Life in the diaspora can sometimes get lonely, with your families thousands of kilometres away. This probably explains why some Kenyans living abroad often seek their fellow countrymen to share their commonality through language and culture.
This is what informed the late Milka Njeri’s decision to host some Kenyans living in Seattle City, Washington State in the US in her house for a church fellowship.
Little did she know that her initiative to create a bond with her fellow countrymen would lead to the construction of a Ksh450 million church building.
During an interview with Chams Media, Pastor Geoffrey Kamau of the Kenya Community International Church (KCIC) revealed that the church has grown for the past 20 years and has over 300 members.
“The church was started by the late Milka Njeri who used to host other Kenyans in her house for fellowship.
“We are around 300 members and we meet at the Presbyterian church and that is where we have been for the last 20 years before we came up with the vision of putting up this building,” he stated.
The pastor added that they decided to buy a 5-acre land in 2018 to meet the demand for space as the church congregation grew over time.
He disclosed that using the Ksh450 million that was contributed by the members, they were able to build a church complex that comprises offices, a conference hall, and a children’s hall.
“You know when Kenyan meet somewhere they will seek a place to pray, share issues and challenges and Mam Njeri opened her church to fellowship that has grown to this church.
“The land is around five acres and the part that we have used is around two and a half acres. The building has a huge hall, offices, a conference hall, and a children's complex,” the pastor stated.
He stated that despite most of the congregants spending a huge part of their lifetime in the US, they still have programs with communities back in the country to maintain their ties with their heritage.
“We still have linkage with Kenya, we normally assist with relief to several orphanages. We also link with our parent churches back in Kenya and do what we are able to do,” he stated.
On his part, Joseph Karanja who is in charge of the Mission Department of the church stated that the church was a legacy project that would ensure that their children are taught about the Kenyan culture.
“A project like this is for our prosperity in America. Most of us came here a long time ago and we would like them to have a space where they can learn about our culture.
“We came with our children and some of them have become Americanised and now they will have an opportunity to learn about Kenya,” Karanja expressed.
