Pontifical Mission Societies Malta (Missio Malta) has so far this year sent €520,312 to mission territories for various projects. Besides its primary aim of spreading the Gospel, Missio Malta creates awareness and encourages people in Malta to donate generously to alleviate suffering and injustices in mission countries.
Between October 2013 and September 2014, €76,700 was raised by Missio Tfal through campaigns in local schools and donations received specifically for children’s projects. The beneficiary countries include Zambia, Zimbabwe, the Philippines and New Guinea.
Another €157,000 were sent to a number of dioceses worldwide to support seminarians in their vocational studies. Several local benefactors kept up the tradition of offering Mass for the repose of their beloved. Last year, this amounted to over €30,000 being sent to young churches in mission countries.
Missionary aid is often linked to the construction of schools and clinics. But it also involves providing financial support to young or new parishes. Missio sent €285,223 to Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia. These funds will help build churches, parish centres and similar projects to continue spreading the Gospel.
In Africa, a few people live comfortably but the rest are poor and in dire need. Ethiopia is not the poorest country but it is certainly among the worst stricken. It has an estimated population of 93 million people, and over half are Christians.
In Ethiopia, it barely rains for two seasons throughout the year and since 2009, rainfall has been decreasing. This means dry fields and livestock deprived of food, which leads to more hunger and an increase in mortality. In rural areas, which make up most of Ethiopia, illness such as malaria, pneumonia and tuberculosis spread due to the lack of food.
A €60 donation will sponsor a bicycle for a catechist to be able to go out to teach or for a father to carry his produce from the fields to his house and to the market
In the Dadim region in southern Ethiopia, in a school run by nuns, there is Dawit, a young boy from the Dadim Catholic school in Awassa diocese. While before, he used to only eat a few times a week, now he has one good meal a day. There are another 400 children like Dawit at the same school.
Among the missionaries in Awassa diocese is Yisehak, a 30-year-old priest from this community. Yisehak continuously struggles to meet the needs of thousands of people suffering hunger and in need of psychological and spiritual help.
He does his utmost to teach catechists who must walk five to eight hours each day to reach people in need of material and spiritual help. He would like to provide them with a bicycle to travel back and forth.
Another missionary is Sr Maureen Elliot, a Franciscan Sister of the Missionaries of Mary. Thanks to funds she receives from Australia and other countries, including Malta, she has saved the lives of thousands of children and adults through a clinic she runs and by supplying medicines. Thousands of pregnant mothers and their children are alive through her help.
Maureen is appealing for more funds to continue her mission, to teach more staff so that more lives may be saved and given an opportunity to live with dignity.
There are similar stories in many other mission countries, but this year Missio Malta is focusing its efforts on Ethiopia.
A €20 donation will provide a meal consisting of rice and beans for 60 children suffering hunger.
A €50 donation will sponsor one month’s schooling and a meal a day for Dawit and other children.
A €60 donation will sponsor a bicycle for a catechist to be able to go out to teach or for a father to carry his produce from the fields to his house and to the market.
A €100 donation for medicines will save children’s and adults’ lives.
A €200 donation will help women give birth in dignified and safe conditions.
Those who would like to sponsor a chapel or mission station in their name or in the name of someone dear to them, may donate the sum of €8,000.
Through this gesture, they would be serving God and bringing joy to a Christian community that lives far away from the closest parish.
For more information, contact the Pontifical Mission Societies Malta, Missions Office, 7, Merchants Street, Valletta, call 2123 6962 or e-mail info@missio.org.mt.
One-off donations may be made by accessing https://www.ecommercemalta.com/merchants/Mission/One_off_Donation_Form.html .
Bernard Vella is the media administrator of Missio Malta.