Jan 23, 2020
Educating for the future in Bokungu-Ikela
The diocese of Bokungu-Ikela, located in North West of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was founded by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in 1961. Coming up to its 60th anniversary, the diocese has 15 parishes and a small clergy of 24 priests, with three MSC communities ministering in the area. Covering an area of 42,000 km, the population of the diocese is estimated at 620,000 – 30% of whom are baptised Catholics.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is ranked as one of the poorest countries in Africa, with enormous natural resources but terrible corruption at government level. The majority of parishes in the diocese are located in extremely isolated areas, where transport is difficult as the roads are in almost destroyed. Cars are rarely used, with locals sometimes travelling by motorbike, or, most often, on foot. The population depend on agriculture and livestock for their livelihoods, and their living conditions are both difficult and precarious.
The Catholic Church is one of the main sources of hope for struggling families in the region, particularly when it comes to education. However, schools in the area are severely lacking in even the most basic necessities – many children study and learn while sitting on the ground, as they have very little in terms of facilities such as benches and tables, or even notebooks and pencils. School buildings are rudimentary, often little more than straw and clay bricks in a state of disrepair.
Bishop Toussaint Iluku MSC, who became a Bishop of the diocese of Bokungu-Ikela in July 2019, is now attempting to bring some relief to students and teachers in the region by raising funds for education in the area. Over the next five years, his aim to begin repairs on existing school buildings, and to build new ones where repair is futile, giving the new generation of local children a spark of hope for a brighter future.
“I would particularly like to encourage young girls to go to school, and even later, to have their mothers back in school, so they can learn to read and write, as most women abandoned literacy classes because of lack of resources. I am convinced that the one who educates a girl prepares the future of the nation.”
The initial stages of Bishop Toussaint’s project involve building a new school in the Yetsi region, with the construction of a school building with six classrooms and an administration office estimated at approximately €66,000. The provision of education facilities for the children of the area, and future generations, is priceless, and will provide a vital resource for a region that is currently locked in a serious struggle for survival.
CAN YOU HELP OUR MISSIONARIES IN THE CONGO?
Jan 23, 2020
A recent letter from Fr Richie Gomez, community leader at the MSC Centre of the Poor in the Philippines, expresses great joy and gratitude to mission friends in the Irish Province for the generosity and enthusiasm received following our 2019 Summer Appeal, which raised funds that have allowed the Centre to continue its wonderful work in the local community and beyond.
Fr Richie sent us an update highlighting the Centre’s most recent projects, which include:
- Spearheading a relief operation for survivors of a recent earthquake in the southern Mindanao region. Together with local volunteers, the MSC community from the Centre provided victims of the earthquake with 150 sacks of rice, 220 containers of water, 250 food packs containing dried fish, milk, sugar, juices, coffee, Milo (a nutritious tonic drink), soap for personal hygiene, laundry detergent, a blanket, and a mosquito net. The relief campaign took place in mid-November 2019, following three days of urgent preparation. A 10-wheeler truck and an Elf truck full of supplies accompanied MSCs and volunteers in two large vehicles on an 11-hour journey from Butuan to Makilala town in Cotabato, at the boundary of Kidapawan. Here, MSCs and volunteers distributed their aid packs to almost a dozen different local communities.
- A scholarship for disadvantaged youths, which is currently giving 20 students the opportunity to further their education and opportunities. Many of these students from the Lumad community (a local indigenous group) live in a boarding house near the university in Butuan City, while other students are staying in their own homes where possible, or with relatives. During their spare time, they contribute to the daily work in the Centre for the Poor, and each Sunday, they attend development workshops at the Centre, which focus on elements such as life skills, Bible studies, group dynamics and social skills, and environmental awareness. The beginning of the last academic year saw an influx of applicants for the programme; however, funds remain limited, and the MSC community at the Centre for the Poor continue to help as many youths as they can.
- An Honesty Store, operating as part of the Centre’s sustainability programmes. With a focus on green economics, the Honesty Store deals in organic Lumad products provided by different local tribes. This support small scale business locally, while also promoting livelihood programmes and employment opportunities to alleviate poverty in the region.
- The on-going renovation of the Centre, with a view to harnessing renewable sources of energy (including solar energy, wind energy, and bio-fuel), can now be completed thanks to the funds raised by our 2019 Summer Appeal.
- Funds donated by the Irish Province will also allow the MSC community at the Centre to fulfil their plans for a Living Museum across a 4.7-hectare area, which will allow for reforestation in a region where natural resources have been plundered mercilessly for mining, logging, and plantations including palm oil.
“When I was sent here to establish the Centre for the Poor, my congregation and I were full of faith and confidence,” writes Fr Richie. “What makes that faith and confidence complete is the trust of those who also believe in our mission, and advocate our work. There is much to do, and it can be overwhelming, but everything is up to Him. ‘I am just a lowly servant of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word.’”
