Dear friends,

Yesterday, on the Feast of St Andrew the Apostle, our friends and contacts at San Miguel Island are distributing canned food to the 900 families on the eastern part of this island off the eastern coast of Luzon. This was happening even as we were writing this update.

After being battered by typhoons Rolly and Ulysses, help is only still trickling in as the people on the island slowly rebuild their lives.

We provided rice a week ago as an emergency Phase 1 step, and now we organised with the local leaders for Phase 2: the provision of canned foodstuff for all the 900 families. We thought it was going to be logistically difficult but thanks to the responsible leaders and good cooperation from volunteers from the community, the foodstuff was purchased in bulk in Tabaco City and shipped over to San Miguel.

There were volunteers from among the families who spent the weekend packing the food bags for distribution.

And nearer to Metro Manila, we continued to distribute food bags last week to families of Marikina City which was badly flooded by Typhoon Ulysses.

In addition, every alternate Sunday, for the past 5 months, we have been giving out cooked meals for 70 children at Ronas Garden near our Formation House. However, this December, we will make it every Sunday instead, thanks to persons of goodwill!

So on this significant feast of the Apostle who brought his brother Peter to meet Jesus, the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle would like to thank you for your part in making possible this encounter between those in need and God’s mercy and love.

Fr. Francis Teo MCSPA

A few months ago, a group of internally displaced people came to Mizan Town. These people had moved from the nearby rural areas bordering Mizan town. The number of people where about 130, including women with children. They all belonged to the Menit community, one of the minority groups in Ethiopia.

Members of the Missionary Community of Saint Paul the Apostles in Mizan were informed of the problem and we did not hesitate to help. Instead, we moved to see where they were and what had brought them there. We were touched to see many children crying for food spending nights in the cold, young girls with babies that they couldn’t afford to give them the basic needs, young girls forced into marriage unconsciously and families with attacks of epilepsy without medical support!.

These people were forced to leave their homes in search of medical support, food and shelter among other social problems that were not able to cope with. Unfortunately, all of them are epileptic and with traditions in this community once one is discovered that he or she is epileptic, is forced to leave the family and they are not accepted back. Hence, they move to other places continuously looking for help!

The local administration of Mizan-Aman town took them and put them in one of the primary schools since the schools were closed due to Covid 19 pandemic in order to reduce the increase of the pandemic of letting people to move in and out of the town. This was one way to ease the tension and fear of many social problems that are arising and pushing this people to move from one place to another. Though they had a place to sleep their situation was still precarious and needed urgent intervention for their well-being and their dignity.

The joys, hopes and anguish of the people of the time today especially the afflicted ones are the joy, hopes and anguish of the followers of Christ. Seeing the great need of these Menit displaced people, we moved in so as to work together and this made us to ask for help so that we could be able to support them with the basic necessities.

Thanks to so many people from everywhere opened their arms to help, people with desires to make the world a better place by contributing to better the life of others, we were able to support them with blankets that they could cover themselves from cold, mats, clothes, utensils and food.

Also, we counted with doctors from Mizan Aman hospital, whom we invited to visit the Menit. They have given their time and care. It has been an immense gift to experience the collaboration that we have received when trying to assist these people.

After eight months living in the Primary school, and with the start of the reopening of the schools. The local government of Mizan-Aman town, red cross and the administration of West Omo zone have organized that this people to be taken back to their homes. They have constructed houses for them there and we have given them food to start a new living, hoping that things will be better.

We would like this to be a learning experience for many, to learn to help, to learn to serve one another and to love doing something for the people who experience problems in the world today.

Esther Kerubo MCSPA Apprentice

A few months ago, a group of internally displaced people came to Mizan Town. These people had moved from the nearby rural areas bordering Mizan town. The number of people where about 130, including women with children. They all belonged to the Menit community, one of the minority groups in Ethiopia.

Members of the Missionary Community of Saint Paul the Apostles in Mizan were informed of the problem and we did not hesitate to help. Instead, we moved to see where they were and what had brought them there. We were touched to see many children crying for food spending nights in the cold, young girls with babies that they couldn’t afford to give them the basic needs, young girls forced into marriage unconsciously and families with attacks of epilepsy without medical support!.

These people were forced to leave their homes in search of medical support, food and shelter among other social problems that were not able to cope with. Unfortunately, all of them are epileptic and with traditions in this community once one is discovered that he or she is epileptic, is forced to leave the family and they are not accepted back. Hence, they move to other places continuously looking for help!

The local administration of Mizan-Aman town took them and put them in one of the primary schools since the schools were closed due to Covid 19 pandemic in order to reduce the increase of the pandemic of letting people to move in and out of the town. This was one way to ease the tension and fear of many social problems that are arising and pushing this people to move from one place to another. Though they had a place to sleep their situation was still precarious and needed urgent intervention for their well-being and their dignity.

