Success Stories
New Chapels for Two Remote Villages in Malawi
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Malawi, a landlocked state in southern Africa, is among the poorest countries in the world. The parish of Benga lies in the east of the country, not far from Lake Malawi, in a region of great poverty. Though established only in 2013, the parish has witnessed 6,000 baptisms in the space of just 10 years. Nonetheless, only 20 percent of the population is Catholic. The majority of the people there are either Protestant or Muslim. The parish covers a large ...
Host Baking Machines for the Poor Clare Sisters in Zimbabwe
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Eight sisters live in the convent of the Poor Clares in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, and another young woman is hoping to join them. They live a strict, enclosed life of prayer, penance, and especially Eucharistic adoration, in which they include the needs and concerns of the entire world, never leaving the enclosure except in cases of necessity, and imitating Christ in their life of profound poverty. “We entrust ourselves totally to divine providence,” the sisters explain. They live ...
A Vehicle for Pastoral Work in Burundi
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Some time ago, we told you about an appeal from Burundi, a small country in Central Africa that is now regarded as the poorest in the world. It has witnessed repeated genocides and a civil war that lasted from 1993 to 2005. And the political situation is still very unstable. There is fear that a fresh escalation of violence could occur at any time. The Catholic Church in Burundi is doing everything it can to promote reconciliation in society and ...
A New Presbytery for a Parish in Sierra Leone
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There is great joy in the town of Lakka, in Sierra Leone. Thanks to your help, the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Succor was able to consecrate their new presbytery. Some time ago, we turned to you for help. Father Emmanuel Francis Allie was living in an altogether derelict house, with a leaking roof and rotting stairs that threatened to collapse at any moment. The plumbing and electrical wiring were also in a dire state, and the floor of ...
A New Village Chapel in Bangladesh
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The Diocese of Sylhet in Bangladesh was established in 2011. There are 20,000 Catholics in the territory, which has a total population of 14 million. Most of these Catholics belong to ethnic minority groups and are extremely poor; they have been pushed to society’s margins. This is also the case in the village of Ischachora Punjee. It is about nine miles from the parish center, and 16 of the 36 families living there are Catholic. Previously, the Catholics had a ...
A Riverboat for a Parish in Brazil
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The Diocese of Humaitá lies deep in the Amazon region and serves an area of about 53,000 square miles. But most of it is covered by rainforest and is thinly populated. Many communities are on the riverbanks and can only be reached via water. This makes pastoral outreach more difficult, since the river journeys are dangerous, with rapids, floating trees, snakes, and other poisonous animals. The parish of Our Lady, Help of Christians is based in the town of Manicoré, ...