Our Missionary Work


	~PEOPLE AND EVENTS IN THE POVERTY OF BRAZIL. The degree on inequality in Brazil is great. The poor labour under a belief that they are of little value, and have a profound ignorance of the concept of human rights. Meagre housing in Recife, Brazil. The work of the Oblates in Brazil is about raising hope. It is about building strong supportive communities from scraps of humanity, about people standing together, standing up for themselves. Lives touched by the Oblates...
"when ,we have good health, we have a lot to be thankful for."
Maria de Fatima was sitting with her two children. One of the children had been a bit disfigured due to a fire some years previously, but nonetheless they both seemed happy children, and attached to their mother. "How are you Maria?", I asked. "Fine", she said with a pleasant smile, "when ,we have good health, we have a lot to be thankful for." With such a pleasant opening, little did I imagine how much this lady was suffering at this moment. A few weeks previously her husband, who had a drinking, problem, sold their house and disappeared with all the money and most of the belongings, leaving them to live on the street. After a week of sleeping in the open, a good man offered her the bottom part of his lot (garden). She was so grateful for this, and now all she needed were some bits of wood and some plastic to have a roof over her head. This would leave her happy, as she would have a place she could call her own.

	Threatening the Foundations.
	Sueli and Antonia have three boys and a severely handicapped girl he manages to work from time to time but is often unemployed. The amount he earns is not enough for a proper diet, not to speak of health, education, or construction of their house. They have just two rooms, but one of these is so damp in the rainy season that they all move into the other room which serves as living-room dining-room, bed-room. At the end of the last dry season, the well went dry, and the bottom of it began to cave in, threatening the foundations of the house which was all too close. The misery was so great that the eldest boy of ten began to find that life on the street was more interesting and rewarding. He began to stay out in his own neighbourhood, but it was not long until the lure of the city centre drew him inevitably more and more into the life of the street kids of Goiania. The parents had lost control, and had nothing better to offer. Eventually, one of his grandparents offered him a home in another part of the city. Daniel was one of the lucky ones many of his companions are already addicted to drugs and suffering bad health, on a road to self destruction.

Robbed of his weekly wage, and knifed in the chest.
Doralice is twenty six years old, and her husband Francisco is one year older. They have eight children, and all live in one room. The mattresses that they spread out at night are stood upright against the wall during the day, and the one bed in the middle of the room acts as the only seat in the house. Being a labourer, he received very little money, but at least it provided rice and beans for the 'table' every day (the table being the dirt floor), and they were reasonably happy. One night, returning. from work at seven o'clock, he was attacked by a gang, robbed of his weekly wage, and knifed in the chest. No longer able to work because of the wound, he had to stay at home, and Doralice found some part-time work in the city washing clothes. Now they have enough to buy rice, and have to look for help for the beans. If they could afford to buy medicine he could probably recuperate faster, but the doctor's prescription cost a whole week of Doralice's salary. There is nothing they can do but wait and hope.

	Widow, twenty eight years of age.
	Marlene is a widow, twenty eight years of age, and with two children and a very sick father. She is in the community co-ordination, runs a catechism programme in her house, organises reflection groups in her neighbourhood, and helps in the liturgy group. She works sufficiently to keep the family supplied, at least with the minimum. Her neighbours children were practically living on the street, so she also had them in her house most days. She became Godmother to children when the mother finally decided to baptise them. This family decided to move to Belen, over two days journey by bus. For over a year, Marlene heard nothing from them or about them, until one day the two children appeared on her doorstep. Things had got worse for them in Belen, so the children, of 9 and 11 years, were sent to their Godmother in Goiania. Thus, without any preparation, Marlene has Inherited two street kids.


	These people have lost their possessions, their homes, their income, hope and the protection of the law. Significantly, most have also lost their religion. Fr Roger Bergkamp celebrates the first anniversary of the struggle for land ownership in Arariba de Baixo-Cabo. Because the need is so great the parishes are vast. There is a group of seven Oblates working in the outskirts of the city of Goiania, covering two parishes, with a combined population of over 150,000 people. Unemployment is high. Those lucky enough to have jobs often have to leave for work at 5:00 am, and may not return until 7:00pm. They have to take at least two buses each way to get to work. Mothers frequently sleep overnight in a queue to try and secure a place for their children at school. On a farm near Recife, Fr. Ed. Figueroa has been working since 1981 at the 'God and Our Lady Community' that cares for abandoned children, from a few months to 17 years old. Young people work during the day to support themselves in school, they finish classes at 10:30 at night, and next morning they are back in the bus before dawn heading for work, -they have no time to study, and even with the job, can only afford, to buy a fraction of the books required. The majority of the people are a long way from medical care, and even if they do manage to get to a hospital, they often cannot afford the prescription. The medicines are at first-world prices for people with third-world salaries.
	Irish Oblate Honoured in Brazil.
	For his active solidarity with the poor and marginalised population in Rio. Fr. John Cribbin received the Pedro Ernesto Medal, the highest civic honour awarded by the Municipal Chamber of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Born in Limerick, Fr. Cribbin studied to become a priest and was ordained in 1961. He was one of the founding members of the Anglo-Irish oblate mission in Brazil. In 1962 he started in the parish of Sao Simao, in the state of Goias. There he became acquainted with the hardship of the poor in Brazil. He was to face the same social realities when he moved to Rio in 1966, where he has remained since. Elzinha Peres, a lady from the shanty town, Santo Expedito. "I have not the gift of speechmaking... For about 22 years we knew our dear pastor, Fr John... The consciousness I have today of my human rights I owe to him. Twenty years ago I could never have imagined I could come to a place like this and address you about anything, much less talk about my human rights... I am not making distinctions but there ought to be a Brazilian like him. He is a priest of a different race but he has the Brazilian spirit and the Brazilian soul. I congratulate him on his award."