A couple of months' ago I wrote an article with same title. Aware it was not going to be the only one I immediately added a (1) at the end. Here is the second one.
For many years our diocese has always looked for ways to care for refugees. The Kingdom of Eswatini hosts families coming - particularly - from the Great Lakes area. Families: parents and children. They travel across the continent looking for a place where they can dream of a different present and future.
I still remember when some years' ago, the chairperson of the "Eswatini Council of Catholic Women" approached me at the end of a diocesan gathering saying: "Pope Francis has asked the Church to care for refugees and we want to do so".
From that year they organised a diocesan event at the Refugee Centre taking food and toiletries. Even if this year - because of COVID19 - they were not able to physically go to the Centre, they still provided the so much needed toiletries they collected in the different parishes.
A couple of months' ago I contacted the Refugee Centre to hear about their immediate needs as the pandemic continued to affect everyone in the country. I must confess I thought I already knew the answer and, to me, that question was just a formality to confirm what I had in mind: "food parcels".
The answer though was completely unexpected: "mattresses". Mattresses get worn out and now many children are sleeping on the floor.
The diocese had just received a donation from someone I knew had been working with refugees (in Italy).
Quickly we were able to provide the first group of mattresses that benefited 108 children from 25 families. More are one their way.
Always grateful to those who make this possible and ... to the ones who help us think "outside the box".
){kind=link}