Mission Today issue 19

A CATHOLIC MISSION MAGAZINE ISSUE 19

Immerse Yourself in Today’s World Fanning the Flame of Faith Serving his People, Serving the Lord

The Dreams of Children, the Hopes of a Country

MISSION TODAY A Catholic Mission Magazine

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In this issue…

FANNING THE FLAME OF FAITH

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THE DREAMS OF CHILDREN, THE HOPES OF A COUNTRY 6 SERVING HIS PEOPLE, SERVING THE LORD

8

FORMATION—A MISSION OF LOVE

10

IN THE WORDS OF POPE FRANCIS

10

MISSION CONFERENCE A HUGE SUCCESS!

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FAST TRACK YOUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 11 IMMERSE YOURSELF IN TODAY’S WORLD

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ENTER ANOTHER SPACE

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PLEASE REMEMBER THEM THIS CHRISTMAS!

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Reaching out with love in Takeo, Cambodia

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers should be aware that this publication may contain images or names of people who have passed away. Catholic Mission acknowledges the traditional owners of the land.

PO Box 1668 North Sydney NSW 2059 T: 02 9919 7800 F: 02 8904 0185 E: admin@catholicmission.org.au

Freecall: 1800 257 296 catholicmission.org.au

Elderly parishioner with Father John Paul in Myanmar

Off to market!

Forming Missionary Disciples In 1955, around 600 priests gathered together happily in Sydney to learn more about mission. Not surprisingly they did so under the leadership of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, one of the societies which historically make up Catholic Mission in Australia. Many similar meetings and conferences on leadership and mission were held around the country from the 1940s to 1960s.

Australia today is a mission field. Pope Francis said at our meeting that every person and every community needs to be in a ‘permanent state of mission’ in their own country and that we should also have a global aspect to this missionary work.

There has never been a more urgent need to imbue Australian Catholic leaders with a genuine missionary spirit. This spirit will impel them to inspire their communities to be fully involved in mission today. Indeed Pope Francis has said that the greatest priority within the Church is to form priests, religious and laity for mission, and of those, many lay people in leadership have as yet received little formation.

As a Pontifical organisation, a key part of the mandate of Catholic Mission is to: “stimulate missionary formation and awareness among priests, members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and of Societies of Apostolic Life, consecrated laity, candidates to priesthood and religious life in all its forms, as well as all other persons engaged in the pastoral ministry of the Church.” Statute Art 21

Catholic Mission has made a commitment to use its great expertise and understanding of mission overseas to form Church leaders in Australia, especially lay leaders, to be effective in mission today—both in Australia and overseas. As Catholic institutions are happy to pay for this mission formation, your donations will continue to be used to share our faith and serve people in need.

Pope Francis said every person and every community needs to be in a ‘permanent state of mission’ in their own country and that we should have a global aspect to missionary work.

You will see more Catholic Mission-led formation, more conferences and more practical training. This will concentrate on Pope Francis’ call to form every Catholic as a ‘Missionary Disciple’. We believe this will contribute strongly to a Catholic Church in Australia which is more effective in leading people to a personal relationship with God and service to their neighbour.

It must be said that for many years Catholic Mission has struggled to offer the same level of formation for mission as in the past.

Today mission has changed. Australia does not ‘mission’ only by sending out people, financial and prayerful support to young churches overseas. Today Australia imports more missionaries than it sends, and is rapidly declining in Mass attendance.

Catholic schools, hospitals and aged care remain popular, but are struggling to maintain a critical mass of dedicated and faith-filled Catholic staff which will enable them to be true to their mission.

God bless you,

Martin Teulan BA Dip Ed, MA Th. St. National Director

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MYANMAR

Fanning the

Flame of Faith

For many of us, attending Mass at our local church is a given. However, for the faithful in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, it has often been a struggle just to keep their faith alive.

Political turmoil and the repression of religious minorities plagued Myanmar during the second half of the twentieth century. While the situation has improved, much work remains to be done. Over one third of the country’s population lives in poverty1, with the average wage being just three Australian dollars per day. Many of its children, especially those in rural areas, have limited access to basic healthcare and education. Furthermore, with global

warming increasing the frequency of the country’s cyclones and droughts, the years ahead will certainly remain challenging. But one community is proving that, with the support from their Catholic brothers and sisters in Australia, the fire in their hearts cannot be extinguished.

