Joseph Naimodu

When Joseph Naimodu arrived at CMU in 2006 – fresh off the airplane from Kenya – he struggled to remember the names of all the people he met. “Everyone looked the same,” he recalls.

But over three years studying theology and international development studies at CMU, many of those strange faces have become close friends.

In fact, when he looks back at his time at CMU, people are what stand out. “I think we have a great community here, and they have made studying easier for me,” says Naimodu, who graduated with a three-year Bachelor of Arts degree.

Now Naimodu is returning to his Maasai community, which sits on the edge of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. There he will be working for his church, Olepolos Community Mennonite Church, directing a child development project in partnership with Compassion International.

And while he’s excited to see his family and friends again, and tend his farm, he’ll leave knowing he’s leaving a new “family” behind in Canada. “Before I came here people said, “Oh, North Americans are very individualist. They don’t care about other people.” That certainly wasn’t the case here. I’ll miss this community.”