by Karen Moloney | Jan 31, 2023 | News, News & Media, What we do
Dignity and hope at the Chevalier Training Centre
Located in Wainadoi in the province of Namosi, Fiji, the Chevalier Training Centre opened its doors in 1992 with the aim of offering a practical education to underprivileged young men between the ages of 16 and 21.
Each year, the CTC welcomes 60 – 75 young men who come from underprivileged backgrounds, preparing them for employment and making an important contribution to local society. Many of their students have not been able to complete their secondary education, because of poverty in the home or struggles with broken family units, while others find themselves unemployed and lacking the practical skills they need to find employment.
“Our mission is to help these young men to face life with confidence and dignity,” says the CTC community. “Our priority is to assist those who have the least hope.”
    
Students are taught basic life skills such as accounting and time management, in addition to the curriculum, which includes cabinet making, carpentry, welding and fabrication, motor mechanics, farm management, and animal husbandry.
Students are asked to contribute $150 Fijian dollars, approximately €65, per year; however, many cannot afford to pay. The students also generate income for the centre, through local carpentry and construction jobs, selling their farm produce, and an annual bazaar where goods created during school workshops are sold.
This year, the Chevalier Training Centre is working to raise funds to help with day-to-day expenses, covering costs such as school fees, food, workshops and counselling, and medicine.
- €345 will pay for all students’ food for one week.
- €865 will cover school fees for students who cannot afford to pay.
- €1,730 will be dedicated to medical expenses, wellbeing workshops, and counselling sessions.
- €3,945 will pay 10% of annual staff wages.
- €4,325 will buy essential new items of furniture and linen for students.
CAN YOU HELP THE CHEVALIER TRAINING CENTRE?
Second chances at the Chevalier Hostel
Established in 1981 in Suva, in the Fiji Islands, the Chevalier Hostel provides accommodation for young men who are trying to complete their education in the face of severely limiting financial difficulties.
The hostel is currently home to 13 students, between the ages of 13 and 22. The mission of the Chevalier Hostel is to provide a family-oriented, healthy environment for vulnerable youths. The community here also helps to rehabilitate young men who have previously been in trouble with the police, and who now wish to make a fresh start.
The hostel asks for a voluntary contribution of approximately €65 from each student per year, and those that can are glad to contribute. Students themselves also contribute to the running of the hostel, with regular fundraising activities such as selling raffle tickets, or hosting bazaars featuring homegrown produce and homemade cakes and preserves.
With the Chevalier Hostel stretched to capacity, the community is appealing for help in raising money to contribute to daily expenses. “We are grateful to these generous people who support and care for our boys and we thank them sincerely.”
- €305 will buy the hostel’s food for a month.
- €520 will pay for fuel for one year.
- €870 will be dedicated to medical expenses, wellbeing workshops, and counselling.
- €22 will pay for a Maths or English tutorial.
- €435 will pay for water and electricity for the hostel for one year.
IF YOU CAN, PLEASE SUPPORT THE CHEVALIER HOSTEL
by Karen Moloney | Jan 31, 2023 | News, News & Media, What we do
For more than 35 years, young men have joined our mission in India,
answering the Lord’s call to be Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.
Today, 71 priests and 14 professed brothers are fulfilling a shared vision
to bring the compassion of the Sacred Heart to those in need.
Journeying together in the love of the Sacred Heart
In India, training to be an MSC priest is a long process, involving spiritual, intellectual, pastoral, and personal formation. The formation programme takes 10-12 years, and is divided into several stages, each focusing on different aspects of personal and spiritual development: Pre-Novitiate Formation, Graduation in Philosophy, Novitiate and Post-Novitiate Pastoral Year, and Graduation in Theology.
Pre-Novitiate Formation takes place at our formation house, Hridayalaya (the Temple of the Heart), which is situated in Mysore, a city located around 160km south-west of Bangalore. Here, a great emphasis is placed on academic and intellectual formation during the two-year Pre-Novitiate programme, ranging from spoken English for new students, to sermon preaching as deacons. As many of our students with vocations come from rural backgrounds, they require intensive training in English.