The village of Po Kan Bay is located in the Yangon diocese and is home to 400 people. To address the spiritual, educational and medical needs of this

growing community, Catholic Mission recently contributed funds for the construction of a church in the village.

Named the Holy Family Church, the building has become the hub of the village, helping its people to live their faith on a daily basis, as well as to provide education classes and a medical clinic within its walls.

Guiding the community is Father John Paul, the parish priest. The son of a Buddhist mother who joined

Father John Paul, combining faith with football

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MISSION TODAY A Catholic Mission Magazine

Work with Communities the Catholic faith when she met his Catholic father, Fr John worked with his parishioners to build the Church.

Given the location of the village, other work also had to be done so that villagers from other areas could benefit from the new building.

“In the wet season, our village was inaccessible, which is why we had to build a new road,” he explains. “With our own hands and the cement and sand we bought with donations, we were able to develop the community.”

But the vagaries of the tropics were not the only challenge that the villagers faced. The government of this predominately Buddhist nation enforced restrictions on the construction of churches and other Christian buildings, which threatened to scupper the villagers’ hopes. With the changing political climate, along with the harmonious relationship that the villagers enjoyed with their Buddhist neighbours, permission was eventually obtained to build the Church.

It took two years to build the Church and, since its completion in 2011, its presence has changed the village.

While the villagers have always been devoutly Catholic, nonetheless the absence of a place where they could congregate made it difficult for them to foster a greater sense of community. Now, a full Mass is celebrated every Sunday. Not only has this strengthened the bonds within the community, but also the ties that villagers, who have moved elsewhere, maintain with the community.

Father John Paul, reaching out to children with the gift of education

Moses Mattha, a village elder, illustrates this through his relationship with one of his sons. Unlike his father, who plants mango and banana trees and sends the fruit to Yangon by boat, Moses’s son decided to seek a different life in Singapore. But as someone who contributed to the Church’s construction, his life abroad hasn’t weakened his faith, as his father explains. “Young people leave the village to work in the city and other countries, but he still stays strong in faith,” Moses says.

With our own hands and the cement and sand we bought with donations, we were able to develop the community.

The gradual loss of its youth is just one of the challenges that the community still faces. Apart from limited educational facilities, access to health care is also an issue. Although Fr John is able to provide basic health care to his parishioners, those who have more serious problems must travel to Yangon. And with no living quarters for the priests and seminarians who visit the community, the infrastructure of its spiritual life also needs to be strengthened. But Fr John is confident that, by overcoming these challenges, his parish will continue to grow.

“I am very happy to help the people, spiritually and socially. And I believe that, with the Lord’s help, we will grow stronger in His faith.”

Moses Mattha with some of his local produce

MISSION TODAY A Catholic Mission Magazine

1 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/ the-world-factbook/

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MYANMAR

Dreams coming true at St Rita Catholic Church Boarding House

The Dreams of Children,

the Hopes of a Country Natural resources can pave a country’s path to prosperity. But there is often a price for such progress. Nowhere is this more obvious than in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Sixty years ago, the country’s forests, gems and oil reserves made it one of the wealthiest Southeast Asian nations. Today, it is one of the poorest. Deforestation and pollution have shadowed the activities of mining and petroleum companies, while the country’s long-term political turmoil has damaged the broader economy.

Such a situation has, in turn, brought poverty to over a third of the Burmese population1, with many of the most vulnerable being children in rural areas. In villages across the country, education is only provided in primary schools. This makes it difficult for older children in these areas to continue their studies and, therefore, build better lives for themselves. Thanks to the work of Father Philip Myaing Than and his colleagues, work that has been supported by people like you through Catholic Mission, the future is looking brighter for these children.

Father Philip and his colleagues work PAGE 6

at St Rita Catholic Church Boarding House, which is located in the town of Maubin, near the capital Yangon.

