Father John Kaiser Social Justice Fund
Fr. John Anthony Kaiser was a native of Maine Township, Minnesota. He served as a Mill Hill Missionary Priest in Kenya, East Africa, for 36 years. On August 24, 2000, Fr. Kaiser was found dead beside his pick-up truck near the Kenyan town of Naivasha.
Fr. Kaiser died of a gunshot wound to the back of his head. Eyewitness testimony at the September 4, 2003 inquest hearings revealed that Fr. Kaiser was “dragged out of his pick-up by two men in a saloon car moments before a gunshot rang out” on the night of his murder. (“Kenyan Daily Nation”, September 5, 2003).
Fr. Tony Kroll, a retired priest of the Saint Cloud Diocese, had, for a long time, wanted to honor Fr. Kaiser in some way. We’ve learned that Fr. Tony doesn’t give up easily.
The Father John Kaiser Social Justice Fund was established on September 11, 2014. The fund has grown nicely, thanks mostly to Fr. Tony’s personal generosity and his ability to engage others in ways to help the poor.
Recently—with the help of a Wisconsin non-profit (WCCN) which has significant experience with microloans—the Foundation made its first grant under Fr. Kaiser’s name:
$32,000 to WCCN for the purpose of supporting low-income Latin American entrepreneurs in Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Peru. Microloans work and microloans change lives.
Interested in learning more about microloans? Want to make a gift to Fr. Kaiser’s Fund?
Contact Jill Lieser at the Catholic Foundation: 320-258-7653