Babelfish Translation SOLIDARITY NEWSLETTER #1&2/2005
March and June 2005
|
RNDM Mission Solidarity
News is published four times each year – March, June, September and
December. RNDM Mission Solidarity is the RNDM office that promotes mission solidarity in communications and in funding For the missionary works of the 900 Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions in 20 countries world wide. ALL are invited to contribute to our RNDM mission solidarity funds. |
RNDM Mission projects for 2005
The schedule of RNDM mission projects for 2005, approved by our Leadership Team in December 2004 lists the following projects:
a. a computer for St Benedict’s nursery, Chittagong Bangladesh so that the Sisters can extend their fundraising activities; b. a solar system or generator for St Peter’s orphanage Chittagong so that the students can study in the evenings; c. one year’s rent for an African refugee family sponsored by our Sisters in Canada; d. two mopeds so that our Sisters in North Bihar can extend their non-formal education programme to other villages; e. our snakebite treatment centre in North Bihar; f. for 4 village girls to board for their secondary education in North East India; g. a small investment lending fund for self-help initiatives in North East India; h. the Manobo girls’ dormitory project in Kulaman, Philippines; i. the catechetical programme in Gumaca, Philippines; j. the off-the-street pre-school programme in San Vicente, Philippines; l . support for 3 poor Muslim and Lumad families in Cotabato City, Philippines.
These RNDM mission projects offer everyone – individuals and school groups – the opportunity to make a donation to support the poor, with confidence that the money will be well used and accounted for. You can find out more about these missions by going to our web site www.rndm.org
Donations to the RNDM Mission Solidarity Fund can be given to any Sister of Our Lady of the Missions.
Report from Australia < courtesy of ‘superne’ SHGC Oakleigh magazine>
Visitation Walkathon, Oakleigh, Australia
The Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth, to share her news and her joy – God within her - is the College Feast Day of Sacred Heart Girls’ College, Oakleigh. Euphrasie Barbier specifically wanted her sisters to carry their mission to women and children, especially the poor and oppressed. Her belief was that if her Sisters could help educate girls, especially the very young mothers, then they could help to turn society around.
Following their feast day Eucharist, it has become customary for the entire College to walk to raise funds for the work of the Sisters with women and young girls in many parts of the world – women and girls who struggle for dignity, basic rights and freedom of choice. The girls of SHGC Oakleigh throw their efforts magnificently behind the Walkathon, believing that their walking and fundraising will mean new possibilities, a better quality of life, a chance to go to school, some medical assistance, and personal dignity. Most importantly they walk to support the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions.
Photo: Walking to support RNDM mission works
Report from India North East <by Sister Judith Shadap>
Women for Integrated Sustainable Empowerment – WISE
This project was established in 1998 by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions of our India North East province, to translate into reality their vision of integrated sustainable empowerment of women for the improvement of the quality of human life.
WISE believes that women can shape their own destiny. Wise believes that women are capable of building their own future with some assistance from external agents. Women have great resources within them. It is WISE’s earnest desire to mobilize women’s resources, which will help them to live dignified and self-reliant lives. Self-help is the vision and WISE wishes to form alert, dynamic and confident women who can contribute to the development of other women and society.
Photo: Sewing business, with small investment help from WISE to buy the machine.
WISE has consistently worked with destitute women, girl dropouts, domestic workers and women in crisis. It has organized skills training for tailoring, handcrafts, embroidery, knitting, fast food and food processing. With this training the women are encouraged to meet regularly in self-help groups to support one another to establish themselves and to earn a living. In excess of 70 successful trainees have been allocated interest-free seed money to establish themselves, while others are helped to find jobs and to obtain loans from other agencies. Some of this work has also been done with women in the Shillong jail. Nearly 4,500 women have benefited from the training sessions since 2000.
Since 2001 WISE has received funds from time to time from Caritas and from Catholic Relief Services as well as from other State agencies, but it is also generating income from some of its own activities.
This year RNDM Solidarity is hoping to make a sizable donation to the WISE investment fund for seeding new mini-businesses.
Can you help WISE?
A destitute mother, proprietor of a tea stall, will soon start a small
piggery
Self-Help Group loan meeting
A former trainee is now the trainer
Report from Kenya <The Province Solidarity Group>
Solidarity updates
a. Baraka za Ibrahim school, in the Kibera slums, continues to expand. Because of the generous supporters, including RNDM Solidarity, more toilets have been built, and a kitchen and dining room has been added. A water tank helps to store some piped water and to collect rainwater. The school role is now more than 300, and some older children have been helped to go on to get some secondary education. All this is GOOD NEWS for the students and the volunteer teachers whose dedication means they collect only a token salary as they give themselves to serve the children of the slums.
b. Tei Wa Ngai – project for the handicapped in Matuu – has been greatly assisted with the purchase of a vehicle by the agency SURVIVE MIVA . This allows them to widen the range of village visiting and to help get the handicapped into the Centre for special care or hospital visits.
Sadly we record the death of Marjan Boortsma, the Dutch lay founder of this project, who lost her battle with cancer last year. She will be remembered as a woman who made a difference in this remote area in Kenya. [Cf – Newsletter 2002 #1]
Marjan heard the cry of the impoverished in the Matuu diocese and trained a group of health workers to visit the handicapped in their villages. When she returned to the Netherlands she handed over the project to our Sisters - once she had found funding from CORDAID and the Lilianne Foundation.
Her vision and work will remain an inspiration for Tei Wa Ngai and for all who benefit from its services.
For further information contact:
COORDINATOR RNDM MISSION
SOLIDARITY, Sister Mary Rose Holderness RNDM, Via di Bravetta 628, 00164
Email: fundraiser@rndmgen.org