CALLED TO THE HEART OF AFRICA | KAIROS GLOBAL | OCTOBER 2026

Author: Santhosh Mathew

Audio

Intro: Santhosh Mathew, pivotal to the JY African mission, shares its backstory and beginnings.

THE BEGINNING OF A MISSION

God answers every prayer in our lives in His perfect time. My mission journey is a fruit of prayer; it began back in 2005 with my own Jesus Youth journey as an International Team member.

For five years, I prayed to God to help me discern my life’s purpose. My prayer was simple: to identify my personal ministry and develop my charism through a life of commitment and service. God knew my limitations and potential better than I did, and I was ready to place myself in His hands.

On 17 June 2010, God answered my prayer. He led me on a mission journey with my friend, Julius Antony, to Uganda. That journey to Africa became the beginning of something I never could have imagined.

THE CALL

Every individual has a call from God. Jesus Himself was called and sent to accomplish a mission: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord (Luke 4:18-19). 

On my third day in Uganda, I received an unexpectedly clear message through a priest that answered many of my questions and confusions: Why am I here? What is the purpose of my call? What is God asking me to do? He told me my being in Africa had a special mission and call – which had already been revealed by a group of priests during a retreat at Divine Retreat Centre in Kerala.

It was the first time I had heard a prophecy concerning me personally. That experience gave me a special grace and a deep conviction to continue my mission without doubt or fear. For me, it answered five years of prayer. God was slowly revealing what I had been asking Him about. I understood that my journey to Africa was not an accident. It was a response to a call.

THE JOURNEY IN AFRICA

Africa is a continent with tremendous potential, but also enormous challenges. I encountered people who needed guidance, support, formation, and encouragement to overcome poverty – both financial and spiritual – as well as the effects of slavery, low self-confidence, limited opportunities, and many other struggles.

During this journey, Jesus Youth was able to do many things through formation, planning, spiritual guidance, orientation, career guidance, youth and family programmes, and many other initiatives.

For more than fifteen years, we have seen the marvellous work God can accomplish through ordinary young people willing to say yes to Him. 

It has been a beautiful journey involving bishops, priests, religious sisters, religious brothers, and lay people serving in different capacities. We have reached people at the grassroots level as well as prominent people involved in decision-making. They welcomed JY with tremendous love. Over time, JY became more than an organisation or movement; it became something that lives in their hearts.

We have witnessed families entering into the sacrament of marriage, young people responding to priestly vocations, girls discovering religious vocations, young people experiencing career growth, and many others beginning or deepening their spiritual lives.

Today, we are actively present in Uganda, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Kenya, with a presence in South Sudan, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ghana.

PROJECTS AND MISSIONS

Over the years, the African mission has taken many different forms. Many families from India and the Middle East have embraced one-month mission experiences, visiting African communities and sharing their time, talents, faith, and resources.

Many bachelors have participated in mission exposure trips and experienced the reality of missionary life. More than 200 teenagers and 50 young people have participated in mission exposure trips as teams.

The African Full-Timership Programme has been conducted four times, with approximately 65 participants being placed in different African countries for missionary service. Long-term commitments have also taken place, with missionaries going from Uganda to serve in other African countries.

One of the great fruits of the mission is that a JY member, Robert Kato, became a deacon in 2026 for JY priesthood. Another historic moment came in 2012 and 2014, when the first Catholic Prayer Breakfast meetings in Uganda took place in Kampala. More than 250 prominent decision-makers of the country participated, including the Vice President.

Beyond numbers and events, what matters most is the transformation of lives. Many young people have been touched in their hearts. Many have experienced healing, renewed faith, and a new understanding of God’s love.

CHALLENGES AND MIRACLES

Every mission has challenges. The greatest challenge I experienced was wavering faith. The lack of sufficient catechesis, formation, or strong role models made it a Herculean task to help them remain consistent in their faith.

Yet poverty and insecurity were never the greatest obstacles because I experienced the Holy Spirit’s move in the mission. At times human strength seemed insufficient, but God’s grace opened doors we could never have opened alone.

One of the most beautiful statements repeatedly heard from Africans is how the six pillars of JY have touched their lives. For me, this is a powerful testimony because it shows that the JY charism can cross cultures, languages, nationalities, and continents.

Among the most touching experiences has been the generosity and joy of African people. Even when beset with problems, they continue to give, serve, smile, and participate wholeheartedly in ministry. Healing, transformation, conversion, sacramental marriages, generosity, and countless other miracles have taken place along the way.

Thousands of members now practise and strengthen their Catholic faith through their involvement in JY. These are not simply achievements. They are signs of God’s grace.

THE MISSION’S BACKUP

No mission can succeed through human effort alone. The foundation of this mission has always been continuous prayer. We have received the powerful spiritual support of perpetual adoration, which has carried the mission through countless challenges.

Financial support from the Middle East, international resources, and committed missionaries from the Middle East and India have also contributed greatly to the mission’s success.

I gratefully remember the many families, full-timers, missionaries, benefactors, prayer supporters, and friends who have played a significant role in this journey. They have gone to Africa, prayed, supported financially, contributed their time and talents, and encouraged tired missionaries. The mission belongs to God, and He has used many generous people to carry it forward.

MISSION AND JY

Africa opened a new path for JY and created opportunities for many other missions. It challenged us to come out of our comfort zones – to cross the barriers of language, gender, nationality, culture, geography, and personal limitations.

The African experience has also given families, young people, and teenagers formation and confidence. They have discovered the importance of evangelisation and the need to cross borders – not just those between nations, but those created by fear, insecurity, culture, and personal limitations. 

Mission has touched many lives and inspired people to discover greater vocations. Africa has taught JY that mission is not something reserved for a few specially chosen people. Mission is a call for everyone.

POSSIBILITIES AND DREAMS

Millions of young people in Africa still wait to hear the salvation story of Jesus Christ. Africa has an enormous young population. At the same time, we see a generation increasingly influenced by social media, materialism, loneliness, and empty promises. Millions struggle with poverty, hunger, unemployment, and lack of opportunities. Yet Africa is also experiencing enormous economic and social transformation. This is a critical moment for evangelisation.

We have an opportunity to reach a generation before they become deeply attached to addictions and empty promises that cannot satisfy the human heart. We need to approach this generation with the Holy Bible, a witnessing life, genuine love, formation, and the message of Jesus Christ. The future of mission requires passion, commitment, sacrifice, prayer, formation, and courageous missionaries who are willing to cross borders.

OUR CALL

Jesus reminds us: The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few (Matthew 9:37). Looking back at the journey that began with five years of prayer, I realise that God was preparing me long before I understood His plan. That first trip to Uganda in 2010 was not simply the beginning of a journey across a continent. It was the beginning of a deeper understanding of my call.

Africa taught me that missionary life is not about what we can accomplish through our own strength. It is about allowing God to work through our availability, our commitment, our weaknesses, and our willingness to say YES.

If you want to experience real humanity, discover the depth of God’s love, be a missionary. If you want to touch lives while allowing your own to be transformed, be a missionary. The harvest is plentiful. The labourers are few.

An industrialist in the Middle East for 26 years, Santosh Mathew is the JY African Mission Director. He is married to Biji and they have four children.