The genesis of our Railaco relationship

Watch this video from 2010 to better understand the genesis of the relationship between St Canice’s and Railaco Jesuit Mission. It explains earlier days of our outreach to the people of East Timor; showing how the people of the Jesuit Mission are working in conjunction with the locals; helping them to find solutions; and creating them as ‘agents of change’.

 

 

Ten years on, and almost half a million dollars of amazing generosity, we pause to review. Michael has made this video in an attempt to outline once more the genesis of the relationship between St Canice’s and the Railaco Mission that started ten years ago. . . . . . .

Ten years ago, a support group of St Canice parishioners responded to a ‘Call to Mission’. They travelled to East Timor to visit the Jesuit Mission in Railaco, and chose not only to visit, but to stay with impoverished local people in small mountain communities. In the ensuing years, other parishioners have followed, very often in the company of Fr Steve Sinn, the driving force behind this relationship.

Since that time, through the generosity of the St Canice community, great strides have been made . . . . not only in alleviating hunger through a nutritious Children’s Feeding Program . . . . but also paying for the ongoing operation of a Mobile Medical Clinic and provision of Medicines . . . .

Providing a secondary education for the children was also one of our important goals. In 2005, classes moved from an old tin shed to the first of what are now five buildings in the Secondary School, and made possible with donations from St Canice parishioners. Your support continues to cover ongoing payment of salaries for the teachers.

Infrastructure development is catching up. Water no longer comes in a hose from a stream up the hill, and electricity, a promise by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, has finally arrived in Railaco.

This video is an update for you, our generous supporters . . . It’s also a plea! . . . Our funds are in urgent need of replenishing . . . . $10 or $100 . . . whatever you can afford . . . all gratefully received . . . Thank you!

Father Bong, Jesuit priest and medical doctor, has just finished celebrating morning mass at the Railaco mission station in the mountains outside Dili in East Timor. Christina and the volunteers working with the Children’s Feeding Program are busy washing and cutting up vegetables, cooking the chicken, the rice, and boiling the eggs to make the nutritious meal that we’ll deliver and serve to children in three remote communities. Rui, a West Timorese Jesuit scholastic is driving the Toyota 4WD into the mountains with Cristina and novices from the St Paul de Chartres convent.

The food smells so good, and I can hear it sloshing around in the huge pot as we bump over pot-holed and broken roads. In the three villages we visit, many of the children are in their Sunday best to welcome and acknowledge special visitors, Father Chris, Sue and Michael, who represent the Jesuit parish of St Canice’s in far off Sydney — St Canice’s the source of ongoing funding for this important work.

Looking to an even brighter future for the education of children in our Railaco Secondary School, the new Principal, Jesuit, Father Roberto Boholst outlines his vision for us. Over the years, we at St Canice’s have provided nearly half a million dollars towards the works of the Railaco Mission. . . . Amazing generosity!

Today, our funding pool for the ongoing commitments to the Railaco Mission is in urgent need of replenishment . . . . $10 or $100 . . . whatever you can afford . . . all gratefully received . . . Thank you!

Donations Online:https://jesuitmission.org.au/donate-railaco/

Contact us at St Canice’s: 02 9358 5229

Donations are tax deductible

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