The joys, hopes and anguish of the people of the time today especially the afflicted ones are the joy, hopes and anguish of the followers of Christ. Seeing the great need of these Menit displaced people, we moved in so as to work together and this made us to ask for help so that we could be able to support them with the basic necessities.

Thanks to so many people from everywhere opened their arms to help, people with desires to make the world a better place by contributing to better the life of others, we were able to support them with blankets that they could cover themselves from cold, mats, clothes, utensils and food.

Also, we counted with doctors from Mizan Aman hospital, whom we invited to visit the Menit. They have given their time and care. It has been an immense gift to experience the collaboration that we have received when trying to assist these people.

After eight months living in the Primary school, and with the start of the reopening of the schools. The local government of Mizan-Aman town, red cross and the administration of West Omo zone have organized that this people to be taken back to their homes. They have constructed houses for them there and we have given them food to start a new living, hoping that things will be better.

We would like this to be a learning experience for many, to learn to help, to learn to serve one another and to love doing something for the people who experience problems in the world today.

Esther Kerubo MCSPA Apprentice

Following the request of our Bishop, Barani Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala, yesterday, 7th August, we have opened a new chapel in Navuru, half way between Ngboko and Source Yubu. We have celebrated mass and blessed the land that was donated for the chapel. 7th of August is, in the Roman calendar, apart of St Sixtus and several other saints appears St Afra. So, the new chapel is called St Afra.

Who was St Afra?
She was born sometime towards the end of the third century AD. Her mother was a Greek from Cyprus, her father was a Nubian. He could also have been a Nuer, a Dinka, a Balanda or a Zande. Why not? We do not know it for certain.

We only know that her father was really black, and Afra took the genes from him. She was born dark, and so they named her Africa, or in short Afra. Her mother was a prostitute, and Afra followed the trade of her mother. As it is customary with prostitutes, they follow the soldiers. Afra went to the north of the Empire, where there was a large military camp, Castra Augusta Vindelicorum, present day Augsburg. There, Afra was running a lodging / brothel, with a group of younger prostitutes.

It happened that in 303 there was a fierce persecution throughout the Empire. In Spain by that time, Christianity was already established. In Gerona, northern Spain, there was a bishop called Narciso, and together with his two deacons he tried to hide, and so he escaped to the northern part of the Empire where there were no Christians and where he would not be known.

When arriving to Augsburg they looked for a lodging. Afra welcomed them, offered them a room and supper, as well as the service of her girls. To her surprise, they were not interested in the girls, but prayed before the meal.
Eventually Afra was converted to Christianity and together with her were all her girls converted. From then on, they would continue running the lodge, but no longer offer sexual services.

A small Christian Community established in Augsburg. After some time the persecution seemed over and Bishop Narciso returned to Gerona. He left behind a small Christian Church and consecrated one young man by name Dionysius as overseer (Episcopus). On returning to Spain a new persecution started and Narciso was put to death in 304.

In the meantime in Augsburg, the soldiers in the barracks were very angry, as the girls would no longer follow their sexual advances, no matter if they were handsome and with money. So, they accused Afra of having bewitched them. She was dragged on to an island in river Lech and burned on the stage. Her girls collected the remains and buried them.

St. Afra is one of the patron saints of my home Diocese, Augsburg. Whenever I go to Augsburg, I go to pray at the tomb of St Afra.
There is also a shrine of St Afra in Gerona (Spain), and now a chapel of St Afra between Ngboko and Source Yubu.

St. Afra is also the patron saint of the repentant sinners. I think, we all need repentance. So, as a Saint, regardless if her father was from the Nubian Mountains or from Zande land (we only know he came from somewhere in the region), Afra is still a Saint that can appeal to all of us.

Fr. Avelino Bassols MCSPA

Hello everyone!
We would like to share with you how we have been here at our Formation House in Manila, Philippines. Ever since this Covid-19 lockdown was officially announced on 15th March 2020 here in Manila, with immediate effect, all movement came to a halt. Life changed suddenly for most people. We imagine that it is the same with you all there where you are.
Only one person is allowed out of our housing village for doing our groceries and purchasing medications if needed. We organised ourselves to do the daily responsibilities in the house – the pilotship, the garden, cooking, laundry, cleaning, liturgy – and we also have time for exercise. We are spending very much time together under the same roof and at the table – more than before. And we are happy for this! We enjoy the cooking even, learning new dishes, and we have our supply of greens from the backyard vegetable plot!
For the four of us studying theology, we officially end the semester this week. We had to submit all our assignments online. The others are still having online classes and exams until the end of this month. Some of us are learning Spanish online in the meantime. Our two Come and See candidates from Timor Leste are still continuing with English classes in the house. The older ones among us are giving them classes in grammar and composition writing. They are improving very much!
Besides the life in common in the house, during this lockdown, we have been helping the families who are constantly in touch with us through our apostolate areas of Payatas, Parola, Ronas Garnens and Daan Tubo. Those of you who have been to Manila know some of these places. Majority of the families are daily wage workers and in this time of lockdown, there is no work and so they are not in a position to put food on the table for their families. We have been channelling the help via the barangay (or neighbourhood) officials due to social distancing regulations or through point persons.
To give you an idea, since the start of the quarantine on 17th of March we have been able to assist with cash and relief food (rice, meat, milk) disbursements to about 380 families and groups, from the above-mentioned depressed areas, on a weekly basis. We were able to give one-off aid to relief efforts of church organisations and faith-based charities operating in the Diocese of Cubao and at Central Manila.
Thanks to friends and well-wishers from the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, we were able to carry out this relief effort, and we will continue to do so until such time as when the lockdown restrictions will be eased and families are able to fend for themselves again. We appreciate all the help they have given!
This time has been a very big learning experience for all of us. Learning to stay together, study, work and pray; reaching out to needy families in a coordinated way, and accounting for the help received; looking out and supporting each other.
We look forward for our lockdown here to be lifted or modified by end May. We will have to learn to live with the virus in our midst, trying to carry on with our lives but taking all the necessary precaution and adhering to standard operating procedures. And of course giving thanks to God for all the blessings, big and small, everyday.
We pray for the end of this pandemic. And we pray for all of you too, that you stay well and healthy.