“Thank you very much to the people of the Irish Province, whose hearts extend to people they may never know, and remain full of compassion for others.”
Images via the MSC Centre for the Poor and the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc. on Facebook
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES
Jan 22, 2020
Parish of St Joseph of Bocay, Diocese of Jinotega, Nicaragua
MSCs in the parish of St Joseph of Bocay in the diocese of Jinotega, Nicaragua, are appealing for funds to build a safe and secure space for the MSC missionaries and the communities they serve in the area.
The parish of St Joseph of Bocay belongs to the diocese of Jinotega, situated in Northern Nicaragua, approximately 240km from the country’s capital, Managua. There are two parishes in the municipality, which has a population of approximately 66,000 people: San Isidro Labrador, and the parish of St Joseph of Bocay. St Joseph’s parish was established in 1992, and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have been ministering to 80 communities across the parish since November 2016. Of these 80 communities, only 30 have a church or chapel in which to gather together to pray, to reflect, to unite as a community, and to celebrate Mass and the sacraments.
The people of the parish suffer greatly with poverty and have very little. Agriculture is the main source is income for many, and for most, even this is not enough. Educational facilities are extremely poor, and there are very few resources available to local people. While the people of the region struggle to live without basic necessities on a daily basis, they find great strength and comfort in their faith, and our MSCs are living and working amongst the communities of the parish, ministering to their needs as best they can.
The scale of poverty in the area means that our missionaries face daily challenges in carrying out their pastoral ministry. Since they began their ministry in the area three years ago, our MSCs have been doing their best to carry out workshops, educational programmes, and pastoral work from a parish chapel, to improve the quality of life for local people. The construction of a parish hall would provide a secure and dedicated space for our missionaries to provide for the needs of the people of St Joseph’s in a far more effective and efficient way. Here, they will be able to train pastoral workers to address different needs and issues, have a safe and comfortable space for children’s ministry, educational workshops, catechesis, training programmes, and pastoral group work, and provide safe shelter for visiting MSCs who need a place to stay.
Our MSCs in Nicaragua are working daily to make a great difference with very little resources. With your help, we can provide them with the safety and security they need to continue to bring about positive change in an area of real and pressing need.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR NICARAGUAN MISSIONS
Jan 22, 2020
Health and Education at Berea-Albion Football Club
Cougar Park in Pretoria, South Africa, is home to Berea-Albion Football Club and Academy, where disadvantaged youths are given hope and encouragement as they strive for a better future. The academy hosts up to 60 students at a time, with 50% coming from non-privileged backgrounds and 50% coming from more fortunate circumstances.
“The majority of disadvantaged youths in our development programmes are orphans, or they come from single parent families,” says co-founder Neil Bosman. “They have struggled with poverty, HIV/AIDS, abuse, alcoholism, and poor educational backgrounds.”
There are currently 21 former Berea-Albion students playing top-level football around the world. However, there is also an awareness that not all students will reach professional level, and every player is prepared for a successful future with the combination of educational, social, and health structures taught at the academy. Students attend Bosman College, where the focus is on providing “a sound education base” as well as full professional training in football.
The academy’s motto is “Passio Pro Perfecto” (a passion for perfection), and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have been glad to be able to support them in their great work in the past.
“We sincerely thank you for any support you can provide,” says Neil Bosman. “All donations are being put to very good use as we make sure that our young footballers are housed, clothed, educated, trained, and nutritiously fed at Cougar Park.”
A donation of just €50 will provide a pair of football boots and a ball for a student,
providing essential tools in these invaluable youth development programmes.
CAN YOU HELP OUR MSC MISSIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA?
MSCs working with the Sisters of St Therese
A group of Sisters of St Therese from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are working with the MSC community in South Africa to minister to local communities in need of pastoral aid. Together, the Sisters and MSCs do great work in the area of Rabie Ridge, a very poor township in Ivory Park parish, located outside Johannesburg.
Many of the Sisters are qualified teachers, but they live on very little. They have no means of travel apart from public transport, making extended ministry more difficult, and they live on minimal food and provisions themselves.
The house in which the Sisters live has recently undergone some repairs, as it was in a terrible state – particularly the roof, which regularly let rain in. The house is now in better repair, but the Sisters are still in need of a comfortable space in which they can pray. The extension of their chapel space is estimated at a cost of just over €1,500, and this will provide the Sisters with an essential place of prayer.
The Sisters also run a feeding scheme for children in local primary school St Gemma’s, with 25 children who have been orphaned or who come from vulnerable backgrounds taking part in the programme. From Monday to Friday, the children have a nutritious lunch at 11.00am; however, the Sisters are under real pressure to maintain this due to a severe lack of funding.
It costs less than €2 per day to feed one primary school child
– a total of just over €230 for a week’s food for 25 children.
