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May 16, 2025By Bill Doyle | CFP Correspondent
The Diocese of Worcester’s African Ministry has been a big part of Kwabena Ayim’s life from his childhood through serving as a mentor for the past five years.
Mr. Ayim, 28, of Worcester was born in Ghana and moved with his family to New York City when he was six and to Worcester when he was seven. His parents worked long hours to support the family so he relied upon the African Ministry to help him get accustomed to the American culture when he was a teenager.
“It was really profound in how I grew up mentally,” he said, “because Mom and Dad are always working and you’re not from here and you don’t really understand the culture.”
The first time Mr. Ayim ice skated, swam, played basketball, took a Duck Boat Tour or visited Six Flags Theme Park all occurred with the African Ministry. So when his classmates at school spoke of the adventures they had with their families, he could talk about his ministry trips.
“I was able to fit in and kind of bond with them,” he said.
Mr. Ayim said the ministry also provided him with the life tools and skills to succeed.
“I guess that’s what’s supposed to happen when you go to church,” he said.
The African Ministry is fully funded by Partners In Charity, which seeks donations from parishioners in the diocese. Last year, the ministry received $52,290.
Partners in Charity has set a goal of raising $5 million to support 26 charitable, educational and pastoral ministries in the diocese. Top donors and parish leaders were invited to one of nine regional launch gatherings to receive a free Italian dinner and hear guest speakers explain how their contributions impact the ministries. Mr. Ayim spoke at the launch gathering at St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Westborough on March 25 at the invitation of Bishop McManus and Father Enoch Kyeremateng, chaplain of the African Ministry and administrator at St. Joan of Arc Parish in Worcester.
Mr. Ayim is a parishioner and member of the finance committee at St. Joan of Arc Parish.
“I’m kind of an example of giving back to your community,” Mr. Ayim said. “I went through the African Ministry and now I’m an adult and I’m trying to serve the same way that I believe they served me.”
For the past five years, Mr. Ayim has volunteered for the African Ministry. He runs a program in a few parishes in Worcester called the “Star Program” that teaches financial literacy and financial education to African teens involved in athletics.
The program has met at the St. Joan of Arc parish hall about every other month since November and about 15 youths aged 13-18 attend. For the first couple of meetings, a basketball camp was conducted, but Mr. Ayim also had a financial advisor, real estate agent and a banking executive run workshops. Mr. Ayim said the youths were instructed how to grow financially and spiritually.
Mr. Ayim said he’d like to fundraise to purchase supplies for African college students.
Father Kyeremateng called Mr. Ayim an excellent role model for the youths in the ministry.
“He’s one of those who the guys trust, who they like, they feel very comfortable with him,” Father Kyeremateng said, “and he’s helping me.”
Mr. Ayim is grateful for the financial assistance Partners in Charity has given to the African Ministry and the other 25 agencies, especially considering the expected cuts in federal funding.
“That $5 million is going to go such a long way to helping so many people,” he said.
“We need to do more,” he said. “The $5 million is amazing, but it’s just a fraction of the good that we can do. Programs that raise money and try to do good are going to be the backbone of society for a little bit.”
Mr. Ayim played basketball for South High Community School, but football was his best sport. He played fullback, linebacker, kicker and punter for South and captained the team as a junior and senior. At UMass-Lowell, he earned his undergraduate degree and a graduate degree in finance. Now he works for MASSCAP, Massachusetts Association for Community Action Program, which oversees 23 community action agencies that offer programs and services to families to create opportunities, open doors to economic mobility and end poverty. He manages the tax and financial education sites for underserved communities.
Mr. Ayim believes the African Ministry steered him toward a better life. Some of the youths who played in the same basketball league as he did joined gangs. Some of them were shot, some were stabbed, some died and some went to prison.
“The ones that played in the league and stayed in the church, they stayed out of trouble,” he said. “... I do believe that my life is for the better because of the African Ministry,” he said. “They definitely kept me out of trouble.”
Father Kyeremateng pointed out that Africans come from a faraway continent, but funding from Partners in Charity enables the African Ministry to help them assimilate into society and practice their Catholic faith.
Father Kyeremateng has worked in the African Ministry for eight years and he said before the ministry existed, many local Africans attended Pentecostal services.
“By establishing an African Ministry, we’ve been able to bring most of them back,” he said. “Had it not been for Partners in Charity supporting the office of the African Ministry, many of the Africans would have lost hope, many Africans would have lost faith in the Catholic Church.”
Mr. Ayim marvels at the job that Father Kyeremateng does with St. Joan of Arc’s different communities. Masses are held in English, Spanish and Twi (the Ghanaian language).
“He’s able to accommodate all the different Masses,” he said, “and make sure everything runs smoothly. I don’t know how he does it. I don’t know how he gets to sleep, but he’s doing a great job managing it.”
The African Ministry has registered about 900 Africans of all ages at St. Joan of Arc, St. Andrew the Apostle Mission in Worcester and St. Anthony of Padua in Fitchburg, according to Father Kyeremateng.
The African Ministry holds several events, including summits for 40-55 youths at St. Joan of Arc or at St. Andrew before the school year begins and after it ends. Last year, 48 youths from the Worcester Diocese attended a regional apostolic retreat in New York City and another retreat is scheduled to be held in East Hartford, Connecticut, July 24-27.
About 240 people are scheduled to attend an awards dinner on May 24 at Assumption University’s Tsotsis Family Academic Center. Father Kyeremateng said 75 people will receive service awards.
The ministry will hold a trivia and game night at St. Joan of Arc on May 31 for youths aged 8-17.
Partners in Charity has raised more than $190 million since the annual fundraising campaign began as the Bishop Fund in 1961.
– Donations can be made online at partners-charity.net/donate, by texting DONATE to 84576, by calling 508-929-4366, by scanning the QR code on the Partners promotional material, by mailing a check to Partners in Charity Appeal, Diocese of Worcester, 49 Elm Street, Worcester, MA., 01609, or giving one to your pastor. Checks should be made payable to “Partners in Charity Appeal” and the parish name should be noted in the memo line.