04 Jun 2012
Some of the children who stay at the Holy Family Centre
You couldn’t have planned it if you tried. After a very long drive and a good night’s sleep I’m up and wandering around the Holy Family Centre with Sr. Susan. There are children running around, playing football or simply chatting with one another. As I turn the corner by the hall next to the pitch there are two children aged 11 and 7 and the older one is reading her Bible to her friend. It’s all about Moses, Pa-hair-ooh ( think about it! ) and the ten plagues. She stumbles over some of the words, but soliders on with great energy. It’s about frogs, locusts and plenty of drama. What’s not to love!
The Holy Family Centre is run by our sister congregation, the Daughters of our Lady of the Sacred Heart, and the place is a real blessing. It is home to anywhere between 55 and 70 children who are orphans or needed to be taken into care. There are boys and girls ranging in age from toddlers to eighteen years old. Under the guidance of Sr. Mary Stevens and her team the children are housed, fed, cared for and above all loved.
Fr. Alan with some of the kids
These are amazing children. From the moment you arrive they are all questions. Where are you from? What’s your name? And most importantly of all do you love Justin Bieber? These are children who have been through more of their fair share of challenges, but are determined to get the most out of life. No matter where you go something is happening. At the moment there’s hip hop dancing going on in the hall with some of the older girls and on the other side of the field the jungle gym is swarmed with the younger kids.
The programme in the Centre places a great deal of emphasis on education and has a volunteer teacher from Australia supporting the children. They also have a nurse on staff, along with an extensive team of housemothers to help them grow and develop their gifts and talents. Volunteering is an important part of their project and they are always on the look out for trained healthcare and education professionals who want to contribute their time, not just in Holy Family, but in two other centres in the region. They also are interested in those with a professional background in mechanics, plumbing, electrics and carpentry.