Spirit of Mission 2019
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Where They Walk, Hope Follows If you want to meet some of the unsung heroes of our time, look no further than these remarkable women. You will find them hard at work in bustling urban centers. You’ll find them making a difference in rural towns and villages. They come from dozens of countries and speak many different languages. Yet, they know no borders — the human heart has no boundaries when it comes to the capacity to love. They are Catholic religious sisters. They have answered the call of our Lord to offer kindness, charity, mercy and — yes — hope. It is the hope of a child who lives among the poorest of the poor, but who is getting an education beyond price — thanks to a religious sister. It is the hope of a displaced family fleeing violence and war, but who is encountering Jesus every day in the face of a loving sister. It is the hope of a sick grandmother with no family, no home, nothing to her name, but who is receiving tender care and compassion at the hands of a sister. These women are quietly but faithfully changing the world.
CNEWA — Spirit of Mission
Many sisters work as teachers, nurses and administrators. But they are also part-time mechanics and meal planners, nutritionists and contract negotiators. And if there’s an old generator that needs repair? A hornet’s nest that needs removal? A lost soul who needs a sympathetic ear? There’s a sister who knows how to do it. Here at Catholic Near East Welfare Association, we know these sisters well. Again and again, they are our “boots on the ground,” foot soldiers fighting for human dignity and justice, whose most powerful weapon is love. They are workers of everyday miracles — truly, the unsung heroes of our age. Wherever these good sisters live and work — from the rugged hills of Eastern Europe to the sandy streets of Palestine and the muddy alleyways of India and beyond — they are the embodiment of Christ’s love and compassion. All of us owe them a profound debt of gratitude. It is our privilege to call them our partners and, in every sense in the CNEWA family, our sisters.
Msgr. John E Kozar, President, CNEWA
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Healing a Hurt Sister Sara — Zerqa, Jordan u
For thousands of refugee families in Zerqa, Jordan, Sister Sara is just what the doctor ordered. She is a Dominican Sister of St. Catherine of Siena who helps the needy flocking to the Mother of Mercy Clinic. For the young mothers and their children whom she has cared for over the last 15 years, hers is a face of healing — and hope. She serves a city where more than half the residents in some neighborhoods live in poverty. Crime and pollution are rampant; the feeling of helplessness, overwhelming.
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But she and her community of sisters, natives of Iraq, are changing that — not for a few, but for anyone in need. From local factory workers to refugees from Bangladesh, Iraq, Palestine and Syria, the sisters treat everyone, regardless of ethnicity, nationality or creed. But at this heart, Mother of Mercy Clinic is a sanctuary for poor mothers and children. “The most lovely time to my heart is when working with these small angels for treatment and vaccinations,” Sister Sara says of her youngest patients.
CNEWA
Jordan
“A small kid named Wadi was afraid to come near me and used to run away. But I talked to him gently and gave him chocolate. He asked me to visit them at their house and we did. When they moved, he invited me to visit again, insisting they have a spare room for me!” The sisters are bringing healing to a broken world in every way imaginable. “A female patient told me her parents are not afraid when she comes to the clinic alone,” Sister Sara says, “because the nuns make her feel welcome, comfortable and secure.”
Spirit of Mission
“The most lovely time to my heart is when working with these small angels.” Their work is difficult, and their days are long. At times, what they are doing seems impossibly difficult. But CNEWA, through the generosity of our donors, is helping make the impossible possible, providing medical equipment and supplies so the poorest patients receive care for a tiny fee. And one corner of the world knows not only healing, but hope. n
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Brighter Tomorrows Sister Ayelech Gebeyehu — Bahir Dar, Ethiopia u
A little girl in Ethiopia answered one question, “Who wants to be a sister?” “I will,” one girl responded. Half a century later, that answer is changing lives in one of the poorest corners of the world. That little girl is now Sister Ayelech Gebeyehu of the Daughters of Charity. When we caught up with her, she was running the Blessed Gebremichael Catholic School in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, a remote and sparsely populated area about 350 miles northwest of Addis Ababa — shepherding nearly 1,000 children between the ages of 4 and 14.