From the community at Quezon City, Philippines.

In the face of the Covid19 pandemic, improving hygiene is very important, especially handwashing with soap and using disinfecting gels. This practice of maintaining hygiene has for many years been paramount in Nariokotome Mission, where we have long manufactured liquid soap, bleach, soap bars and disinfectant; that we use in our health centres, nurseries, schools and workshops, to maintain hygiene in our development programs.

Educating and promoting our Turkana community, in the practice of good hygiene in these critical moments of the pandemic, and doing it ourselves showing example, in the situation caused by COVID 19 is very vital. However, it is difficult to have clean hands in a place with a shortage of soap and water and constant dust.

Given the shortage of water and other supplies, we thought it would be a good idea to start producing our own sanitizing gels, and explaining how they should be used as a preventive measure for daily use.

Thanks to the help and advice of Antonio Matji, a pharmacist who knows the mission and its needs, it has been possible to achieve it. We have started producing sanitizer in sufficient quantity to supply the Turkana population living in the mission, for our own consumption, and we are even producing to be able to distribute supplies to nearby populations through our mobile clinics.

Lenny Jillo MCSPA

Very recently, women from Kakuta, one of the Nyangatom villages that the MCSPA missionaries serve from Prince of Peace Catholic Mission (Nyangatom-Ethiopia), received a nutritional talk about the goodness of Moringa Plant.

This plant is an excellent source of green vegetables when there is little alternative food of this kind available.

Its high content of vitamin A, was highlighted during the talk. This is due to the high prevalence of lack of enough this important vitamin in the diet of the people in this area. This lack of such nutrient can cause visual problems in both children and adults in the long run.

Seeds were given to the interested spectators, and we taught them practically how to cook and consume it. We hope that the women who are so important in improving the life of the family, can convince themselves of the goodness of this super-plant. By this, they could improve their nutrition and reduce the risk of having eye problems, or any other problem related with the lack of vitamins in the future.

Javiera Olivares

MCSPA members of the Prince of Peace Catholic Mission, have joined representatives from the Nyangatom local government on Sunday, in order to show solidarity to the people of Kibish, who lost their homes in the recent fire this week.

This initiative is a real sign of love and peace between communities that are still in conflict due to cattle raid and excess of small-fire-arms.

We pray that such kind of signs will be the beginning of a real peace based on a mutual respect for the dignity of every member of the community across the divide.

Fr. Angel Valdivia

The ambassador of Spain to Kenya, Javier García de Viedma, visited the MCSPA missions in Turkana. On his arrival he went to Lobur mission where he met all the Spanish missionaries and volunteers working there.

He also visited “Furrows in the Desert” agriculture project, the mission, the school and different other projects carried out at Lobur.

In Nariokotome or “small Spain” or “the Spanish mission” as it is known here, he managed to visit the mission and the church, the school, the dispensary, the farm and the mother and child centres.

He had dinner with some of the members of MCSPA living in Turkana. It was great to have the Spanish Ambassador visiting “small Spain” in Kenya!

Karibu tena.

Lillian Omari MCSPA

The ambassador of Spain to Kenya, Javier García de Viedma, visited the MCSPA missions in Turkana. On his arrival he went to Lobur mission where he met all the Spanish missionaries and volunteers working there.

He also visited “Furrows in the Desert” agriculture project, the mission, the school and different other projects carried out at Lobur.

In Nariokotome or “small Spain” or “the Spanish mission” as it is known here, he managed to visit the mission and the church, the school, the dispensary, the farm and the mother and child centres.

He had dinner with some of the members of MCSPA living in Turkana. It was great to have the Spanish Ambassador visiting “small Spain” in Kenya!

Karibu tena.

Lillian Omari MCSPA