History
History of Kafakumba
The roots of Kafakumba stretch back more than fifty years to the heart of the D.R. Congo (DRC), where missionaries Ken and Lorraine Enright began serving in the 1950s. Through danger, war, and many near-death experiences, they remained faithful to God’s call.
When the ministry moved to Zambia in 1999, the vision expanded into what is now Kafakumba Transformational Outreach. Out of this center of discipleship have grown other branches of ministry, including the Training Center —with the Pastors’ School at its heart, School, Clinic (Medical Center), Church, God’s Kids, Well Drilling, Journey of Transformation, and Logistics.
From a humble beginning to a thriving training center, school, and clinic, Kafakumba’s story is one of God’s faithfulness—equipping leaders, caring for the sick, and sharing the hope of Christ with thousands.
What does "Kafakumba" mean?
The name comes from Lake Kafakumba in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where the mission was originally established. Storks lived at the lake, but the local people killed many of them. The lake was named “Kafakumba”, which means “the stork died” or “the dead stork.”
When the ministry was moved to Zambia in 1999 following an escalation of conflict in the DRC, the name came, too. They purchased the property from an old trucking company in the Copperbelt Province of Northern Zambia and God provided a way to purchase it, so they developed it into a training center.
However, in Zambia, “Kafakumba” sounds similar to Kafwa Nkumba” the local words for “the small pig died” or “the small dead pig.” This caused some curiosity as the people wondered what sort of new neighbors would name their place “The Dead Pig.” Despite the initial confusion, the past several years have proven that Kafakumba is actually a wonderful example of how God’s love can transform lives and bring LIFE!
Where we've come from...
In 1999 when the Enrights moved to Zambia from DRC, they felt led to buy an old trucking company (pictured below) that was up for sale. It wasn’t much to look at then, but it’s come a long way!
KAFAKUMBA 1999
Where we are TODAY...
The Training Center can sleep about 250 people in the dorms (on the right of the picture) but can accommodate around 1,000 in the sizable auditorium (green roof in top middle of the Training Center). We have grown in size as well as ministries.
PRESENT DAY
Where We Are In Africa
Zambia is the slightly “U” shaped country just south of the (much larger) country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where the Enright family spent much of their ministry.
Zambia is roughly the size of the state of Texas. Kafakumba is very close to the DRC border in the northern central part of Zambia which is called the Copperbelt Province, because of its rich natural resources in mining.
Zambia
History of our Founders
The Enright Family
Ken & Lorraine Enright
Rev. Kenneth D. Enright
You can read about Ken and Lorraine’s lives and ministry in the book “A Deep Gladness” by Gina Riendeau (available on Amazon).
Rev. Enright (miraculously) lived to the ripe old age of 83. He passed away peacefully on the 9th of June 2006 at his home in Zambia, Africa.
Rev. Enright was born on 27 July 1922 in Chicago, Illinois to John J. and Ruth (Broomfield) Enright. He graduated from Taylor University in 1945 and also received a degree from Asbury Theological Seminary. He also did additional study at Northern Baptist Seminary and the Kennedy School of Missions at Hartford Theological Seminary.
On the 26th of May 1945, he married the former Lorraine Farrier at a ceremony in Hillman, Michigan. Together, they joined the General Board of Global Missions of the Methodist Church in 1949 and after language school in Belgium, accompanied by their sons (Ken and John), they moved to the Belgian Congo in 1950.
Rev. Enright was a pilot, teacher and evangelist who served in various missionary capacities in a country that has undergone a series of name changes: Belgian Congo, Zaire, and currently known as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Together, they worked in Mulunguishi, Kolwezi, Sandoa, Lubumbashi, Manono and Kafakumba.
When civil war broke out after the Congo received its independence, Rev. Enright piloted a small plane belonging to the mission. For mission personnel in some of the remote areas, the plane was the only means of escape to the cities when fighting neared their stations. The base of their mission work shifted to Zambia in 1999 due to the conflict in the DRC.
Rev Enright’s wife, Lorraine Enright, along with their daughter Elinda Enright (Steury), and son, John Enright and his wife, Kendra Enright, were in Kolwezi, Zaire when rebels invaded on 13 May 1978. The rebels were searching for Rev. Enright to kill him but he had previously flown to a different town on mission business and the local people were able to defuse the situation and rescue his family after a week of uncertainty.
Lorraine Farrier Enright
Lorraine Enright passed away peacefully on the 10th of August 2016 at her home in Zambia, Africa. She was 91 years old.
She was born September 13, 1924 to Esther Lundeen Farrier and Nelson Grover Farrier in Michigan. After completing teacher’s training at County Normal, she continued her education at Taylor University in Indiana. She married Kenneth Enright on May 26, 1945 and graduated from Asbury College in 1947 with a Bachelors Degree in Philosophy and Religion.
She was a loving and devoted wife and mother. Her focus in ministry was with women and children. She started a ministry to over 500 children in the villages of Zambia called “God’s Kids” (which is still going today and was the seed for the Kafakumba Christian School) and continued attending God’s Kids until the day before she passed away. Her passion in life was to teach young children about the love of Jesus.