A spirit of community life is a core focus at every stage of formation. Members of the community wake up to pray together, celebrate the Holy Eucharist together daily, and spend time in meditation in order to deepen spiritual awareness. Students are trained in music, singing, washing, cleaning, cooking, and driving. The students themselves take responsibility for organising the kitchen and the weekly grocery shop, while they also take care of the garden, and must ensure that the house is kept clean and tidy. A great sense of brotherhood is nurtured here, as members celebrate birthdays and special occasions together in the spirit of family.
At present, there are 17 students and three priests in the Hridayalaya community, studying scripture, spirituality, and the history and vision of the MSC mission. Mysore student ministry includes parish ministry, education for underprivileged children, youth ministry, visits to the elderly, and prison visits, along with a dedicated daily routine of prayer, study, household chores, gardening, and meditation. After completing their Pre-Novitiate programme, students will begin a three-year graduate and philosophy programme.
MSCs in India are appealing for help with funding
college and boarding fees for the formation programme,
including travel, food, and expenses, at a total of €17,550.
IF YOU CAN, PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS IN INDIA
Family of the heart
From humble beginnings, with just 20 students when it opened its doors in 2006, the Chevalier Academy Matriculation School in Dindigul now cares for and educates 800 students. “Mrs Mary” has dedicated over a decade to serving the needs of students and staff as care-taker at the school for the past 15 years.
In turn, MSCs have taken care of Mary, a widow, by providing an education for her three daughters. One is now working, another has dedicated her life to the Lord, having joined a religious sisters’ congregation, and the youngest is currently studying nursing.
Now, the MSC Indian Union are raising funds to build a house for Mary, who currently lives in a thatched shed with no electricity, no security, and no proper facilities. The Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart are helping to fund the project, which will cost approximately €15,400 in total, removing the fear of an uncertain future for Mary and creating a safe, secure space in which Indian MSCs can provide accommodation for generations to come. In the spirit of our founder, Fr Jules Chevalier MSC, who believed that “our spirit is one of love for justice and concern for all, especially the very poor,” MSCs in India continue to extend the hand of friendship, support, and God’s love to our extended family of the heart, in response to the signs of the time and the needs of the people.
“Please keep us in your prayers as we continue in sharing our mission to love through our Formation Programme. With sincere gratitude for your support; we will keep you in our prayers during our daily mass, our every prayer, and at every meal.”
~ Fr Darwin Thatheus MSC
Indian Regional Superior
IF YOU CAN, PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS IN INDIA
by Karen Moloney | Jan 19, 2023 | News, News & Media, What we do
At the end of 2022, the Philippines Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart marked the completion of the Gilutongan Island phase of the MSC Typhoon Odette Housing Project with the blessing of the newly constructed houses in the area, just short of a year after Typhoon Odette hit the region in December 2021.
The house blessing ceremony took place at the end of November, with Fr Joel Bonza MSC (Cebu District Superior) and Fr Samuel Patriarca MSC (Director of the Philippines Mission Office), leading the celebrations, alongside several MSC priests from the Cebu District, including Fr Reynante Joseph Ga, Fr Ramil Baluran and Fr Juls Amaneo.
Hundreds of thousands of families found themselves displaced from their homes in December 2021, when Typhoon Odette hit the Philippines with devastating consequences. The super-typhoon was the strongest storm of the year, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries, and damaging – often destroying – hundreds of thousands of homes. Recalling the impact of the typhoon shortly after it passed, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart – Social Initiative and Collaborative Action Project said, “When it made landfall, winds of up to 210 km per hour were uprooting coconut trees, ripping down electricity poles, and hurling slabs of corrugated tin and wood through the air.”
Work had commenced on the Gilutongan Island project, situated in Cordova, Cebu, back in July 2022, following the first stage of the Typhoon Odette Housing Project in Bayagnan Island, Surigao City, earlier in the year. As reported by the Facebook page for the MSC Mission Office in the Philippines, a total of 254 households benefitted from the Gilutongan Island phase of the project, including 108 homes that had been completely destroyed by Typhoon Odette, and 146 houses that had partial damage.
