A Moped for a Priest in Sierra Leone

Until recently, there was only one vehicle for the entire Parish of Saint Charles Lwanga in the city of Bo. As a result, the young Father Paul Karin often had difficulty in reaching some of the communities where he was needed. 

The brutal civil war, which raged from 1991 to 2002, claimed thousands of human lives in Sierra Leone and left behind widespread devastation. The economy and the infrastructure were ruined; over 70% of the country‘s 7 million population are living in poverty. 

The situation was made still worse by the terrible Ebola epidemic in 2014, as well as a series of natural disasters. As a result, the Church was forced for many years to focus on the concrete day-to-day needs of the population. Now the focus is shifting once again back to the psychological and spiritual rebuilding of the nation, since the only way to a better future is first of all to prepare the ground through inner conversion of the individual and the renewal of his or her relationship with God. 

Since his ordination in February 2019, Father Paul has been working in Bo, in the south of the country. Bo has a population of over 200,000, and it is the second largest city in the country after the capital, Freetown. 

The parish also includes a number of villages and smaller settlements in the surrounding area, some of them up to 15 miles from the parish center. Father Paul celebrates Holy Mass in these various villages, visiting the sick and elderly and bringing them the sacraments, ministering to the schools and also taking part in various parish gatherings. 

Thanks to the generosity of our benefactors, we were able to give him $1,000 to help him purchase a moped. Now his work is much easier, and the people of the parish are happy that he can get to see them more quickly and more frequently. 

Our heartfelt thanks to all who helped!

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Code: 147-01-29