Founded in 1935 as a boarding school, it was later closed by authorities who opposed religious schools. This led to its re-establishment as a students’ boarding house in 1964. Since then, it has provided crucial accommodation to students from ten to eighteen years, who need somewhere to live as they complete their last years of primary school or are about to commence high school. Father Philip sees the House’s role as key to the future success of these children.

“Some children come from villages that are a two hour flight away, and because of their background they’re unable to afford accommodation elsewhere that would allow them to continue their education. This House helps them to achieve a better future,” he explains.

Apart from giving them a safe and comfortable place to stay, the House also provides its ninety children with breakfast and dinner, as well as weekly sports exercises, such as volleyball and badminton. Three teachers are also employed to help the children with subjects, such as maths, biology MISSION TODAY A Catholic Mission Magazine

Work with Children and English. As for their spiritual development, Sisters from the Francis Xavier order run weekly catechism classes for the House’s Catholic children. One of the children who has benefited from these activities is fourteen year old Sumon Kyaw. Sumon is from the village of Thabye, where she lived with her parents, five older brothers and three older sisters.

Due to financial difficulties, her parents were unable to pay for the tuition she needed, which is why she was brought to the House. Since her arrival, she has not only developed academically, but has also broadened her interests in singing and dancing. Her greatest interest, as she points out, is in serving the Lord as a nun.

“I want to become a Sister,” she says. “I want to be near God. I also want to help people. If I am near God I can help others. If someone is sick I can pray, and other people can pray for them.”

Sumon isn’t the only child whose life has changed at the House. Ten years ago, Wai Yan Hted didn’t know whether he would be able to complete his education. His mother’s death and the poverty he and his four siblings lived in had drawn their future into question. Today, as a fourteen year old, he’s developed his artistic ability at school, as well as his proficiency in English, which is his favourite subject.

However, when questioned, it’s clear his heart is set on becoming an engineer.

“I want to become a mechanical engineer so that I can fix things that people need,” he says. “And if I become a mechanic, I’ll be able to earn more so that I can study in Singapore.”

Wai’s hopes for the future haven’t eclipsed his concern for his family. He writes regularly to his father who still works on the farm where Wai spent his childhood. Although his village has a school, the muddy roads can make it difficult for children to travel to and from their classes. Wai knows that such challenges can make it even more difficult for children to achieve the opportunities that he now enjoys, which is why he wants to help them.

Wai and Sumon, chasing their dreams

“If I earn more, I’ll be able to support the people in my village, especially the school and this boarding house.”

With more support, the staff at St Rita Catholic Church Boarding House know they’ll be able to give more and more children like Wai and Sumon the opportunity to enjoy a better life.

1 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

With more support, the staff at St Rita Catholic Church Boarding House know they’ll be able to give more and more children like Wai and Sumon the opportunity to enjoy a better life.

School can be fun!

MISSION TODAY A Catholic Mission Magazine

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CAMBODIA

Serving his People, Serving the Lord The genesis of a person’s calling can sometimes be intertwined with their country’s history.

The recent history of Cambodia and its role in a person’s life illustrates this well. Thirty-eight years ago, the Khmer Rouge came to power in the country and, under the leadership of Pol Pot, proceeded to unleash a wave of terror. In its efforts to create a classless society, the regime attempted to destroy the nation of the communal bonds that held it together. People from various social and religious backgrounds were persecuted and those from the professional classes, including priests and bishops, were especially targeted. Many were killed, others were tortured. Some were never seen again.

The regime eventually collapsed, but the following civil war prolonged the nation’s suffering, the situation only improving in the early years of this century. Today, political stability has returned and the country’s economy is slowly recovering, but significant challenges remain. Around four million Cambodians earn less than two dollars a day1, and limited educational opportunities, especially for those in rural communities, prevent many from creating a better life for themselves and their families. One man, however, is determined to show his people the way forward.

Moung Ros is a final year seminarian at the St John Vianney Major Seminary in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. Over the last several years, the thirty-six year old has not only developed his intellectual and spiritual qualities, but has also contributed to the broader recovery of his homeland.

Whether it’s the catechism and literacy classes that he has held in remote villages or the wells that he has built,

The horrific reality of Cambodia’s past

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I want to live as Jesus—not alone but with the community.

