Passion for Mission – MSC Lay Volunteers

‘The Africa Bug’

Last weekend saw the first gathering of our lay missionary volunteers in Sacred Heart Community, Western Road. It was an opportunity for the four people who are preparing to journey to South Africa for three months to meet up and get to know one another. As part of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Volunteer Programme ( MSCVP ) they are going to spend the summer working with the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and the team in the Holy Family Centre in Ofcolaco. The Centre is home to around seventy children, ranging from babies to teenagers, who have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS and TB.

Each member brings a practical skill set that will be used to promote education and employment opportunities among the Centre’s children and young people. Karen Sheehan is a secondary school teacher from Schull, who got bitten with the ‘Africa bug’ last year while working in Kenya. Kevin Murphy is an electrician from just outside Glasgow. He’s hoping to train some of the older teenagers the fundamentals of the building trade to help them become brickies, sparkies or chippies. Joanie Hutchinson comes from an auctioneering background, but has travelled extensively and has worked teaching English as a foreign language. Finally Liz Higgins joins us from Dingle by way of the Voluntary Missionary Movement. Liz is a former science teacher and has worked in both Tanzania and South Africa. Liz is the group’s coordinator and her presence is there to help the Centre, the children and the volunteers all get the most out of the experience.

‘Prepare to succeed or prepare to fail’

The other purpose of the weekend was to help the volunteers to prepare for their experience in the Holy Family Centre. With the guidance of Sr. Susan Jones, a Holy Faith Sister and chaplain to Dublin City University, we sought to address the key challenges that might be encountered. The group shared around their hopes and expectations for their time in South Africa. We spent time looking at issues around Health, Safety and Security and Child Protection. We also looked at the spirituality of the MSCs and the call to mission. All the weekend’s participants were grateful to be welcomed into the Western Rd. community and over the couple of days have gained a real insight into who we are as Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and what we do.