It all started in July 1992. We arrived safely at the port city of Oran in Algeria after a journey by train from Tunis – an assorted dozen of Mission Fund volunteers on the first missionary experience abroad 25 years ago.
Among others, the group included a medical student, a handyman, a cook, a pharmacist, a housewife, an accountant, a hospital administrator and a Gozitan priest. Sr Yvonne Gera, a resident missionary in Algeria, welcomed us and bundled us into waiting vans. Our residence, a spacious, dilapidated building with a large central courtyard, had a large ficus tree that was to provide shade at lunchtime.
During our stay we plastered, painted and did electrical and plumbing repairs at our residence that was to serve as a rescue centre. The French bishop of Oran visited us often and at times acted as our driver. He died in his car some months later, as a result of the civil war raging at the time in Algeria.
Since that first adventure, Mission Fund has carried out yearly missionary experiences each lasting five weeks in Algeria, Tunisia, Kenya, Tanzania, India, Peru, Guatemala and the Philippines. Projects selected are those that are health and education oriented or related to the provision of potable water or recycling of materials. These include extensions of schools and hospitals, biogas plants, septic tanks, rescue centres, a fish farm and bore holes and community wells.
A health centre in South Sudan, in the final stages of completion, is one of our ambitious projects. Credit goes to the unwavering determination of Sr Irene Balzan. She has braved the perils of civil war in South Sudan for a number of years. The Maltese Foreign Affairs Ministry has assisted financially in a number of these projects. Local firms Tektraco, A.F.S. and Electrofix have been our partners in some of the projects by providing materials, an oxygen generating system, accessories for a fish farm and solar water pumps. Technical expertise was also forthcoming. Charles deGiorgio Limited are generous long-time sponsors.
Mission Fund was established 33 years ago with the aim of assisting Maltese and Gozitan missionaries. Regular yearly donations are sent to all lay and religious missionaries. It is the least thing that we can do to assist these lifelong volunteers. The first missionary experience was organised eight years after Mission Fund’s inception.
The regular yearly missionary experiences organised since then have brought us into closer contact with the missionaries. They have helped us to have a better understanding of the circumstances they face on a daily basis. Their priority is to offer assistance to all without preference to religious beliefs.
The volunteers who participate in the five-week missionary experiences organised by Mission Fund meet weekly for at least six months, undergo a vaccination programme and participate in group building sessions. The volunteers pay all expenses and money raised through fundraising is utilised for the selected project. These experiences offer rewards that compensate for the time and energy devoted and the money spent on these humanitarian projects.
Our next project is the provision of potable water from Lake Victoria to a lepers village in Bukumbi, Tanzania. Donations through SMS No 5061 9203 for € 11.65 or Bank Accounts HSBC 044 102 184 001; BOV 400 170 189 51; APS 200 00 661 295 or Lombard Bank 014 408 221 15 are greatly appreciated. Alternatively, donations may be sent by cheque or money order payable to Mission Fund at 500, Eureka Court, Blk A, Flt 6, Main Street, Mosta MST 1018.