I want to touch their lives and hearts... teach them that Jesus is for all.

MISSION TODAY A Catholic Mission Magazine

Work with Church Leaders according to the customs of his Buddhist background. This was, he acknowledges, something that his mother struggled with for a while.

“At first, my mother was not happy when I entered the seminary. In Buddhist culture, it is not the custom to be unmarried. But slowly she has come to understand my vocation.”

Moung Ros, happy to serve the Lord

it’s the needs of the people that have been his main focus.

“People lack basic facilities. They have no money for medicine and poor quality of food, and many young people have to help their parents with farm work instead of going to school,” he says.

Such a concern for others corresponds with the difficulties he has encountered in his own life. The son of rice farmers, five of Moung’s relatives were killed by the Khmer Rouge before he lost his father when he was six years old, his family unable to afford the medicine that his father needed. Unable to properly care for him, Moung’s mother brought her son to a Catholic school where he spent the formative years of his education.

People lack basic facilities. They have no money for medicine and poor quality of food, and many young people have to help their parents with farm work instead of going to school.

Once he is ordained a deacon in November this year, Moung will move to Battambang diocese in Cambodia’s west, where he will become a parish priest. As well as continuing his passion for catechism, he will also visit prisoners, as well hospital patients.

And, with unexploded land mines still littering the countryside, helping those who have been disabled by the violent past will also be a priority. It is ministries such as these that will bring meaning to his life, as well as those of others. After following the lantern of the Lord’s Word, he’ll now share its light with his people, leading them from the shadows of their past towards the Kingdom of God. “I want to live as Jesus—not alone but with the community. I want to touch their lives and hearts... teach them that Jesus is for all.”

1 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/ the-world-factbook/

It was here that Moung encountered the Catholic faith, his catechism classes nurturing his spiritual development.

By the time he enrolled in electrical studies at a Don Bosco technical school, he had already considered becoming a priest. But several more years passed before he truly acknowledged his calling. After working as a teacher for four years, he studied English for a year at a seminary in Malaysia before returning to Cambodia to enrol in St John’s Seminary.

Moung is grateful for the new life that his faith has given him. At the same time, though, he is mindful of the difficulties that have accompanied his path to the priesthood, one of them being his inability to live MISSION TODAY A Catholic Mission Magazine

One of the grateful families in Moung’s community

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Formation—A Mission of Love

Mission formation is often talked about, intellectualised, and can sometimes be misunderstood. It can be best explained in the simple quote from John: “Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” John 13:34 Mission formation is about love, and the transformative nature of that love. We are each called

by Jesus to encounter God and embrace and accept the other. This is the heart of the work that we do in educating children, adults and their communities about mission—to share faith by proclaiming the word, caring for people in need and working for justice and creation.

In the following pages you will read and see some examples of the work we do at Catholic Mission. Carried out in love, we faithfully work to meet people where they are at and journey with them as their faith and action grow.

If any of these stories inspire you, move you or encourage you to want to get involved, please contact us anytime for more information.

In the Words of

Pope Francis

”We need a church capable of rediscovering the maternal womb of mercy.”

“How I would like a poor church, for the poor.”

“We want to build a Church that is big enough to accommodate all humanity.” Pope Francis Pope Francis has begun his papacy centred in Christ and our encounter with Him. These early days have been filled with inspiring and challenging messages of hope, mercy and mission.

They have been marked by many of his messages of redefining the Church while supporting, encouraging and welcoming everyone, including those right out on the edge. Using language for our times and speaking with a humility and honesty that has surprised many, Pope Francis’ messages are based in love and a passion to share that love with all he meets.

“The Church is the People of God, the Holy People of God making its way to encounter Jesus Christ.”

“…above all instilling hope, so that light will shine in people’s hearts.”

“Never tire of working for a more just world, marked by greater solidarity.”

“Christ is the centre. Christ is the fundamental point of reference, the heart of the Church.”

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“The Church exists to communicate precisely this: truth, goodness and beauty in ‘person’.”

MISSION TODAY A Catholic Mission Magazine

Mission Conference a

Huge Success!

