Maryknoll Lay Missioners

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Russ Brine

Year Joined MKLM: 2001
Country: Kenya
City: Rural Region of Kitale
Focus: Education
Project(s): St. John Bosco Rehabilitation Centre
People Served: 180 children
Project Goal(s): St. John Bosco rescues destitute children from the streets, rehabilitates them from street life, enrolls them in schools, and reintegrates them with their families.

Personal Data
Russ is originally from Seattle, WA, where he was active in St. Joseph Parish, Diocese of Seattle. He joined MKLM in 2000 and has worked in Kenya since that time. He is both an accountant and a lawyer. He studied at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Current Ministry
The families of the children assisted have come to the town of Kitale fleeing hunger and tribal clashes in the arid Turkana region of Northern Kenya. They are displaced persons living in squalid camps on the edge of the town. Their children are found on the streets begging for food instead of going to school. On the streets they are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

St. John Bosco was founded in 1992 and is under the guidance of the Catholic Diocese of Kitale. There are twelve Kenyans on staff, several of whom have been with the project from the beginning. The project employs a three stage methodology: rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration. It is also critical that the children are rescued when they are still very young (from ages 7 to 12) and have not become hardened by the tragic circumstances of street life, such as drug addiction, sexual abuse, prostitution and criminal activity. The continuing follow up by the Centre's staff after reintegration is very important, as is the emphasis on maintaining close links with the home community throughout the rehabilitation process.

Russ brings his administrative skills to serve as the Project Manager. He has direct oversight of the expenditure of funds at the project.