Jun 23, 2022
In the latest update from our MSC brothers in the Philippines, we learn of their ongoing commitment to helping survivors of Typhoon Odette to regain security and quality of life.
On June 10th, the MSC Task Force Typhoon Odette travelled to Guilotungan Island in Cordova, Cebu, to assess the needs of the local community who are suffering the ongoing effects of the damage caused by the typhoon. The assessment took place in order to identify those households who are still in need of help in the reconstruction of safe, secure homes. According to initial reports in the aftermath of the typhoon, 90% of the houses in this community had been completely destroyed. Following their review, the team were able to identify more than 170 households in this island community who are still living in “temporary shelters and makeshift houses”.
The MSC Typhoon Odette Housing Project has already made tremendous strides in rehoming families who were left with nothing when the typhoon struck in December 2021. Construction work has been ongoing across Bayagnan Island in Surigao City since March, with recent blessing ceremonies taking place across the district as MSCs prayed for families beginning a new chapter in their new homes.
The relief work continues as our MSCs, along with a superb team of volunteers and helpers, begin preparations for further aid efforts to assist vulnerable families in the Guilotungan Island region. Please keep our MSC brothers, and the families and communities in their care, in your prayers as they work together on Guilotungan Island and beyond to rebuild for a hopeful future.
Images via the Facebook page for the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc.
PLEASE HELP OUR MSCS IN THE PHILIPPINES
Jun 16, 2022
A new term has begun at the Chevalier Training Centre in Fiji, where every year, up to 75 underprivileged boys and young men are given the opportunity to learn the skills they need to find employment and strengthen their prospects for the future.
Established by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in 1992, the Chevalier Training Centre is a vocational institute located in Wainadoi, in Namosi, Fiji, which is managed by the Chevalier Youth Trust Board. The Centre offers a two-year programme in several subjects, including cabinet making, carpentry, automotive studies, farm management, and welding and fabrication.
“We target those youths who are from poor family backgrounds, those who have been neglected by their families, or have been abused and those who have dropped out of school,” explains the Facebook page for the Chevalier Training Centre. With the Centre running on a residential basis for students to live and study on-site, the programme does not simply focus solely on practical skills and education, but also works with a “holistic approach, in order to develop the potential in each student,” incorporating life skills such as time management and the organisation of personal finances.
Earlier this year, we at the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart featured the Chevalier Training Centre in our 2022 World Projects Appeal, in support of the tremendous work they do for young men who would otherwise have very few options for a happy, healthy, fulfilled life. “Our mission is to help our students face life with confidence and dignity,” said the CTC community, at the time of the appeal. “We meet needs in Fiji which are not met by most of our other educational institutions. The Centre has a special interest in male youths from broken homes, those caught in patterns of rejection, and those who have been in prison or in trouble with the police. Our priority is to assist those who have the least hope.”
New beginnings
This first assembly with the new Year 1 students for the current academic year took place at the beginning of May.
“It began with the flag raising ceremony led by the Head Boy, Deputy Head Boy and Bell Ringer,” reported the Chevalier Training Centre’s Facebook page. “After the flag was raised, the Fiji National Anthem was sung. Then we had the introduction of all involved in the school in trying to help our young men become good leaders in the future.”
The MSC Novice Master, Fr Tetoaiti, led the introductions, followed by the five novices who assist in the Religious Education department, and the staff and students. Everyone present introduced themselves to the group, while the students shared their expectations of what they hope to gain from their time at the training centre.
Following the first assembly and introductions, the Centre ran one if its regular fire drills, organised by their Fire Warden, Mr Rajendra Nand. As part of the procedure, one of the students rings the church bell every 15 seconds, and all students make their way from their workshops down to the evacuation assembly area, where a head count takes place.
    
On May 6th, the Centre celebrated its opening Mass, which welcomed the first-year students, and blessed the school community, including its leaders and staff. The Mass was celebrated by Fr Tamati, Provincial Leader of the MSC Province of the Pacific Islands, and was a very special way to mark the beginning of what promises to be another successful year for the CTC community.
Images via the Facebook page for the Chevalier Training Centre.
IF YOU CAN, PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MINISTRY IN FIJI
Jun 14, 2022
“It’s time to sow seeds in South Sudan. The rains have finally arrived and the whole school is out in the afternoons cultivating. There is a celebratory feel to the whole affair, or at least there would be for me if it wasn’t so hot and humid. The students of Loreto Rumbek are utterly undeterred by such trivial matters like working in an environment where you could fry an egg on a stone. No matter the weather, they are out with their jembes (a sort of bent shovel that everyone uses here) and watering cans, tilling, weeding, and tending their crops. In a matter of weeks, land that had previously looked totally dry and lifeless will be green and thriving, with plants growing taller than me. Just this evening on a walk around the campus, a couple of them were sitting in their plot, tired but justifiably proud of their work.
