| Social Outreach [2] |
| Social Outreach in Siparia |
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Sr.Pacelli Netto shares about her Social Outreach ministry in Siparia:
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| My main ministry is helping the poor. Each person is aided according to his/her need – a house, a fridge, a stove, light bills, medicine .. whatever. I don't just give handouts and I encourage the growing of simple crops. |
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| The beginning of the school year is a particularly busy time as I supply school requisites for a number of children from the most needy of families and it is a great pleasure to see the children looking spic and span and ready for school. |
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| Presence and Prayer |
| This is the material aid that I give, but of more importance is the time I spend listening to the problems of the women who want to tell their story … I cannot give answers most of the time, but they are remembered in our prayers. |
| I am particularly concerned by the number of cases of incest and child abuse rampant in our country. I try to sensitize others to this fact and the need for prayer and I have distributed several hundred prayer leaflefts for the physically and sexually abused children of our land. |
| The weekday ministry that is dear to my heart is the minding of a four-year-old girl, Faith, physically handicapped from a rare disease ‘osteo generic imperfecta’. Besides teaching her all that five-year–olds learn, my ambition is to teach her the keyboard and develop her love of painting. |
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| Food Hampers |
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| In her mid-eighties and still full of zeal, Sr. Emerentia Smith works with Sr. Pacelli on the provision of some 45 food hampers monthly for families regularly in need and also assists those who come on a more casual basis in times of difficulty. |
| At Christmastime some 80 hampers are assembled from the donations of people committed to helping during this season and are distributed to those most in need. |
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| Sr. Mary Anthony works one day per week with prisoners at the Maximum Security Prison in Arouca and also in Royal Gaol in Port of Spain. This ministry involves listening to, encouraging and praying with the men. |
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Palm Sunday Mass in POS prison
[Sr. Mary centre 3rd row] |
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She is also actively involved in the rehabilitation of prisoners and ex-prisoners. She arranges the guest speakers for the "Walk Tall" weekly programme which runs for two hours each week preparing prisoners for re-integration into society. Participants are helped to understand the pain of the past, to reach new self-understanding and gain practical lifeskills for the future.
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| Death Row, a Ministry of Love |
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| [Carrera Island] |
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Recently Sr. Mary got permission to minister to condemned prisoners on Carrera Island. She visits each Wednesday for two hours and sees prisoners one-to-one if they so wish. "So we pray as I sit facing them. We sing, read the Word of God, share what touched us; then continue our conversation in a lighter vein..."
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| Click here to read Sr. Mary's article, "Death Row, a Ministry of Love", published in the Catholic News, which recounts the story of Mary's involvement in Prison Ministry. |
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