What is Caritas
Caritas is the charitable arm of the Roman Catholic Church. It is to spearhead the church’s social mission, to respond to humanitarian crisis, promote integral human development and advocate on the causes of poverty and violence.
Learning centre for the underprivileged children
This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to Him. (Luke 9:28-36)
Reflection
Church of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, is a 53-year-old church that started its social mission with passion and desire to engage the parish in the social aspect of life of the Church. The mission began as a common project of providing food, monthly rationing, medical assistance when there was financial support, and educational aid for children at the beginning of the year. This social mission has been practiced and improved regularly with the support of people for almost 30 years. 10 years ago the social aspect of the church was changing, and the parish priest saw the need for outreach and that there should not be any limitations of the mission just within the church.
The beginning of OMPH’s social mission
The question “Is this all we can do or is there something else that we have not thought about in the aspect of understanding the social problems in our country for us to respond” prompted me to initiate sessions with the parishioners to look deeper into the social problems not just of the elderly, but also looking at the children and where they are at the great shift of education in our country. We found that the poor children struggling to keep up with the education quality were underperforming at school, so, they needed assistance and guidance. That situation made me ponder that we should be able to do more as a moderate parish with educated people and all available resources. That’s how in 2014, we started the tuition center for free for all children regardless of race and religion. ~ Fr Joseph Stephen
Who is keeping the mission going for over a decade?
The parish is keeping this mission going; It looks like a big budget, but whenever there is a need, we receive the necessary funds and the parish contributes too so that there are enough funds to keep this project going. We have teachers from the church and outside who are teaching.
The learning center has become a place for families to rediscover their hope for a better future for their children and for the children to come out of poverty through education. Besides focusing on education, OMPH Learning Center also cares for the childhood of the children, where the teachers and volunteers ensure they are exposed to a balanced lifestyle. The children attend the class of the day, followed by an hour of handcrafting and then an hour of outdoor games. The adults in this mission believe that this is the right the children deserve and that nothing should hinder them from having what they deserve.
As a volunteer…
I hope they stay focused on their studies, and through education, they can change their life. ~ volunteer teacher Sara
Through teaching, I hope I can contribute to the beginning of a bright future for the kids. ~ Volunteer teacher Flora
Education brings out the children who are lost. The hope goes on, where the children will give hope to someone else in the future. ~ Volunteer teacher Leena
I’m glad to be a part of the children’s growth by cooking for them; I wish to see them grow to be someone one day. ~ Chrysantha, volunteer
The progress of the students demonstrates that this social mission is keeping the discipleship of the Catholic Church alive. ~ Abby, Caritas OMPH coordinator
I feel happy to see how the children have improved from not being able to speak to being able to communicate confidently and very well in Bahasa Malaysia and English. Giving them comfort and confidence is a joy for me. ~ Agnes, Caritas OMPH coordinator
I see this as a responsibility to help the students to develop in their education for a bright future. ~ Jeffry, Caritas OMPH Leader
Transformed by Hope
We have students who really valued the opportunity of this learning center and there are many students who studied here have graduated from universities and are still studying in colleges.
There are students who have started working and contributing back to this learning center in the best way they could.
Witnessing the growth of this children to pursuing their higher education and then to have a good career, gives us the hope that we will have a generation who will continue the good work in future and it will go on.
As pilgrims of Hope, Caritas OMPH is sowing seeds of Hope for the past decades and they witness the fruits too which give them hope to continue this mission.
Pope Francis prays,
Follow Jesus in order to listen to Him, but also let us listen to Jesus in His written Word, in the Gospel. This is what Christian life is. It is a mission for the whole Church, for all the baptised, for us all: listen to Jesus and offer Him to others.
LET'S CONTEMPLATE
Do we listen to Jesus?
Follow Jesus in order to listen to Him, but also let us listen to Jesus in His written Word, in the Gospel. This is what Christian life is. It is a mission for the whole Church, for all the baptised, for us all: listen to Jesus and offer Him to others.
Resources
Do you want to plan a social project in your church and bring impacts to the vulnerable communities? Download the Lenten kit.
Donate
A small RM200 donation can help one month education fee for 2 students, one month food ration for a family of 4, one month insurance cover for 1 refugee.
COLLABORATE WITH US
Call Us If You Want To Work Together
The Catholic church’s mission is to carry out and continue the work of Jesus Christ on earth. Therefore, we seek to work with communities, non-governmental organisations, and local authorities to promote an inclusive and sustainable development for all.
+604-229 2742
Caritas Penang comes under the jurisdiction of The Titular Roman Catholic Bishop of Penang.
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