Earlier this year, in partnership with Catholic Religious Australia, we hosted the Mission: One Heart, Many Voices conference in Sydney. Over three days more than 370 participants from various sectors and ministries gathered in a spirit of genuine dialogue to share their expertise, learn from one another, be reaffirmed and reenergised in their work and their commitment to mission.

Feedback from the conference was overwhelmingly positive and included recommendations for the connections and cross-sector dialogue to continue.

To this end, one of the significant initiatives to emerge is that the conference website evolves to become an online centre for connection, discussion, interaction and information sharing on living and leading mission.

Among the many things on offer at www.mohmv.com.au are the contact details for leaders of mission and those working in various fields and capacities, papers and discussions on the leading thoughts and practices of mission from around the world, audio and visual clips to download and upcoming events.

From left: ABC Radio's John Cleary facilitated a lively Q&A session with five guests, including AYCS representative Elise Ganley and Bishop Eugene Hurley of Darwin

Fast Track Your

Professional Development Catholic Mission staff facilitating experiential activities with Sydney teachers

Catholic Mission Professional Development Programs can support you and your organisation’s efforts to transform the capabilities and attitudes of your leaders and their teams. We have fifteen years of expertise in delivering formative and holistic learning experiences which engage your mind, heart, hands and spirit.

Participants encounter a unique global perspective, forming people for missionary discipleship and nurturing our Catholic identity. Each person deepens their consciousness of the link between their professional work, living and leading mission and how they are building God’s Kingdom through their ministry. These programs are relevant for professionals and leaders working in Catholic organisations and agencies across the sectors of health, education and social services.

Townsville teachers participating in their recent professional development

MISSION TODAY A Catholic Mission Magazine

For further information, please contact Lana Turvey on (02) 9919 7800 or lturvey@catholicmission.org.au PAGE 11

Immerse Yourself in Today’s World GIG (Getting Involved Globally) is an initiative of Catholic Mission using a network of experienced mission personnel. It is a program that challenges people to see, feel and act in a new way. GIG is a cross-cultural immersion and mission exposure that provides a unique opportunity of experiential learning for participants.

They immerse themselves in the culture and life issues of people in another country through visits with ordinary people, as well as with key community and church leaders. In the new millennium, people are challenged to see, act and feel in new ways through education, personal experience, reflection and interpretation of other people's perspectives on mission, justice and global relationships.

In 2014, Catholic Mission’s GIG program will be offering a number of adult immersions to:

“ I feel that my role as a teacher in a Catholic school is more than just to teach the curriculum. The best way I know how to teach students about respect and compassion is through example, which is exactly what this immersion program offers.”

– participating teacher

INDIA in February ETHIOPIA in March TIMOR-LESTE in April, June, August INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIA in May FIJI AND KIRIBATI in July CAMINO DE SANTIAGO in September SOUTH AFRICA in October We invite and welcome all enquires about any of the immersions listed above or tailoring an immersion for your particular group. If you or anyone you know would be interested in GIG, please contact John Kerrigan on (02) 9919 7800 or jkerrigan@catholicmission.org.au.

Why not get involved?

“ The work of Catholic Mission has meaning and given life to faith in India.”

– participating adult

“ …have inspired a new appreciation of the really important things in life— family, friends, education and spirituality.”

– participating student

“ The living saints we met at the orphanage around Dili and Baucau and in Balibo—some amazing, inspirational people.”

– participating adult

“ I came in contact with God on many an occasion while I was on my immersion.”

– participating teacher PAGE 12

MISSION TODAY A Catholic Mission Magazine

Bruce and Bernadette Sinclair “When Bernadette (Berny) and I went on mission overseas for a GIG to Zambia and South Africa, it was to experience and see where Catholic Mission spends the money that is donated.

Throughout our travels we witnessed many life-changing events and met many wonderful, faith-filled people. The songs and dancing at Mass were amazing and Berny enjoyed getting up with the locals and joining in!

One of the many experiences that touched my heart was meeting some women in Johannesburg who make craft items and sell them so they can raise money to send their kids to school and support their family. They sit around and sing and pray and share together and sing a special song called ‘Never Give Up’.