Kafakumba is largely a family organization. Many of Ken and Lorraine’s children, grandchildren, and their spouses are still very involved in Kafakumba. If not directly on site, then in various roles of accounting, funding, and praying. Most of the grandchildren of Ken and Lorraine are married with their own children, but for the sake of visual simplicity we’ve only included their immediate grandchildren.
Ken & Denise Enright
Kenneth Nelson Enright, 71, passed away on March 23, 2018, in Urbana, Illinois, surrounded by family. He was born in New Vienna, Ohio.
Kenneth grew up in the Katanga province and spoke fluent Swahili. He attended school in Mulunguishi, Sandoa, Sakeji boarding school, and briefly in New Haven, CT and Fort Wayne, IN while in the United States.
With no experience or engineering education, Kenneth started various manufacturing companies. He successfully made lapidary machines and jewelry, before settling on his hunting interest, and manufacturing components for the sporting goods industry. With his wife Denise Enright, he founded Altamont Company in 1978, a design, manufacturing and technology company. In 2008, their sons Chester, Merlin and Patrick joined the business. Kenneth also supported a school in Congo and a variety of large scale economic development projects including the woodworking shop. His family continues to support various large projects at Kafakumba.
John & Kendra Enright
Rev. John Enright passed away on 12/26/17 as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident. John’s wife Kendra was critically injured, but survived and is retired, living at their home in Zambia, Africa.
In 1973, after graduating from Ball State University in Indiana , John and Kendra Enright obeyed God’s call to serve as United Methodist missionaries in Africa. Initially, they joined John’s parents, Ken and Lorraine Enright in Botswana, where John served as a pilot for Enright Flight Ministries (now “Enright Foundational Ministries”); and Kendra, a nurse, established medical clinics and a pharmacy.
Later they followed the Lord’s footsteps to D.R. Congo where their work included evangelism, teaching, and church planting.
In 1997, war drove them out of the DRC, and they relocated to Zambia where they purchased nearly 50 acres from an old trucking company. In what they describe as a miracle, that once barren land became the site of the Kafakumba Training Center. A lumber mill and woodworking shop were established. Local materials were used for building and for making furniture and doors. Jobs were created where there had been none.
John Enright had a deep passion to help rural communities in Africa. Many have heard the old adage “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and he feeds himself for a lifetime.” John took this one step further and said “go fishing with him every day and make sure he manages to catch fish and feed himself.”
John along with his son, Nathan spent over 15 years developing and perfecting a modified version of the Kenyan Top-bar beehive and the unique method of suspending them in trees for the safety and benefit of the bee colony. They went on to develop their own bee hive manufacturing process and bee hive factory with a focus on using only sustainably grown pine and eucalyptus wood.
This furthered their progress toward the goal of providing the highest quality honey worldwide while uplifting African rural communities as well as aiding the local ecology through biodiversity.
Elaine (Enright) & Dick Fischer
Elaine, daughter of Ken and Lorraine Enright, has been a faithful supporter of Kafakumba. Her role has been especially meaningful through the gift of prayers and encouragement. She continues to stand alongside the mission with a spirit of faith, generosity, and support, which continues to be a blessing.
Eileen (Enright) & John Ledgerwood
After graduating from Taylor University in 1980 with a degree in Business Administration, Eileen worked in the accounting field in the Daytona Beach area. She was born and raised in the Congo and speaks both Swahili and French. Eileen has over 30 years of experience in the preparation of personal, business, and not-for-profit tax returns and an extensive knowledge of financial statement and payroll preparation.
Eileen and her husband, John R. Ledgerwood, through their CPA business are deeply involved in Enright Foundational Ministries, our 501(c)3 based in Port Orange, Florida. It is the funding and managing not-for-profit arm of Kafakumba Transformational Outreach (KTO).
Elinda (Enright) & Nate Steury
Elinda and Nate were both born in Africa (Nate in Kenya, Elinda in DRC) and raised as missionary kids. They met at boarding school in Kenya – the Rift Valley Academy.
Nate’s father and mother (Dr. Ernie and Sue Steury) have a book written about God’s work through their lives called “Miracle at Tenwek” available on Amazon.
Nate and Elinda visited Zambia often during their 20+ years in Florida while Nate served as a pastor and Elinda as a nurse and nursing professor. Throughout that time, Nate helped teach at Pastors’ School.
God called them to move to Zambia in 2013 to help in the ministry here. They continue to reside here and are thrilled to have 3 of their 4 children and their families expected to be living and working in Zambia by 2026. All 4 of their children remain involved and committed to the ministry.
Elinda helps run the clinic and also is deeply invested in the children at the school as well as every aspect of the ministries and lives of the Kafakumba community.
Nate wears many hats, but is primarily a Pastor, the Director of Transformational Ministries (his passion) and also Treasurer and Administrator of most of the ministries.