Food insecurity is a constant threat, and many people are just one bad rainy season away from serious malnutrition. The governor of the state has designated Friday as a day for cultivation and has mandated that all public offices are closed to facilitate the work. In the Catholic University where I am now working in the afternoons, lecturers will take advantage of the three-week break in between semesters to go back to their villages to farm their land. Farming here is more than a serious business; it is a way of life.”
“[We are sowing] a seed that will flourish in a future yet to come. That will be a harvest worth waiting for.”
“This time of year is the most challenging. By now, many families will have used their last food stores and it is a delicate balancing act deciding how long to wait before harvesting. The longer they wait, the greater the amount of food grown, but sometimes time is a luxury that families cannot afford. It is a situation that is very much part of the Irish story. While we are now a prosperous, developed country, with a thriving, modern agricultural sector, we have inherited memories of what it was like not to have enough to eat and to be forced to leave our country or starve. They are so powerful that they continue to shape our identity even today.
It’s not all work though in Loreto. Three afternoons a week, the students have sports, and they approach them with their typical boundless enthusiasm. By the time I venture out around 5:00pm, the temperature has dropped to a more reasonable 36C. While I wouldn’t manage five minutes (a wildly optimistic estimate) running up and down the pitch, the girls have already been busy for an hour playing volleyball, basketball, and soccer. We are in the process of setting up netball and already there is a growing list of names who want to sign up.
One of the first albums I ever bought myself was by a Cork band called The Sultans of Ping FC. Aside from having an off-beat, energetic sound, they espoused a philosophy of world peace through football. That’s a lesson we’re happy to practice here. Sports are about more than exercise and fun. They teach our young people the value of fair play, teamwork, and determination. Our school has adopted a policy for many years of including people from different ethnic groups to help promote unity and peace. A game of volleyball with students from all around South Sudan may not seem like much in the grander scheme of things, but it sows a seed that will flourish in a future yet to come. That will be a harvest worth waiting for.”
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
Jun 9, 2022
Sincere thanks to all who took part in our recent fundraising event for the children of the Holy Family Care Centre, a care facility run by the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, with the support of the MSC, in Ofcolaco, South Africa. The fundraising event took place at the Sacred Heart Church on the Western Road, Cork, across the last weekend of May, and raised a running total of €5,200 for the Holy Family community, with donations still coming in.
The plant and cake sale took place during the weekend Masses, where local treats such as home-made brown bread and fresh free-range eggs were also on sale. Teas and coffees were available for all to enjoy while they browsed, while John and Richie kept the atmosphere light and lively with marvellous music on the accordion and mandolin.
A group of five alpacas took a star turn over the weekend, as Pat and Nora Casey from Macroom were kind enough to bring them along to take part in our fundraiser. “A few of alpacas were due a grooming session,” reported Fr John Fitzgerald, our MSC Missions Office Director. “Luckily, Fr John Finn was at hand with his farming skills to shape their fringes and add to their overall good looks.”
Founded in 2002, the Holy Family Care Centre in South Africa has been run by the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart with the support of the MSC for 20 years, under the leadership of Sr Sally Duigan FDNSC. The Holy Family Care Centre is an invaluable facility for young children who are very ill and who, in many cases, have been orphaned or abandoned. These children are primarily HIV positive and are in need of specialised care. With the resources to accommodate 70 children, the Centre’s facilities are stretched to full capacity and beyond on a daily basis; Sr Sally admits that the team at the Centre does its best never to turn a child away, and the Sisters there sometimes find themselves with 80 children in their care.
“The reasons for admission to the Holy Family Centre vary, but many children have been abandoned, sexually abused, physically abused, orphaned, or made vulnerable because of HIV/AIDS,” says Sr Sally. “Some come from horrific backgrounds and arrive here very ill, malnourished, frightened, lacking social skills, and generally very bewildered.”
The Holy Family Care Centre is, above all, a place of family, unity, and love. “We love these children unconditionally,” says Sr Sally. “It doesn’t take long for them to feel at home and to change once they feel loved and cared for.”
    
A sanctuary for children in need, the team at the Holy Family Care Centre care for the children on a 24/7 basis, and the Centre feels more like a home to one big happy family. The availability of funding is an ongoing concern, as the Centre relies on donations and the generosity of MSC mission friends and the local community for the upkeep of buildings and equipment, and to be able to continue doing the work that they do – “[giving] our children love, security, and care, in the hope they will thrive,” in the words of Sr Sally.
“Since our parishioners here in Cork cannot visit Holy Family, or help them directly, the plant and cake sale is a wonderful way of supporting Sr Sally and her team in keeping the Centre going, without having to worry about the immediate future,” said Fr John. “In addition, it was great fun for all involved!”
    
IF YOU CAN, PLEASE SUPPORT THE HOLY FAMILY COMMUNITY
Jun 2, 2022
At the end of May, the MSC community of Bayagnan Island in Surigao City came together to give their blessing to the new homes constructed by the MSC Typhoon Odette Housing Project, and to pray for the families who will live in them.
Hundreds of thousands of families were displaced from their homes last December, when Typhoon Odette hit the Philippines to devastating effect. The strongest storm of the year, the super-typhoon killed hundreds, injured many more, and laid waste to hundreds of thousands of homes, many of which were completely destroyed.
In March, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in the Philippines began distribution of housing materials to five districts across Bayagnan Island, and with true community spirit, everyone involved contributed to making the project a great success. The materials provided have allowed for the repair and construction of safe, secure residences for over 330 households who had been left homeless by the typhoon.
The end of May saw MSCs from the Surigao District, together with Msgr. Edito Alcala DCS, lead a beautiful blessing ceremony for all of the families involved in the housing project.
“This housing project was established to help the families who were greatly devastated by Typhoon Odette in 2021,” read a placard mounted at the blessing ceremony. “It is made possible through the support of MSC mission partners, friends, and Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) all over the world.”
Earlier in the year, Irish Provincial Superior Fr Carl Tranter MSC received a letter from Fr Richie Gomez MSC, community leader at the MSC Centre for the Poor in the Philippines, with deep gratitude for the support of our mission friends in the Irish Province at a time of real and urgent need. “I would like to thank you for your untiring support to the Philippine Province,” he wrote. “We are your extended arms, feet, mind, and heart in reaching the poor, and now with our typhoon survivors.”
Following weeks and months of grief and suffering, and an enormous struggle to rebuild lives that had been shattered by the effects of the typhoon, it is a true blessing to see the hope, joy, and spirit of togetherness and unity that shone through on this special day. We offer up our prayers with those of our MSC brothers in the Philippines, and we wish every blessing of the Sacred Heart upon them, and upon all of the families beginning a fresh new chapter in their new homes.
Images via the Facebook page for the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc.
Please click here to watch a video of the blessing of the MSC Typhoon Odette Housing Project,
via the MSC Mission Office Facebook page.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MINISTRY IN THE PHILIPPINES
May 26, 2022
At the end of April, the MSC Centre for the Poor in the Philippines marked their first General Assembly, where 270 members of the co-operative committed themselves to the Centre, to its ethos, and to being “Food Security Frontliners” in the ongoing struggle to feed the hungry while protecting the earth and its natural resources.
At the MSC Centre for the Poor in Butuan, the MSC community use natural resources to give struggling families the chance to build a life of self-sufficiency and dignity, while protecting and nurturing the local ecosystem. Their core values focus on sustainable farming, environmental advocacy, zero-waste management, fair trade, and promoting a simple lifestyle, with emphasis on the value of sharing and spirituality of the heart.
The MSC Centre for the Poor Agriculture Cooperative (MSC-CEPAGCO) “is bound by the spirit of generosity and resilience, working towards a healthy, sustainable, and empowered society,” according to the centre’s vision and mission. “Together, we are building communities that care for the environment and look towards a better, more holistic growth of society as stewards of God’s creation.”
With current projects including a rainwater filtration system, their “Be a Food Security Frontliner” programme, livestock and vegetable farming, a Living Museum, their Farm to Table system, a scholarship programme for local youths, and several Typhoon Odette relief projects, the community at the Centre are going from strength to strength in their mission. Their most recent developmental plan encompasses several expansion programmes, incorporating the establishment of three greenhouses, an organic farm supplies store, an eco lab, a co-op office, a classroom for students, an organic fertilizer production scheme, and improved post-harvest facilities. Their current goals include:
- Caring for the earth, as our common home.
- Continuing in the development of farming systems that use sustainable practices.
- Transforming and inspiring lives.
- Encouraging participation through community engagement.
A total of 23 local youths are currently availing of the Centre’s scholarship programme, with studies in a wide variety of subjects including Accounting, Education, Environmental Science, Psychology, Business Administration & Marketing, Tourism Management, Computer Science, Civil Engineering, Information Technology, Agriculture, Mathematics, and Nursing. In addition, the Centre’s “Farm to Table” scheme is providing local employment and encouraging small businesses in the establishment of a fair-trade system based on an inclusive economy, whereby nobody will be left out through “farm to table connections” that bypass large commercial traders.
Established in 2018, our MSC community at the Centre for the Poor have since been working in harmony with nature to bring hope to vulnerable families and individuals living in areas rife with poverty and unemployment.
“As long as there are people who believe and trust us and regaining one’s relationship with the environment, this work will sustain,” reports Fr Richie Gomez, community leader at the MSC Centre for the Poor. “We are an emerging social enterprise that allows individuals to create regenerative livelihoods that nourish the soul and take care of the planet.”
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MINISTRY IN THE PHILIPPINES