Some of the words of the song are ‘never give up, in times of trouble, never give up’ and I found myself reflecting and feeling extremely grateful for my life back in Oz. Visiting all the orphanages and schools really changed us and we felt very loved by these beautiful children who didn’t even know us.

Overall our experience was very uplifting and life changing. We met so many amazing people who changed us forever, and we pray that we get the opportunity to go back and visit our friends in Zambia.”

MISSION TODAY A Catholic Mission Magazine

Luke Keighery Since joining a GIG to Timor-Leste in 2010 as a participant, Luke Keighery has now led more than a dozen immersions there as a volunteer facilitator. He writes: “It is extremely rewarding being a facilitator for Catholic Mission’s GIG Immersions program.

Previously I worked in an office job, so initially this type of role was completely foreign to me.

However Catholic Mission has an excellent training program and a world-class product, so I really love taking groups to Timor-Leste.

We spend time with communities, living amongst the people and experiencing life as it is for them. For immersion participants, this is a real eye-opener. Most have not experienced firsthand what it is like to have little food or money, no running water, and limited electricity. It comes as a shock and certainly causes participants to re-assess their own values. Suddenly the iPad we are longing for becomes irrelevant!

I had a fifteen year-old school girl on an immersion last year; she decided to forgo accepting presents for her sixteenth birthday, instead asking for cash donations to assist a family in Timor-Leste. This transformation is wonderful to observe, and from the stories I hear post immersion, this change remains with people on their return to Australia— there is a real and sustainable focus on helping others and being an advocate for social justice.”

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Enter Another Space

Now in its tenth anniversary year, Village Space continues to use drama to move and challenge audiences around Australia. This program successfully shares the stories of real, courageous people from around the world as they struggle in the face of injustice.

Participants are called to respond to the injustices of poverty, unfair distribution of resources and abuse of the vulnerable.

These actions of mission, centred in love, may include advocacy, prayerful concern for others, a growth in spiritual awareness, and resource and wealth sharing.

The Village Space program is designed specifically for senior primary and secondary school students but it has also been welcomed by adult groups. In 2014, Village Space will be touring Australia from March to October; we encourage anyone interested to contact Jenny Collins-White on (02) 9919 7800 or jcollins-white@catholicmission.org.au.

In July, senior school students from schools around Armidale participated in a Village Space performance. Participants entered the space holding hands and sat together to form a human labyrinth. The labyrinth is symbolic of our connectedness and our ability to reach out and is a key part of the performance as the stories are told in this context.

Two students from St John’s College in Nambour get involved in the performance by portraying African children.

Duval students, Narree Pittman, Tamarla Smith and Shania Kelly portrayed how the rights of Aboriginal children and adults in Walgett were affected before the Constitution was amended in 1967 to remove discriminatory sections against Indigenous Australians.

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Graham Jones prepares teachers for their volunteer roles at the Religious Leaders Conference in Queensland.

MISSION TODAY A Catholic Mission Magazine

Please Remember Them This Christmas! “ Just as you did it to one of the least of these… you did it to me”… Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:40)

Every afternoon, two young sisters—Sreynet, three, and Sreynuch, six—are locked inside their family’s tiny twenty square metre rented room. It is located in Pochentong, an industrial area rife with poverty, crime and drugs, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city.

The children are often terrified by demands from unsavoury strangers knocking on their door, shouting at them to ‘open up’. Their parents have told them to absolutely never unlock the door for anyone but them and to never go outside.

Sreynet and Sreynuch’s mother works long hours in a large textile factory, while the girl’s father has been lucky to find a job in construction, but their salary does not always cover their rent payments and other basics such as food, water and clothes.

While at first the prospect of a job seems like a blessing, tragically it comes with a dark side. Due to the low wages and the long demanding work hours, Sreynet and Sreynuch’s parents simply have no other choice but to leave the girls locked inside their small room while they are working, safe from predators roaming the streets looking for unaccompanied children.

Thankfully, the wonderful nuns from the Daughters of Charity started the Lindalva Day Care Centre, so that the children of the neighbourhood would not only have a safe place to stay while their parents are working, but also the opportunity to receive an education.