A small donation can make a great difference.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Jan 22, 2020
Pastoral care for the people of the Amazon
The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have been operating from the diocese of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, or St Gabriel da Cachoeira, for over 20 years, ministering to the riverside parishes and working with local training and diocesan administration. The diocese of São Gabriel da Cachoeira is situated in the State of Amazonas, northwest of the Brazilian Amazon. Covering the municipalities of Barcelos, Santa Isabel do Rio Negro, and São Gabriel da Cachoeira, it is larger than the state of São Paulo – and three times bigger than the country of Portugal.
Bordered by Columbia and Venezuela, the diocese is crossed by the River Negro and is covered by equatorial forests. It is nicknamed the “Head of the Dog” for its shape, and the main city of the diocese, São Gabriel da Cachoeira, has a population of approximately 45,000. About 95% of its population consists of indigenous people, divided into 23 ethnic groups and speakers of 18 local languages.
Communication with the communities along the River Negro is very poor, and often completely non-existent. Access to these community regions is almost exclusively by water, and it can take a week or more to reach the communities located furthest away, depending on the river conditions. Due to the vast distances involved, many communities can only be visited by priests three or four times a year. In the meantime, lay leaders conduct Sunday services and take over the teaching of catechesis in the absence of a priest.
Distance isn’t the only issue when it comes to the lack of pastoral care in these communities. There is also a severe lack of priests in the region, and the cost of travel is very high.
Currently, there are only five priests native to the diocese. Any other priests in the area are from other regions, providing a temporary service. Parishes often go long spells without the presence of a Catholic priest, and this leads to serious issues with the introduction of alternative theologies, such as the “theology of prosperity”, which generate great rifts and divisions between the local communities.
The local Church faces serious challenges with regard to evangelisation in the region, in addition to problems with social unrest and environmental issues, including deforestation. The MSC community in the area are working to bring hope to the indigenous people of the region who have long been begging for help.
Currently, MSC priests in the region are working from a newly established parish on the outskirts of the city of St Gabriel da Cachoeira, due to a new and worrying factor – an exodus of families from riverside communities to more urban areas. This migration has contributed greatly to existing urban issues with poverty, unemployment numbers, alcohol and drug abuse, prostitution, diseases such as AIDS, hostility towards indigenous communities, and suicide rates that top the national rankings.
This parish serves 25 communities – a total of 18 riverside communities, populated by indigenous people speaking various languages including Tukano and Nheengatú, and seven urban communities, made up of people of varied ethnicities.
MSCs in the area are doing their best to improve the quality of life for the communities they serve, but it is an ongoing struggle in the most difficult of conditions. In general, when conditions are good, it takes approximately three hours to travel from the parish headquarters to the farthest riverside community.
MSC Fr Girley writes to appeal for help for our missionary communities in the area, who are in great need of financial support in order to be able to continue their work with both urban and riverside communities in the parish. “Even in the face of challenges and difficulties, whether they be cultural, geographical, or financial, we are always confident that God’s grace and providence accompany us,” he writes. With a growing multitude of problems facing our MSCs and the local communities they serve, even the smallest donation can help to make a real difference in the lives of people facing hugely varying, but equally powerful, struggles for survival.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONARIES IN THE AMAZON
Jan 18, 2020
Gospel Reflection
Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.
The Gospel (John 1:29-34)
This is the Second Sunday of the Three Year Liturgical cycle, Year 1 (A) of the cycle, in which the Gospel readings will be from the Gospel of Matthew. But this will only begin next Sunday. We are still under the liturgical influence of the Feast of the Epiphany. Three great manifestations were recalled by the Church for the liturgy of the Feast of the Epiphany: on Epiphany itself the manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles (the Magi), at the Baptism the manifestation by the Father’s voice, and on the Sunday after this (Second of the Yearly Cycle), Jesus’ manifestation of his glory at Cana. In the earlier liturgy, the narrative of the wedding feast at Cana was read on this the second Sunday of each year. It is now read on the Third Year (C) of the cycle while other manifestations from the Baptism period, as in John’s Gospel, are read in years one and two (A and B) of the cycle.
“The Spirit will be given as a gift to the Church by Jesus.”
Thus, in today’s reading we are in the Jordan area with John the Baptist, and the text speaks of the Baptist’s witness concerning his own status and his witness to Jesus. In the Fourth Gospel, there is no account of the actual baptism of Jesus by John, as there is in the other three gospels. Yet this reading tells of what happened there. John calls Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, as if one great sin were involved in the many sins. Jesus is described as the Lamb led to the slaughter of Isaiah (53:7), and as the Passover Lamb offered up each year. By his death he will take away the sin of the world. In this Epiphany, the Baptist manifests Jesus to the world, detailing also the essential detail of his baptism at the Jordan: the Spirit coming down on Jesus and remaining on him. He stresses this point by repeating it, an emphasis in keeping with that of the other three Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. This same Spirit will be given as a gift to the Church by Jesus.
Fr Martin McNamara MSC