“On behalf of the beneficiaries, we thank all our donors, mission partners and volunteers who helped us in many ways to make this project possible,” read a post on the Facebook page for the MSC Mission Office in the Philippines. “We also extend our gratitude to the Task Force Typhoon Odette – Gilutongan and the community leaders who worked hard in the implementation and monitoring of the project. To all of you, DAGHANG SALAMAT KANINYONG TANAN! (Thank you all so much!)”
    
Now, a year after the storm, we send our heartfelt congratulations and blessings to our MSC brothers in the Philippines, and to the families and communities who have been working so hard to rebuild their homes and their lives since. We keep them in our prayers, that they may be safe and filled with hope as we begin a new year and mark a new chapter for the people of Gilutongan Island.
    
Images via the Facebook page for the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc.
PLEASE HELP OUR SACRED HEART FAMILY IN THE PHILIPPINES
by Karen Moloney | Dec 20, 2022 | News, News & Media, What we do
Throughout the month of November, MSC Missions in the Philippines responded to the urgent needs of families and communities directly affected by Tropical Storm Paeng (or Tropical Storm Nalgae), which made landfall at the very end of October 2022. Over 100 deaths were confirmed in the Philippines in the aftermath of the storm, with more people reported missing, and severe damage done to homes, farms, and businesses.
The MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc., working together with the MSC Centre for the Poor, issued an immediate call for help, and undertook an emergency response programme across Mindanao, providing essential items to communities in Maguindanao and Cotabato who were left reeling by the effects of the storm. Relief packs included basic food provisions and essentials, and were distributed to more than 200 families in regions of significant storm destruction.
    
On November 9th, 219 families received emergency aid packs through the relief operation in Barangay Tapian, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, as part of the ongoing mission response project in the Philippines, which aims to provide direct assistance to communities affected by natural disasters. In a country that is greatly impacted by typhoons, this mission response programme undertaken by the MSC Philippine Province is a true lifeline to families and communities who live under a constant threat of flooding and serious danger to both lives and livelihoods.
    
“We would like to thank all our Mission Partners and donors for your kindness and generosity,” wrote the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc. on their Facebook page. “We also thank the MSC – CFP [MSC Centre for the Poor] Butuan led by Fr. Richie Gomez & Bro. Franz Pelare, MSC for spearheading the project and to all our supporters & volunteers.”
As we approach the end of the year, we keep our MSC brothers and the communities they serve in the Philippines in our prayers, particularly those families in Mindanao who are rebuilding and restoring in the aftermath of the storm.
Images via the Facebook page for the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc.
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by Karen Moloney | Oct 27, 2022 | News, News & Media, What we do
As the school year comes to a close at the MSC-run Centro Faustino Villanueva in Guatemala, Fr Jairo Uriel Sevilla Mendoza MSC, Director of the centre, writes in gratitude for the support of mission friends here in the Irish Province, which is enabling great progress within the school community.
Founded by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in 1984, Centro Faustino Villanueva is a vocational centre that has been dedicated to helping vulnerable and disadvantaged youths in the rural region of San AgustĂn, Alta Verapaz, and its surrounds, for almost 40 years. Located in an extremely remote area with limited access, the school is situated approximately eight hours’ drive from Guatemala City, and is an invaluable resource for young people who would otherwise be isolated by their locality and the challenges raised by coming from backgrounds of poverty and hardship.
“In the past year, we have been reflecting on our journey here at the Centro Faustino Villanueva, with a view to improving and innovating our work in the training of our young people,” writes Fr Jairo. “We are in the process of finishing the programme for a new agricultural and livestock project, which will help us to take advantage of all the resources the centre has to offer, and to provide training in the areas of agriculture, livestock, and forestry, among others. As we are living in a rural area, this will motivate our students to continue in promising new ventures, developing farms and orchards that will also help to improve diet and nutrition for local families and communities.”
