Sisters

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The sisters - just down the hill from the parish are based a group of medical missionaries - two of whom are from Ireland, in their late seventies and not lost their accent one little bit!
I think the missionaries have been based here for a few decades and have set up a number of fantastic different projects to support and help the local community, some of which include:

A food programme - distribution of food weekly to HIV sufferers, although open to everyone in effect it is only the poor sufferers who come to collect food since the richer families would not be seen receiving aid;
Child disabilities - following a survey in the local area they found that some 850 children suffered from some sort of disability and that was just in half the area they cover. This programme provides care and education for these children which they would not otherwise be able to afford;
Orphan headed families - a monthly session for local orphans heading families is led whereby these children are taught a range of life-skills such as budgeting, saving, health, farming, to name but a few;
Nursery and primary school programmes - there are local schools funded by the mission to ensure as many children as possible exercise their right to basic education - reading, writing, speaking and sums;
Mobile clinic and home visits - a group of doctors/nurses go out in the field daily to communities out of walking distance from the permanent clinic. For those who can’t even make the mobile clincs, home visits are arranged;
Cultivation - there are many children under the age of 18 who are trying to nurse sick parents, farm the families land, as well as receive education. The mission provides manual labour help to cultivate and look after the land these families own and hence providing them with food and then as the children turn 18 to hand over their skills;
AA - in rural areas there is a problem with alcoholics. There is a lack of entertainment for locals and many resort to drinking. The mission has therefore set up an AA programme to help those alcoholics;
Prisoners - the sisters ensure they visit each of the 3 local prisons on a regular basis to show continued support to the offenders since it is written in the scriptures that we will be supported through all times not forgetting the times of need;
Housing repair - this programme aims to repair and restore local homes from structural damage to just an extra sheet of corrugated iron to avoid leaks. The majority of houses around the area are either built with a wooden framework and the gaps filled in with mud or built from mud bricks which people will make and fire on their own land. The results of this project have shown that simple restoration is far more appreciated than complete rebuilding since it goes unnoticed by neighbours that a family is receiving aid.

As is the case with a lot of these projects it is the maintenance and the running costs which are the most needy costs yet fundraising for this type of costs is much harder. Donators would much prefer to see a tangible result (such as the building of a school or a new house or a well) from their donation and are often less keen to donate to petrol for the vehicle’s transport or a sheet of corrugated iron here and there.

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Comments

[Katy]

I suppose it's a pretty universal feeling to not want other to know you receive free aid. Also interesting thing about people donating aid...I think they ran into the same issue with the earthquake in Haiti. People wanted to donate tangible items when all the people really needed was money.