'People kept calling me; I couldn't answer'

Pope recieves a Rosary from the youths at Kasarani Stadium,Nairobi.PHOTO.FIDELIS KABUNYI

Mercy Ntai, 21, and Paul Lasiti, 24, still recall the warmth of Pope Francis’ hand as he received their gift — a rosary plaque, handcrafted like a map of Kenya.

When The Standard on Sunday caught up with them shortly after Pope Francis and his entourage left the Safaricom Kasarani Stadium, disbelief was still written all over their faces. They had not moved from the main dais, where they had sat just inches from the global head of the Catholic Church.

Mercy, who runs a clothes boutique in Ngong, had her phone on her right palm. It kept ringing.

“I am so happy. People are calling me, they are telling me: ‘We have seen you! We have seen you! They are screaming! I am glad I was picked to give the Pope that gift,” said Mercy, who was clad in traditional Maasai regalia – beads, lessos, and a head gear.

Messages kept coming.

“See, my parents have sent me an SMS and even my sister...” she said, not displaying the message but waving the phone. “They are excited. They tried calling me when the Pope was still here, and I couldn’t pick!”

Masaai warrior

Next to her, stood Paul from Ewaso Kedong’, dressed like a Maasai warrior ready for war — the only thing missing was a spear and a shield. His hair was plaited and dyed maroon.

He had a checked red and maroon shuka wrapped around him, and a heavily-beaded bright red loin clothes.

“It was humbling. I had never thought this would happen to me. Never in a million years had I ever dreamt that one day, I would be the one Kenyan chosen to give the Pope a gift on his first visit to Africa,” Paul said.

When he and Mercy walked side by side carrying the little red box with the plaque the size of an A4 notepad, they were eager to see that smile on the Pope’s face as he opened the gift.

“We had rehearsed very well. We had walked and even tried to open the gift but we were told not to open it. But we had to check inside, just for a few seconds to see what it is we had been asked to give the Pope,” said Paul, a student of Applied Aquatic Science at the Egerton University.

They were called and told to show up at the national office. The message was that they had been picked to meet the Pope. Then, they went for Mass on Thursday, and instead of going back home, they were told to stay overnight in Nairobi.

Friday morning, after having breakfast — tea, a few slices of bread and fried eggs — they walked across from Mji wa Furaha – the National Youth Centre in Kasarani—to the Safaricom Kasarani Stadium.

They made their way past the security checks at the gate, and into the main dais. They sat on the seats with their names, and waited for the grand guest to arrive.

When their turn came, they rose, held the gift box, and made the steps they had made over a dozen times during the rehearsals, and waited as the Pope opened it and waved it to the crowd.

Their job done, they took their seats just a yard away from the Pontiff.

History was made.