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“As a Daughter of Charity,” she says, “we go wherever we are sent. We don’t know our next station.” And of her choice to become a sister, she says: “I have never regretted my decision, never. I didn’t care about other things. My family taught me to be kind and how to help others.” And helping others is precisely what the Daughters of Charity are doing in Ethiopia. These are heroes who roll up their sleeves: Not only do they teach the children in their care, but they also take time to make regular visits to poor families whose children attend the school.
CNEWA
Ethiopia
“These children will be great adults.” Some of the parents have tested positive for H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. For all the challenges, hers is a life marked by great generosity — and joy. “My work brings me satisfaction,” she explains. “The children continue studying. Some of them go to university. But it is first the will of God that is most important to me. God is very good to me. He is always with me.”
Spirit of Mission
CNEWA is accompanying these sisters in their loving mission with the poor, and is privileged to support works that are helping to lead children toward a future of light and hope. “We teach children what we call human development,” Sister Ayelech says. “We talk about God. These children will be great adults. They will be good for their family and, therefore, for their country.” n
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Offering a Home Sister Rosily Karuthedath — Kerala, India
This is the face of compassion. Her name is Sister Rosily Karuthedath. She gives her life to care for the poorest of the poor who live with H.I.V. and AIDS in India, offering them an oasis of hope named, fittingly, Grace Home. With help from funds from CNEWA, she and her community of Nirmala Dasi Sisters provide shelter, food and medical support for 65 H.I.V. positive patients, including 30 children. Many have been rejected by nearly everyone, set adrift with nowhere else to turn.
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Thanks to Sister Rosily and her community, these patients are not only surviving, but thriving, living lives of dignity and hope. Sister tells the story of a young man named Matthew. “He was in a state of depression and very weak,” she says. The sisters offered what medication and fluids they could. He was eventually moved to the regional Medical College for more treatment. “Day by day, he became better,” Sister Rosily says. “Now he is able to help others.”
CNEWA
India
“We attempt to fill the emptiness experienced by the patients with love, concern and care.” For the poor and ill who arrive at Grace Home, the door is always open to find care, comfort — and, yes, grace.
With generous hearts, women such as Sister Rosily are giving purpose and hope to lives that would otherwise be lost.
“We believe in giving acceptance and dignity to the patients, even if they are socially isolated and discriminated against,” Sister Rosily explains. “We attempt to fill the emptiness experienced by the patients with love, concern and care.”
They are heroically treading where others refuse to go.
Spirit of Mission
CNEWA is privileged to stand beside the Nirmala Dasi Sisters, supporting their good work. n
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The Light of Christ Mother Danyila Vynnyk — Lviv, Ukraine u
In Ukraine, the people are living another Pentecost. And pioneering religious sisters, such as Mother Danyila Vynnyk, are helping spread the fire of faith. For decades, during the Soviet era, Ukraine’s Greek Catholics were forced to live their faith underground. But with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, faithful Christians stepped back into the sunlight. Some of those working to nurture and nourish these people are the Sisters of St. Basil the Great. Mother Danyila will happily tell you what they are doing is nothing less than radical.
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“A step in the monastic life is a radical step,” she says. “It requires courage to know that one belongs to God.” It is a courage these women have embraced enthusiastically — and tirelessly. The sisters oversee a grade school and two day care centers. They also assist physicians. Some of the women spend whatever free time they have attending classes; one 28-year-old sister is working on a law degree and hopes to become a social worker.
CNEWA
Ukraine
All this is keyed to the charism of the order: With the generous support of CNEWA’s to help the most socially vulnerable children. donors, the Basilian Sisters are helping re-build Ukraine’s Greek Catholic Church These sisters approach their mission with and re-evangelize Eastern Europe. zeal. But they also do it with an expansive love that seeks to bring the light of Christ CNEWA is proud to support their great and into a world where, for so long, the son of enduring work of sacrificial love, nurturing a God was forced into the shadows. church that continues to grow. n
“It requires courage to know that one belongs to God.”
Spirit of Mission
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CNEWA’s World
Catholic Near East Welfare Association serves the churches and peoples of the Middle East | Northeast Africa | India | Eastern Europe
a papal agency for humanitarian and pastoral support
In the United States: 1011 First Avenue, New York, NY 10022-4195 www.cnewa.org | 1-800-442-6392
In Canada: 1247 Kilborn Place, Ottawa, ON K1H 6K9 www.cnewa.ca | 1-866-322-4441