Any child, regardless of their background or faith, is welcome at the centre. As the sisters have discovered, working with the children is an important point of entry in reaching out to entire families in desperate need.

The Catholic Church works to build trust by reaching out to the people in need and sharing God’s compassion through practical, physical and emotional care, as well as through spiritual outreach.

Between the hours of 7:30am and 12pm, the girls' parents can breathe easy and have peace of mind, knowing that their children are safe at the centre. They are also incredibly grateful that the girls now have the opportunity to receive an education.

As the girl’s father, Pheng Chun, says, “I wasn’t able to study myself; the girls will have better knowledge than me, better job, and better opportunities. I am so grateful.”

At the moment the centre can only cater for sixty children, and Sister Eulalia, the Director of the Lindalva Centre, desperately wants to help so many more children, and to be able to care for all

MISSION TODAY A Catholic Mission Magazine

children at the centre all day without having to go home to locked rooms in the afternoon.

However, her greatest fear is that, without an increase in funds, the centre might have to close down altogether next year—leaving these children to roam the streets once again. The landlord has already indicated that she wants to increase the rent by $110 per month when the contract expires next year, money which Sister Eulalia simply doesn’t have.

As she says, “It is my dream to have a permanent building for the Lindalva Centre. It would mean we wouldn’t have the large cost of rent each month and so more money could be spent on materials for the children’s education.

A building of our own would mean we could welcome even more children to the Lindalva Centre.”

Sister Eulalia and the Lindalva Centre are the focus of Catholic Mission’s 2013 Christmas Appeal.

If you would like to make a donation to this important work in Cambodia and all throughout the world, you can make a donation at catholicmission.org.au/christmas2013 or call us toll free on 1800 257 296.

You might like to also consider becoming a Children’s Mission Partner for as little as $20 per month. For further information visit childrensmission.org.au PAGE 15

Become a Children’s Mission Partner and support Catholic Mission’s work with children on an ongoing basis The stories below are real examples of the projects and children who have been supported through our Children’s Mission Partners program.

Visit www.childrensmission.org.au to learn more about these stories.

Zambia

India Vandoosha was sold to be a domestic worker at just five years old. Shorti was kidnapped as a baby to work as a beggar at a train station. Both were rescued by Sister Clara and are now living at the Marialaya children's home in Chennai and are healthy and happy.

At seven years of age, when the Catholic Sisters first met him, Kasongo was severely malnourished, HIV positive and just holding on to life.

Today sixteen year old Kasongo is healthy and can stand in front of a group of young people in his village, and speak to raise awareness of the causes, treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS.

Examples of how your monthly donation can help children.

$29

$33

your monthly donation could provide one nutritious meal per day for twenty-six children at the communal kitchen of Santa Rita, Las Malvinas, Peru—this is often their only meal of the day.

I would love to become a monthly Children’s Mission Partner and give life to thousands of children!

I would love to become a Children’s Mission Partner with a monthly gift of: $29 per month $33 per month $57 per month My choice of:

$

Supporter No

Title

First Name

Last Name

Date of Birth

Address

State

Postcode

Mobile Phone

Email

Home Phone

Please tick here for a tax deductible receipt

per month

I cannot give a monthly gift, but I would love to donate a one-off gift of:

your monthly donation could provide one girl, who has been rescued from child labour in India, with food, clothes, toiletries and a safe haven to live for one month at the Marialaya children’s home.

✄

YES!

$57

your monthly donation could provide school supplies and uniforms for six children in Zambia, so they can attend school and receive the vital education they need to break the cycle of poverty.

$

Return your completed form to: PO Box 1668, North Sydney NSW 2059 PAGE I

Please debit my/our:

Mastercard

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OR

Signature

I wish to pay by Direct Debit (from my Savings/Cheque account)

EXPIRY DATE

M M

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Y Y

CPA/CPD-C13CONW4

(An authorisation form will be sent to you – For regular donations only please)

Donations will be deducted automatically each month. An annual receipt will be issued.

Cancellations are to be received in writing at least 7 days prior to your next payment

ABN 52 945 927 066 You can call toll free 1800 257 296 or visit www.childrensmission.org.au MISSION TODAY A Catholic Mission Magazine