5 minute read
A word from the National Director
from FAITH ALIVE issue 11
by ACN Malta
It has been nine years since the inception of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) office in Malta. Nine years of restoring hope and rebuilding the lives of Christians who have lost everything to war, poverty and persecution; of being the hope and lifeline of Christian families and communities in the face of emergencies.
Help us support those in need
We invite you to consider making a donation to help us fund key projects which provide essential aid to Christians in need around the world.
It has been nine years of safeguarding and rescuing Christian girls from forced conversion and marriage, kidnapping and violent abuse; and of supporting missionaries in their challenging work in underdeveloped countries. Throughout this time, ACN (Malta) has been fulfilling the mission of helping persecuted and oppressed Christians in several other countries.
We look back at these years with gratitude to our benefactors and promoters who have enabled the organisation to provide a life-saving mission and continue to empower it to make a positive difference in the lives of poor, vulnerable Christians who look up to ACN as their only source of hope and help.
We look to the future with renewed zeal and commitment to further our mission. We also call on Maltese and Gozitans of goodwill to join hands with us in this life-saving work. If you would like to know more about ACN (Malta), how to become a benefactor, volunteer or promoter, kindly send an email to info@acnmalta.org or call us on 00356 2148 7818
If you would like to reprint any of the articles in this magazine, please get in touch. Yours
Christ, Stephen Axisa National Director
THE 9TH ANNIVERSARY OF AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED (MALTA)
Thanks for your prayers and help
“Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (St Matthew 5:10).
COLOMBIA:
Every day, hundreds of people arrive at Necoclí beach, in the Colombian Caribbean. What was once known as a bustling tourist point, is now famous for its stream of migrants who risk the dangerous route, with little more than the clothes they are wearing, in the hope of getting to the USA.
Sister Gloria Gelpud Mallama belongs to the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate and in the migrants who cross her path each day she sees a constant reminder of the Lord’s words in the Gospel: ‘I was hungry, and you gave me food’. “Whenever I see a hungry child I remember, there is Christ. It is my duty, as a Christian, to make sure He is fed. Jesus is always present,” she says.
Every day, the Sisters are visited by migrants who come to the parish of Our Lady of Carmen de Necoclí, where their apostolate is based, but the Sisters also search them out during their daily runs, which take place from 5 am. The Sisters talk to them, see what they need and try to find some way to help them. Although most of the migrants are Venezuelan, they have also found Haitians, Cubans, Angolans, Chinese and even Indians.
A beach where life is on hold
The sight of the migrants on the beach is heart-breaking: there are families with little children often carrying a single toy; young people who talk about the frustrations of life in their respective country of origin, men and women in tears who have had all their belongings stolen along the way; injured people lying down, and fathers looking for food for their families. The latter are often very thin already, since they give their children all the food that they receive.
“We see malnourished children, people who are hungry. Many have little or no clothes at all, so the local Church tries to find a solution,” says Sister Gloria, who has lost count of the number of people she has helped.
Sister Gloria tells ACN that the situation that affected her most was when she saw a Haitian migrant on the beach crying and asking for help. She said: “Everybody walked past, and nobody looked at her. She couldn’t even leave her makeshift tent because her foot was festering and gangrenous. It was difficult to communicate, as we didn’t speak the same language.”
Since the migrants are always on the move, the Sisters know that they may not have another opportunity to provide them with material, spiritual and psychological help. “This is a population that is constantly coming and going. The ones that are here today may not be here tomorrow. By going out early we get the opportunity to be with them and listen,” Sister Gloria tells ACN. Many go to sea to try and reach Panama – running the risk of dying en route – and the rest go over land through the dangerous Darién Gap, a dense and mountainous tropical rainforest. Panamanian authorities say that in 2022 more than 250,000 people crossed the border there.
“It’s the Church or nobody”
ACN accompanied Sister Diana Sánchez, of the Franciscans of Mary Immaculate, during one of her rounds on the beach. “The Church is the first to provide aid. It is a reference point for the migrants. When they arrive, they always come looking for the Church, because it is the fastest source of support. We try to be a bridge between them and other entities, and to network. The migrants tell us that they were also helped by the Church along the way in other places,” the Sister explains, “We help everybody, we don’t discriminate, or ask if they are Catholic or not.” When asked how important the
Your Donation Is Saving Lives
presence of the Church in Necoclí is, Sister Diana replies: “Here, it’s either the Church or nobody”.
A lasting impression
The Franciscans of Mary Immaculate are not alone in this effort. The Sisters of Saint John Evangelist (Juanistas), and the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation also take turns handing out food at the Hand of God Life Centre. This is a very simple building, and the only space where the beneficiaries can eat their meals is out in the street. Some don’t even have plates or plastic containers with which to collect their food, so they use large plastic water bottles.
The face of Sister Rosa Cecília Maldonado, a Dominican of the Presentation, may well be the last trace of compassion and love that the migrants will see before setting off from the dock to Panama.
From Monday to Wednesday, Sister Rosa Cecilia distributes food to the migrants and visits the dock to pray with them, reciting Bible verses to cheer them up before their dangerous crossing, knowing that many of them might die along the way.
“One morning, I went down the dock and met two large groups of Ecuadorians and Indians. I greeted them, I prayed with them, and they became much less depressed. They said that they needed a lot of prayers as they embark on such a dangerous and treacherous journey. This sort of reaction is a great encouragement for our spiritual and consecrated life. The migrants are very grateful,” Sister Rosa Cecilia says.
ACN has supported the Sisters in their pastoral care for immigrants passing through the diocese. We have financed the purchase of catechetical material, the travel expenses of the Sisters, the purchase of kitchen equipment and materials, and the fitting out of a space with some basic technical equipment such as a projector and a sound system.
SIERRA LEONE:
