between needy individuals there and parishioners who want to help.
“It’s a matter of solidarity,” he said. “If someone is in need, why does it matter where they are?”
In December, Deacon Rougeux marked 20 years of ministry in the East African countries of Tanzania and Kenya. Aid to East Africa has helped to provide funds to educate young people, medication to families, housing to abused women and support to priests serving in poor, rural areas.
‘God took me there. … I was called to expand my notion as to whom I’m supposed to help.’
— Deacon Mark Rougeux
Parishioners of St. Patrick — where he serves as a deacon — fuel his work in Africa.
“I’m just a conduit, they make it all happen,” Deacon Rougeux said in a recent interview. “They respond extremely generously when I mention a need during a homily or in an email. They’ve made all this possible.”
The parish recently came together to help Caroline Karinga, a woman who was living in the Kibera Slums in Nairobi, Kenya. Karinga — caregiver to her two daughters, her mother and disabled sister — was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, said Deacon Rougeux. Through funds donated by St. Patrick parishioners, Karinga received chemotherapy and underwent surgery. As of November, she’s cancer-free, he said.
“It’s pretty powerful when someone looks directly at you and says, ‘Thank you for saving my life,’ ” said Deacon Rougeux, adding that he visited Karinga and her family in December. He and his parishioners are now raising funds to purchase a home for Karinga, he said.
The need in Kenya and Tanzania is great, but the people his ministry has lifted are in turn lifting others, he said.
- Sister Irene Kessey, whom the ministry helped to earn a teaching degree, discerned a vocation to religious life. She is now a member of the Sisters of the Most Holy Trinity.
- The ministry provides a monthly stipend to priests, such as Father Augustine Kessy, who’s not related to Sister Kessey, in a rural area of Tanzania so they can keep ministering to their parishioners. Priests in that area do not receive a salary; they live off donations from impoverished parishioners, Deacon Rougeux said.
- Schola Massay, a young woman who was the victim of domestic violence, is now helping other women fleeing abusive situations. In 2016, the ministry funded the construction of a house for Massay. That house, which has an extra room, now offers shelter for other survivors of domestic abuse.
- Alex Dongobesh, a young man who was a runaway, received assistance for a college education. He now works as an oxygen technician and helps fund his little brother’s high school education.
The nonprofit grew out of relationships Deacon Rougeux said he built while visiting those African nations. He was first invited to travel to East Africa by Father John Judie, a retired priest for the Archdiocese of Louisville who has ministered on the continent for decades. Following that first trip, Deacon Rougeux returned for numerous visits, he said.
There was a time when he wondered why people would travel to Africa when there were so many needy individuals in the U.S., he said.
“God took me there. … I was called to expand my notion as to whom I’m supposed to help,” he said. “It’s been a real eye-opening experience. People who have so little are so happy and willing to share. It’s overwhelming.”
To find out more about Deacon Rougeux’s work and how to get involved, contact him at mrougeux@mac.com.
