On 2nd December 2022, TUK YCS, as is its norm, conducted the End of Semester Mass Celebration and Night Vigil at the TUK Ladies Hostel, Upper Hill. The event brought together a team of 51 students who entailed Continuing students, Finalists and YCS alumni.
The objective of the mass/night vigil was:
- Thanksgiving for protection throughout the Semester
- Dedicating the ongoing and Upcoming examinations
- Blessings as we break for the festivities.
- Bonding as YCS team as we wrap up the year 2022.
Since the activity was an overnight event, the normal YCS activities took place as usual. Lunch Hour was held over lunch time and Choir Practice took place as usual in the afternoon. The students gathered in school at 6pm and left at exactly 6.30pm to the Ladies’ Hostel in Upper Hill. By 7.15pm everyone had settled in the Ladies’ Hostel Hall. Preparations for Holy Mass started immediately.
The event commenced with Eucharistic Celebration of the Holy Mass. This was conducted by Rev Fr Didimus Shirima and closely helped by Brother Simon. Among the key highlights from the Mass was that God shows mercy to those recognize the need for His forgiveness and healing and He transforms those who put their hope and trust in Him. The mass included a small session of spiritual talk from Fr. Shirima in which he also wished the students well in their studies and in the upcoming holiday.
The second part of the Program was Presentations which included Individual and Group presentations. In this, it aimed at promoting local talents of members around us. After that, the Praise and Worship session led by choir members followed. This was a thanksgiving session for the members present. This took about 2 hours and the members had their supper after this at 11.45pm.
After the supper Break, the St. Thomas of Aquinas play took place which was coordinated by David Kingi. In this, the team learnt the early life and had key takeaways from this in terms of their spiritual life. Later on, speeches took place from key representatives of the various years, that is, 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year, and 4th year. Individual speeches came next from the finalists present as well as the alumni present. This gave the members a chance to give their expectations from YCS from the continuing students, experiences as well as a piece of advice from the finalists and alumni to the continuing students on their commitment and participation of YCS activities.
Later on, a Recap video was played to help the team reflect on the various activities which have happened since the last End of Semester mass took place. In this, it aimed at acknowledging various activities YCS has had. A small bonding session took place next where the members present played a game. At exactly 3.10am, prayers began in which the Divine Mercy Rosary was conducted.
After the prayers, a Bible Trivia session took place which was conducted in form of groups. To culminate the event, the YCS members had their breakfast and a group photo session. The overnight event came to a halt at 7.00am on Saturday and people left for their homes.
The committee who prepared the vigil events were; Gladys Njeri – Chairperson, John Isidore - Secretary, Yusuf Odemba - Treasurer, Mary Ann Aminata, Shem Mutugi, Collins Otieno, Emmanuel Musumba - YCS Coordinator and Moses Epale - YCS Moderator
After Evaluation, the following was accomplished
- The turn up was positive which surpassed the expectation of the committee as per the delay in the contribution.
- Good behavior was observed throughout the night vigil.
- The YCS members’ expectations were met in terms of running of the program, supper and breakfast.
Recommendations
- Last minute rush in making the contributions was observed. As seen the activity happened exactly 6 days after the Talent Show hence communication was limited to this time span. Thus there is need for early communication in the coming activities.
- Time consciousness in planning the event.
- Funds collected were not enough compared to the number of people who showed up hence the committee members had to top up and also seek support from the office. This was attributed to the short time span given to the members to make their contributions.
Conclusion
The night vigil was a success. There was great cooperation throughout the night and the committee was pleased by the way the members conducted themselves. The committee expresses their sincere gratitude to everyone who made the activity a success including the YCS Patron, The Chaplaincy leaders, the TUK Accommodation fraternity and all the members present.
By Gladys Njeri - Our reporter