As the famous French poet Jean de La Fontaine once said, the quintessential traits of a person can be grasped through the evaluation of his work.

What type of work and purpose, and the passion, effort and drive one puts in it, are some of the character-defining factors one needs to consider.

The Gozo-based voluntary organisation Moviment Ġesu fil-Proxxmu, through the work spearheaded by Mgr George Grima, has over many years excelled in helping people living in some of the poorest countries in the world such as Ethiopia.

Furthermore it is inspiring many local youths to travel to Third World countries to have a hands-on voluntary experience, helping out extremely vulnerable communities that without the intervention and presence of international charitable organisations would succumb to an existence deprived of hope and dignity.

Apart from the pride of place the work of Mgr Grima deserves, I believe it is imperative that the invaluable experience such people acquire is not lost when they eventually cease their missionary duties.

It is easily understandable that in Third World countries such work is very challenging to complete.  Most of the time there is a lack of organisation, logistics and infrastructure, combined with a socio-cultural way of life that is complex to understand.

In this sense the Curia, as an administrator of such organisations, should give a sense of continuity to the invaluable missionary work it exercises abroad.

Hopefully, new people will be ready to undertake this challenge and hence be guided into this most honourable mission by their fellow veterans.

And if “by the work one knows the workman”, people operating in such charitable organisations are nothing less than heroes of the 21th century.