Aug 4, 2022
As the people of the Philippines continue to rebuild their homes, lives, and livelihoods following the devastation caused by Typhoon Odette in December 2021, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart are ongoing in efforts to help with repair and restoration.
In the middle of July, the Facebook page for the MSC Mission Office in the Philippines reported that the MSC Task Force Odette had held a ground-breaking ceremony in Gilutongan Island, located in Cordova, Cebu, to mark the beginning of the housing project here.
The MSC Typhoon Odette Housing Project has been in force throughout the first half of this year, with construction beginning in Bayagnan Island in Surigao City in March, and now, with the next phase of the project underway, more than 160 families in Gilutongan Island will be able to live safely and comfortably once again in secure homes.
Our Sacred Heart Sisters, the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, are also facilitating the rebuilding of homes, and the restoration of livelihoods in the Philippines – most recently, for fishermen in Barangay. The OLSH community in the Philippines donated motorised fishing boats to the fishing community of Barangay Caw-oy, and these boats were named in honour of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
Together, we pray for the continued success of these relief programmes, for all of our MSC brothers and OLSH Sisters in the Philippines, and for the families and communities they serve.
Gilutongan Island images via the Facebook page for the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc.
PLEASE HELP OUR SACRED HEART FAMILY IN THE PHILIPPINES
Aug 2, 2022
MINISTRY FOR WAR REFUGEES IN MOZAMBIQUE
In March 2018, our MSC mission was established in the diocese of Pemba, Mozambique – a very poor part of the country, with little to no church infrastructure or active pastoral ministry. Since then, the nature of the mission has had to be open to change in the face of war, violence, political unrest, and natural disasters, while in the midst of it all, local communities continue to grow together in faith and prayer.
Since the beginning of the war, the district of Metuge has been an area where those who have been displaced, or forced to flee from their homes, have taken refuge in camps. Here, they have been welcomed with an open heart, despite the region’s serious struggles with severe poverty.
When refugees arrive initially, having had no choice but to flee, the first actions taken are practical ones, incorporating the distribution of food, clothing, hygiene products, and any necessary medication. From there, every effort is made to enable displaced members of the community to become more self-sufficient, generating their own income in order to be able to support their families with a sense of dignity and self-esteem.
DIGNITY & UNITY IN METUGE
CHICKEN FARMING PROGRAMME
A chicken farming programme aims to involve 50 young people living in the Metuge region. Chickens will be reared in order to generate income, while encouraging the development of practical skills. In addition to being part of a community project, the young people involved will be able to take the skills they learn and put them into practice in future roles, promoting a sense of personal independence and self-sufficiency as part of their family unit.
RADIO WITHOUT BORDERS
Diocesan radio station Radio Without Borders is the main means of communication for the faithful within the region. The purchase of a new van aims to provide easier access to the radio station for many who may not have the facilities in place to be able to listen easily. The van will travel around the diocese, visiting refugee camps to ensure that everyone can be included in church activities and avail of helpful productions in local languages, supporting people who are surviving from day to day, having been torn from their homes and all they know.
IF YOU CAN, PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MOZAMBIQUE MISSION
Aug 2, 2022
HELPING THE HOMELESS IN BRAZIL
Founded in 2012, the Albergue da Misericórdia is a shelter for homeless men run by MSC missionaries in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro. Translated from Portuguese, the word “misericórdia” encompasses the idea of mercy, compassion, and charity – and that is exactly what the community at this centre does.
The shelter currently houses 43 men between the ages of 18 and 59. These men are provided with food, health care, and bathing facilities, along with a safe, secure place to stay. The team here also help with sourcing important documentation, such as birth certificates, identity cards, and other essential papers required to contact family, gain work, and reintegrate with society.
This care service supplies residents with three meals and two snacks every day, while also providing facilities for personal hygiene, medical and dental care, psychological care, education, and clothing. The centre also welcomes homeless men who do not wish to seek shelter, but who visit to bathe and eat when they need to, knowing they have a safe place to turn.
“One of the main goals of the centre is to welcome, accompany, and guide homeless men who want to effectively change their lives, supporting them in the process of social and spiritual reintegration.”