“We are also working towards opening our boarding school again; because of the effects of the COVID pandemic, we have not been able to have a functioning boarding section in recent times,” Fr Jairo continues. “At the end of October, our students will finish the term, followed by a week of training for our teachers. Then, we will have a vacation, and use this time to improve our plans for the new school year.”
“We are so grateful for the support of the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, which will be the foundation for this new phase. Together, we place our trust in God that with your ongoing support, we can move forward in our work. God bless you for your generosity; we remain, as always, united in the heart of Christ.”
As one academic year closes and hope springs afresh for the new year to come, we thank our mission friends for making it possible for us to help our MSC brothers to continue to make a great difference in the lives of disadvantaged youths and their families in Guatemala. United in the heart of Christ, we pray that the Lord will bless the Centro Faustino Villanueva community in their ongoing work, and bring every success in these plans for a hopeful new chapter for the school.
Images courtesy of Fr Jairo Uriel Sevilla Mendoza MSC, Director of Centro Faustino Villanueva.
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by Karen Moloney | Oct 13, 2022 | News, News & Media, What we do
This summer, the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have been working with the MSC community in southern Haiti, to support them in the construction of houses in the region of Camp-Perrin, where thousands of local families lost their homes in a devastating earthquake which took place in August 2021.
The people of Haiti have met with many challenges of varying severity in recent years, from natural disasters to political instability and a difficult economic climate. In January of 2010, an earthquake killed 300,000 people in Southern Haiti, and was followed just five years later by Hurricane Matthew in October 2016. This hurricane ripped through the south-west of the island, caused landslides, floods, and fire. As the country once more did its best to rebuild, in August 2021, another devastating earthquake hit 150km from the Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital, with its epicentre in the city of South St Louis.
    
A “crucial” time for southern Haiti
In addition, the country has reached crisis point in terms of political unrest. Criminal gangs are a very serious issue, with theft, kidnapping, and murder a constant threat hanging over the population. The further issues brought by the COVID-19 pandemic have added another layer of challenge and significant difficulty to a society that was already struggling severely.
Currently, the people of southern Haiti are attempting to overcome the fallout of the earthquake that took place on August 14th, 2021.
“The great south of Haiti was terribly affected by the earthquake of August 2021,” writes Fr Juan Tomás GarcĂa MSC. “At the moment, the consequences are crucial.”
Devastation in Camp-Perrin
Camp-Perrin, a mountain settlement, suffered great destruction, with immense damage affecting all aspects of life. The local economy was extremely weak prior to the earthquake, to the point that it could not respond to even 10% of the needs of the local population. This percentage has now fallen further as the economy continues to weaken. The agricultural sector has been almost completely demolished, firstly by the earthquake itself, and now because there is no access to seeds to replant. The landscape was badly damaged by landslides and collapses, especially in the mountains, where many people live. The few roads that did exist have been ruined, in many cases irreparably. Rivers have dried up, and the soil is so malnourished that it no longer has the ability to grow produce successfully.
The people too have suffered seriously in a psychological and emotional sense, especially children. Local water and electricity systems have been destroyed, and have not yet been repaired.
In Camp-Perrin, the figures speak for themselves.
3,200 homes were completely destroyed,
while a further 1,100 houses have serious – in many cases, irreparable – damage.
510 houses have reported minor damage.
Only 290 homes have remained intact in the region.
In addition to the homes that have been lost,
25 Catholic chapels and churches have been destroyed by the earthquake.
MSCs building for the future
MSCs ministering in the region are doing their best to help those who have lost so much in the wake of this terrible natural disaster. The MSC team there are currently in the completion stages of 14 homes in the region, and are working to raise funds to build 20 more anti-seismic, hurricane-proof houses in rural communities.
The Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart is proud to support the work being carried out by our brothers in Haiti who are working to fund the construction of these houses, which are being built with help from local volunteers and the families who will live in them. For people who have suffered so much in so short a time, these homes will be a lifeline, and a promise of hope for the years to come.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS
