Friday, April 28, 2006
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Saturday, April 01, 2006
LETTER FROM SR. MARY DOONAN
Dear Lindsay & Friends in Australia
Greetings from Lilongwe, and best wishes for a very happy Easter.
You and all our friends are remembered very specially in our prayers during the Easter Season and Tridium. The Easter Tridium Ceremonies here are always very beautiful and very prayerful with elements from the local culture incorporated into them.
There is also a large attendance and great participation by all. Each year we pray that the rains will stay away and allow the people to walk too and fro without getting soaked.
Over the past ten days we have had torrential rains all over the country. Due to the heavy rains some people in Mangochi, (South of Malawi), and along the Lakeshore lost their maize which was just about ready for harvesting and many homes were also washed away. For the North the rains came too late as many have already lost their maize crop. Here in the Central Region, thank God, we are more fortunate as we have a good maize crop so far that has survived all weather.
We continue our ministry with the different Women’s Groups and some teenage girls. All of the women received some garden seeds at the end of last year and have not harvested lovely tomatoes, onions and rape. They are delighted as food is very scarce just now and very expensive as the MK continues to devalue. I honestly do not know how families are surviving.
Since early January we have been conducting basic health education classes with the women as they sit and sew and these are proving very popular and hopefully helpful. Many new young women have joined the class since January – bringing with them as many babies and small children. The women have just embarked on their annual sweater knitting for our orphans for the Cold Season. I provide the wool and pay the women for knitting the sweaters. Whilst we provide the orphans with sweaters we also help poor women have a little money for Easter, and the women get to learn new knitting and crochet patterns.
The Girls Group have just finished knitting hats and are now knitting their own sweaters for school and are already very proud of their achievement. With this Group we also teach English and some Human Development. It is our attempt to try to prevent teenage pregnancy and HIV\AIDS.
We are still operating our Mosquito Net Project which is proving very successful. The women have noticed that all of them with mosquito nets have experienced much less malaria in their families. Now they are busy telling and encouraging others join the scheme.
During the past weeks I have needed to help many with medical expenses to attend a nearby Mission Clinic as there seems to be little or no medicines in the Government Hospitals. The Government Hospitals & clinics try to provide a free medical service but are now totally overwhelmed with all the HIV\AIDS patients and so many, especially children, with resistant malaria, chest infections, and pneumonia. It is hard to see how any poor country like Malawi could cope with so many ill in the community.
After Easter, when folk have finished harvesting their maize we are hoping to conduct Memory Book Workshops with our women. During these workshops we will help them make their own family Album- we are encouraging all families do so now as there are so many deaths from HIV\AIDS we see so many die in accidents and other illnesses. It also gives and opportunity to provide support as we help them share about their own experience of bereavement. I know we have no one in the Group now who have not lost loved ones in the past year. Since Christmas three young women from the group have died leaving young families. We then hope to have some of these women work with us with orphaned children as we do the same. Our hope is that in the long term we can overcome a cultural taboo where few adults talk or listen to children following a bereavement.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we will you. Wishing you and your loved ones peace and joy in the Risen Christ.
Sr. Mary Doonan MMM
Greetings from Lilongwe, and best wishes for a very happy Easter.
You and all our friends are remembered very specially in our prayers during the Easter Season and Tridium. The Easter Tridium Ceremonies here are always very beautiful and very prayerful with elements from the local culture incorporated into them.
There is also a large attendance and great participation by all. Each year we pray that the rains will stay away and allow the people to walk too and fro without getting soaked.
Over the past ten days we have had torrential rains all over the country. Due to the heavy rains some people in Mangochi, (South of Malawi), and along the Lakeshore lost their maize which was just about ready for harvesting and many homes were also washed away. For the North the rains came too late as many have already lost their maize crop. Here in the Central Region, thank God, we are more fortunate as we have a good maize crop so far that has survived all weather.
We continue our ministry with the different Women’s Groups and some teenage girls. All of the women received some garden seeds at the end of last year and have not harvested lovely tomatoes, onions and rape. They are delighted as food is very scarce just now and very expensive as the MK continues to devalue. I honestly do not know how families are surviving.
Since early January we have been conducting basic health education classes with the women as they sit and sew and these are proving very popular and hopefully helpful. Many new young women have joined the class since January – bringing with them as many babies and small children. The women have just embarked on their annual sweater knitting for our orphans for the Cold Season. I provide the wool and pay the women for knitting the sweaters. Whilst we provide the orphans with sweaters we also help poor women have a little money for Easter, and the women get to learn new knitting and crochet patterns.
The Girls Group have just finished knitting hats and are now knitting their own sweaters for school and are already very proud of their achievement. With this Group we also teach English and some Human Development. It is our attempt to try to prevent teenage pregnancy and HIV\AIDS.
We are still operating our Mosquito Net Project which is proving very successful. The women have noticed that all of them with mosquito nets have experienced much less malaria in their families. Now they are busy telling and encouraging others join the scheme.
During the past weeks I have needed to help many with medical expenses to attend a nearby Mission Clinic as there seems to be little or no medicines in the Government Hospitals. The Government Hospitals & clinics try to provide a free medical service but are now totally overwhelmed with all the HIV\AIDS patients and so many, especially children, with resistant malaria, chest infections, and pneumonia. It is hard to see how any poor country like Malawi could cope with so many ill in the community.
After Easter, when folk have finished harvesting their maize we are hoping to conduct Memory Book Workshops with our women. During these workshops we will help them make their own family Album- we are encouraging all families do so now as there are so many deaths from HIV\AIDS we see so many die in accidents and other illnesses. It also gives and opportunity to provide support as we help them share about their own experience of bereavement. I know we have no one in the Group now who have not lost loved ones in the past year. Since Christmas three young women from the group have died leaving young families. We then hope to have some of these women work with us with orphaned children as we do the same. Our hope is that in the long term we can overcome a cultural taboo where few adults talk or listen to children following a bereavement.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we will you. Wishing you and your loved ones peace and joy in the Risen Christ.
Sr. Mary Doonan MMM
Saturday, December 17, 2005
MALAWI UPDATE
As Christmas approaches our latest initiative is Malawi' cards, some with a Christmas message and others left blank so they could be used for a variety of other occasions. Put them on your list for Christmas mail and birthdays.
Thank you for your support at the Christmas stall and raffle which raised just over $1,000 .The raffle had special significance in that the first prize was a beautiful but simple table cloth and place mats, embroidered by a St Kizito parishioner so that this year we shared with them in our fundraising activities.
Thanks for your support, either in donations, wonderful prizes donated or in supporting our activities in so many different ways. Many thanks to all of our committee members who worked so effectively together in making the year such a successful one.
The group this year expanded our communications network, introduced new initiatives such as the Jewellery Night and Christmas Cards whilst maintaining our traditional activities comprising of our Trivia night, Eltham Little Theatre and raffles. It all contributed very well and helped your parish enjoy a special fellowship whilst raising funds.
Below is a recent e mail from Fr Patrick
To everyone there. I want to say thank you for all your prayers and support in the past year and to wish each one of you and your families the blessings of Christmas (Emmanuel) now and through out 2006.
I had hoped to send you some photos of the food distribution which is up and running but was unwell for a while but will look into it soon, I hope. The second distribution took place today for Christmas and in the spirit of giving to those in need you are very much part of today's event and others through out the year and to come.
God Bless,
Fr. Patrick McCallionThank you and wishing you a very happy and holy Christmas
Thank you for your support at the Christmas stall and raffle which raised just over $1,000 .The raffle had special significance in that the first prize was a beautiful but simple table cloth and place mats, embroidered by a St Kizito parishioner so that this year we shared with them in our fundraising activities.
Thanks for your support, either in donations, wonderful prizes donated or in supporting our activities in so many different ways. Many thanks to all of our committee members who worked so effectively together in making the year such a successful one.
The group this year expanded our communications network, introduced new initiatives such as the Jewellery Night and Christmas Cards whilst maintaining our traditional activities comprising of our Trivia night, Eltham Little Theatre and raffles. It all contributed very well and helped your parish enjoy a special fellowship whilst raising funds.
Below is a recent e mail from Fr Patrick
To everyone there. I want to say thank you for all your prayers and support in the past year and to wish each one of you and your families the blessings of Christmas (Emmanuel) now and through out 2006.
I had hoped to send you some photos of the food distribution which is up and running but was unwell for a while but will look into it soon, I hope. The second distribution took place today for Christmas and in the spirit of giving to those in need you are very much part of today's event and others through out the year and to come.
God Bless,
Fr. Patrick McCallionThank you and wishing you a very happy and holy Christmas
Thursday, December 08, 2005
NEWS FROM SR MARY DOONAN
Dear Lindsay & Friends
Once again we start to prepare for Christmas – although hard to believe as an Irish person in the midst of such heat. Christmas is always a time of hope and also a time to reflect back on the past year and thank God for His many blessings.
I just got back from Home leave in Ireland at end of October, - already it feels like I have never been away. You are possibly hearing on the news that Malawi is one of the countries hit with food shortage yet again. The South and along the lakeshore are worst affected. Although thankfully we are not among the parts worst hit we still have many vulnerable families needing assistance with food, seed and fertilizer. We have just completed helping the women to purchase fertilizer and seed – there is a voucher system for cheaper fertilizer arranged by the Government but still the really poor cannot find adequate cash to buy the seed and fertilizer, they needed further help. The women are busy working in their gardens these days and we are all busy praying for good rains and a good harvest. We have also bought maize, beans, cooking oil and salt which we have stored at the Parish to help poor families over Christmas.
At the end of October our Women’s Groups participated in The International Women’s Fair here in Lilongwe where they did manage to sell some of their handcrafts. Whilst they were happy with what they sold and their experience of the sale they realised just how difficult it is to sell crafts. Whilst the women enjoy and are excellent at their craft work and love to learn more they also need to make some money. So now I am encouraging all my expatriate friends to buy their Christmas gifts from the women!
The various Women’s Groups again produced some beautiful warm sweaters for the orphans in the villages and Township – this seems to have become an annual event alongside distribution of blankets for the Cold Season.
We have recommenced our mosquito net scheme – we can get subsidised mosquito nets, Mk80 each, from the District Health Office- some women sell them at MK100, which is affordable and make a little profit and it means most families have nets and we see a lot less malaria. The women are very happy these days as we now commence our TB Programme with Government in the Township. This means people who are coughing no longer have to walk miles to the hospital for testing or treatment – instead samples for testing will be taken and if positive for TB medication will be provided free of charge to them in the Township. TB is rampant in the Township so we hope this programme will encourage more to come forward for testing and treatment and so cut back on the amount of TB in the community .The numbers of orphans in the community continues to increase as more parents become ill and die with AIDS. It is our hope that The TB Programme which will work hand in hand with our HIV\AIDS Programme will encourage more adults to go for HIV testing and counselling and avail of the ARV medication which is available. This should facilitate people with HIV to live longer and with a better quality of life – and what a difference that should make to their children too.
We also continue to provide a support group and basic counselling services for the women – our hope in time is that they in turn will gain enough confidence and skills to start talking with the orphans and indeed their own children re HIV\AIDS and death- but this will take time as it is counter cultural.
They are but some of the happenings in the villages and township – the daily joys and struggles the women and their families face. I hope they will give you a little picture of how you in partnership with us have helped the women and their families. Thank you again for being our partners in Christ’s healing mission here in Malawi.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers and we will remember you and your intentions too. Again, we wish you a happy Christmas and peace and joy in the New Year.
Sr. Mary
From our MMM Women’s Group’s and Sister Mary Doonan MMM
Once again we start to prepare for Christmas – although hard to believe as an Irish person in the midst of such heat. Christmas is always a time of hope and also a time to reflect back on the past year and thank God for His many blessings.
I just got back from Home leave in Ireland at end of October, - already it feels like I have never been away. You are possibly hearing on the news that Malawi is one of the countries hit with food shortage yet again. The South and along the lakeshore are worst affected. Although thankfully we are not among the parts worst hit we still have many vulnerable families needing assistance with food, seed and fertilizer. We have just completed helping the women to purchase fertilizer and seed – there is a voucher system for cheaper fertilizer arranged by the Government but still the really poor cannot find adequate cash to buy the seed and fertilizer, they needed further help. The women are busy working in their gardens these days and we are all busy praying for good rains and a good harvest. We have also bought maize, beans, cooking oil and salt which we have stored at the Parish to help poor families over Christmas.
At the end of October our Women’s Groups participated in The International Women’s Fair here in Lilongwe where they did manage to sell some of their handcrafts. Whilst they were happy with what they sold and their experience of the sale they realised just how difficult it is to sell crafts. Whilst the women enjoy and are excellent at their craft work and love to learn more they also need to make some money. So now I am encouraging all my expatriate friends to buy their Christmas gifts from the women!
The various Women’s Groups again produced some beautiful warm sweaters for the orphans in the villages and Township – this seems to have become an annual event alongside distribution of blankets for the Cold Season.
We have recommenced our mosquito net scheme – we can get subsidised mosquito nets, Mk80 each, from the District Health Office- some women sell them at MK100, which is affordable and make a little profit and it means most families have nets and we see a lot less malaria. The women are very happy these days as we now commence our TB Programme with Government in the Township. This means people who are coughing no longer have to walk miles to the hospital for testing or treatment – instead samples for testing will be taken and if positive for TB medication will be provided free of charge to them in the Township. TB is rampant in the Township so we hope this programme will encourage more to come forward for testing and treatment and so cut back on the amount of TB in the community .The numbers of orphans in the community continues to increase as more parents become ill and die with AIDS. It is our hope that The TB Programme which will work hand in hand with our HIV\AIDS Programme will encourage more adults to go for HIV testing and counselling and avail of the ARV medication which is available. This should facilitate people with HIV to live longer and with a better quality of life – and what a difference that should make to their children too.
We also continue to provide a support group and basic counselling services for the women – our hope in time is that they in turn will gain enough confidence and skills to start talking with the orphans and indeed their own children re HIV\AIDS and death- but this will take time as it is counter cultural.
They are but some of the happenings in the villages and township – the daily joys and struggles the women and their families face. I hope they will give you a little picture of how you in partnership with us have helped the women and their families. Thank you again for being our partners in Christ’s healing mission here in Malawi.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers and we will remember you and your intentions too. Again, we wish you a happy Christmas and peace and joy in the New Year.
Sr. Mary
From our MMM Women’s Group’s and Sister Mary Doonan MMM
NEWS FROM FR PATRICK IN MALAWI
Just a quick e-mail to say you were very much in our prayers today as we started out distribution of Maize seed and fertilizer. I took a few photos to finish off a roll and should have them developed tomorrow or the next day and will see if anything to scan. 100 families received 50kg fertilizer and 5kg maize seed today. On Wed 150 families will receive Maize, ground nuts and beans all full of protein to help during this time. The maize is very scarce but I have my contacts from 2002 period and are will to sell me maize, however the price is double the normal price. We hope to continue with these 150 families until end of March. Each month they will receive the distribution to help them to harvest time. I am sure at some stage I will be asking you to send more funds, but for the moment with your donation and other funds available to me we can manage for this distribution and the next which will be before Christmas, then I will let you know.
Confirmations went off well at Mtsiriza on Saturday. It was the first time they had confirmation at their center and so were very happy. Normally it is combined with the confirmations here at the parish center. On Sunday we will have the confirmations here at St. Kizito. I hope also to have some photos to send you of both once I get them off the ones taking photos.
I really have to congratulate you on the beautiful cards you created and are sending. Really they are perfect and I would have loved a few myself to send, maybe next time.
Well this was to be a quick note, believe me I am exhausted these days. I should say also that rains did arrive last week and it has helped cool the air down a bit. Please keep us in your prayers that we get good rains this year. It is very late and again anxious times since it is a week already since the heavy rain. This time is always an anxious time for everyone.
God bless and continue you good works,
Sincerely,
Fr. Patrick
Confirmations went off well at Mtsiriza on Saturday. It was the first time they had confirmation at their center and so were very happy. Normally it is combined with the confirmations here at the parish center. On Sunday we will have the confirmations here at St. Kizito. I hope also to have some photos to send you of both once I get them off the ones taking photos.
I really have to congratulate you on the beautiful cards you created and are sending. Really they are perfect and I would have loved a few myself to send, maybe next time.
Well this was to be a quick note, believe me I am exhausted these days. I should say also that rains did arrive last week and it has helped cool the air down a bit. Please keep us in your prayers that we get good rains this year. It is very late and again anxious times since it is a week already since the heavy rain. This time is always an anxious time for everyone.
God bless and continue you good works,
Sincerely,
Fr. Patrick
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
HUNGER SPREADS TO LILONGE
The position in Malawi is becoming desperate in many parts of the country and we recently sent funds for immediate food relief.
Father Patrick at the time of writing is buying in maize and beans in preparation of food distribution. He advised us that in Lilongwe itself as well as in the central region and northern regions effects of hunger are beginning to be felt from the shortage of maize. The southern part of Malawi has been affected for some time. Any of the funds we send go into a fund for people in need and he has advised that he will do his best to reach those most in need.
Since returning from Ireland he has been helping a local sister with funds to feed children in the under 5 clinic she is running in the southern region.
He conveys his thanks to the people of Our Lady Help of Christians and mentions that "Without your support and assistance, people like myself could not do what we do, so credit to you all and may you experience the blessing of the Lord as your reward."
We have sent our Christmas cards to Fr Patrick with our messages of goodwill to provide encouragement and support for the challenges ahead.
Father Patrick at the time of writing is buying in maize and beans in preparation of food distribution. He advised us that in Lilongwe itself as well as in the central region and northern regions effects of hunger are beginning to be felt from the shortage of maize. The southern part of Malawi has been affected for some time. Any of the funds we send go into a fund for people in need and he has advised that he will do his best to reach those most in need.
Since returning from Ireland he has been helping a local sister with funds to feed children in the under 5 clinic she is running in the southern region.
He conveys his thanks to the people of Our Lady Help of Christians and mentions that "Without your support and assistance, people like myself could not do what we do, so credit to you all and may you experience the blessing of the Lord as your reward."
We have sent our Christmas cards to Fr Patrick with our messages of goodwill to provide encouragement and support for the challenges ahead.
Friday, November 11, 2005
OLHC -SCHOOL RAISES $800 FOR MALAWI
Malawi Members Natalie Duncan and Emma Tulloch made a comprehensive joint presentation to Our Lady Help of Christians School about our sister parish St Kizito. Emma would like to facilitate a dialogue between the respective schools to establish pen pals. Teachers at OLHC are keen to establish a link with Teachers at St Kizito, beginning with one class.The support group was thrilled to learn that $800 had been donated by the school children and parents. The picture shows Natalie and Emma receiving the cheque on behalf of the Malawi Support Group.
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