OPEN HEARTS IN RIO DE JANEIRO
Residents at the centre take part in a scheduled routine of daily tasks, encouraging a sense of discipline and responsibility. They clean and care for the house and outdoor areas, maintain the bathrooms and kitchen, separate and store food that arrives via donations, help with food preparation, deal with waste disposal and recycling, tend to the vegetable garden, and care for the pigs raised in the outdoor area of the hostel grounds.
MSCs at the Albergue da Misericórdia depend largely on financial donations from benefactors and the local community to carry out their ongoing work in helping the homeless. They also receive a small income from food drives and the sale of second-hand clothes and goods at the São Pedro de Alcântara Church, along with a subsidy for 15 men from the São Gonçalo City Hall.
“Today, our project needs help,” writes Fr Jean Francisco Monteiro Aguiar MSC. “Our shelter can hold up to 50 men. The City Council subsidises us for 15 users, and it is our responsibility to find resources to help the rest. Now, we must ask for help to maintain this project, which has such a deep social impact.”
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MINISTRY IN BRAZIL
Jul 28, 2022
In mid-July, our MSC mission in Mozambique welcomed the Bishop of the Diocese of Pemba, Dom Juliasse, to the district of Metuge, where he celebrated Mass and spent a very special day with the community of St Antônio de Metuge.
Appointed Bishop of Pemba earlier this year, Bishop António Juliasse Ferreira Sandramo is an active voice in the ongoing ministry in the face of fear and corruption in the region. His day spent with the Fr Eduardo and the community of St Antônio de Metuge was an uplifting one for everyone involved, beginning with a beautiful Mass and concluding with a special lunch, including a cake fit for the occasion!
The Bishop also met with representatives from the community and government administrators from the district, in order to discuss the challenges and issues faced by local people every day. “It was a very positive meeting,” reports the MSC Mozambique Facebook page.
Our MSC mission in Metuge continues in its ministry for all those in need, caring for local families and communities struggling with extreme poverty and hardship, alongside war refugees who have been forced to flee from their homes in indescribable fear and uncertainty. Together, we pray that they be blessed with continued strength to face the challenges that are currently part of daily life in Pemba.
Images via the MSC Mozambique Facebook page.
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Jul 21, 2022
Soon after arriving in South Sudan in November 2020 for my current appointment, I received a WhatsApp message from Fr Abzalón, the Superior General of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, wishing me the best with the new mission and saying that he would like to visit one day. In the height of the pandemic, travelling anywhere seemed unlikely, and the possibility of coming to Rumbek would test even the most credulous of believers.
Less than two years later, though, I was in Juba to welcome him early on a Wednesday morning. When I first arrived in 2017 on a research trip, the airport was a simple tent, with no chairs that worked, and a length of runway. Now we have graduated to a building with one carousel, a sort of Central African Knock International Airport if you will. After a brief prayer to St Jude, he successfully negotiated the labyrinthine entry visa process, and we were off.
Challenges and resilience
Part of the Superior General’s mission was to see what was happening in Diocese of Rumbek and to explore if there was a need for a greater MSC presence. To that end, we spent our first day meeting with the head of religious missionaries in the country and then the coordinator of the Jesuit Refugee Service (both coincidentally Irish) to get the lay of the land and a sense of the reality of the people. That evening, we had dinner with Christian Carlassare, the newly ordained Bishop of the Diocese of Rumbek. He returned to the country just last March to be ordained, following an attempt on his life in 2021. Over cremated nyama choma (a speciality of grilled meat), the Bishop told him of the many challenges the Diocese faced, but also about the resilience of the people who persevered through a long fight for Independence and the Civil War of 2013.
Before sunrise, we were back to the airport for our flight to Lakes State. The closest approximation to the domestic departures experience is if you imagine the chaos in Dublin Airport earlier this year, then squeeze it all into one-tenth of the space, occasionally switch off the power, raise the temperature about 20C, and then you’re about half-way there. However, our guardian angels were working time and a half, and by 8:10am we had arrived in Rumbek and were heading to Loreto, which would be Fr Abzalón’s base for the week.
Exploring Loreto and beyond
Fr Abzalón had the opportunity to explore the Loreto compound, beginning with the Mary Ward Primary Health Care Clinic. In addition to looking after all the students and staff, it has responsibility for nine local villages encompassing 27,000 people. Most come for vaccinations, nutritional support, and especially malaria treatment. In the primary school, there are 1,400 day pupils, with a further 340 boarding girls in the secondary school. We are coming to the end of the first semester, so everyone was intent on their revision for exams. That afternoon he came to the Catholic University of South Sudan, Rumbek, where I work as principal. There, he met the young men and women who are training to be the teachers and the business people of the future.
It’s hard to believe in recent years that to drive into the east of Rumbek would mean that you were taking your life in your hands. It would be highway robbery, except there was no highway and if you got away with just being robbed you would be doing well. With the arrival of the new governor last year there have been far fewer problems. On Friday, we joined the final-year students and some of the staff to be part in a peace walk to the Parish of the Good Shepherd in Thonaduiel. We started off like good pilgrims at dawn and arrived eight hours later and 45km away, finishing with a short time of prayer. It was a witness for the villages we walked through of the country that could be built together if peace were to flourish.
South Sudan celebrated its Independence on the 9th of July 2011, and every year since then it has been a day for processions, speeches, and sports in Freedom Square. They have an understandable sense of pride over the establishment of their nation, but are conscious too of the outstanding issues that remain, most notably peace building, the rights of women, and the first elections that are due to take place next year. The Loreto students were out in force for the day and their marching was featured on national TV, to the great excitement of all the girls.
Pioneering work
The next few days allowed Fr Abzalón the chance to visit some of the local villages in Maker Kuei, where we are based. People live in simple conditions with a quiet dignity and have a genuine warmth for visitors. He took a cooking class to learn how to make combo (a type of stew containing vegetables, peanuts, and meat) over a charcoal fire. He also attended some of my CRE classes in the secondary school and shared what life is like in Guatemala, his home country. It was a special blessing to have him celebrate our Sunday Mass for the students outdoors under the shade of the neem trees.
As his week came to a close, Fr Abzalón still had a lot to see. On Tuesday, we went to visit the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Mapourdit. The Daughters are the trailblazers of the Chevalier Family in South Sudan. They have been here for over twenty-five years and they endured many hardships before the country won Independence. Today, they continue their pioneering work in education and healthcare under the most challenging of conditions.
Thursday came around quicker than anticipated and Fr Abzalón headed back to Juba to get a COVID test and an onward flight to Rome. Looking back on his experiences he wrote to us that same week:
“The mission … is a wonderful and prophetic project of education and integral promotion, especially of young women. The community there struggle day by day to build and transform this challenging and complex, but at the same time, beautiful reality. The Chevalier Family is present in South Sudan.”
– Fr Abzalón Alvarado Tovar MSC
Superior General of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart
Ben Nhialic areer kek a yin,
Fr Alan
Read more from Fr Alan’s missionary journey in South Sudan:
PLEASE HELP US TO TRANSFORM LIVES IN SOUTH SUDAN
Jul 14, 2022
We were delighted to receive a letter from Sr Jenny Christie FDNSC, International Development Officer for the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (OLSH), alerting us to the latest news from our Sisters in the Sacred Heart in Burkina Faso.
A landlocked region of West Africa, Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world, with very limited natural resources and extremely harsh living conditions for many vulnerable families and communities. The Daughters of the Lady of the Sacred Heart are active in their ministry here, including the running of the Jules Chevalier School in Zagtouli, where over 500 children receive a nutritious meal alongside a vital education every day, and the heading up of a Centre for Girls in Untandeni, where young women and children – down to a little baby girl who had been abandoned under a tree near the community – receive schooling and loving care in a safe, secure place to live.
This summer, our OLSH Sisters have facilitated the sinking of a well in the Pouléba region, where the Sisters are in the process of founding a community, with plans to open a small dispensary to assist the local people. This well will be an invaluable resource for families in the extended area, where many people have to travel long distances in uncomfortable conditions simply to carry water to their homes.
Please join us in praying for our OLSH Sisters and the communities they serve, as they continue their great work in Burkina Faso and around the world.
Please click below to see a video clip of the well being sunk in Pouléba.
IF YOU CAN, PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SACRED HEART FAMILY
