Sixty-four years ago, when Strathmore was founded as the first interracial school in East Africa, it carried a daring message that every human life has dignity. On Day 2 of the BeDoCare 2025 Conference, that same message echoed anew in the voice of Rev. Javier Castillo, Vicar General of Opus Dei. In his address, “Sowing Love, Reaping a Culture of Gift,” he invited participants to see themselves as heirs to St. Josemaría Escrivá’s vision and as sowers of a new culture rooted in generosity, fraternity, and care.

His message reached beyond institutional milestones to touch on the very essence of what makes Strathmore and Kianda unique. Drawing on the legacy of St. Josemaría Escrivá, Rev. Castillo reminded participants that from their earliest days, these institutions were designed to be testimonies of openness, fraternity, and service. According to him, these were the radical seeds planted in colonial Kenya when Strathmore dared to open its doors as the first interracial school in East Africa. This was both a structural achievement and a living declaration that “there is only one race, the race of the children of God.”

Rev. Castillo insisted that the future of such institutions does not depend solely on buildings, programmes, or resources, but on people with their commitment, their “yes,” and their willingness to give of themselves freely. True impact, he emphasized, is measured not in statistics but in the ripple effects of love sown without expectation, care offered without condition, and listening extended without prejudice.

He identified three dimensions of St. Josemaría’s legacy: the family as the first school of love and forgiveness; professional work as a vocation of service to the common good; and care as the most humanizing response to fragility. At the core of each is the call to listen deeply, to be personally present, and to recognize that each person’s life is not only good but necessary.

In his closing call, Rev. Castillo invited people and communities to renew society through self-giving love, thereby building a true culture of gift founded on fraternity, dignity, and the love of God.

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