Aid to the Church in Need: Bolivia: Support for religious sisters in Pando

Bolivia: Support for religious sisters in Pando

Posted by Project of the Week on 28/6/2009, 9:37 pm
Message modified by board administrator 28/6/2009, 9:39 pm

BOLIVIA

Support for the apostolate of 31 religious sisters in the apostolic vicariate of Pando

The apostolic vicariate of Pando in northern Bolivia lies in the flat lowland region of the Amazon basin. Set remotely, deep in the rainforest, it is only very thinly populated, and the main thoroughfares are the navigable rivers. The one and only road linking the region with the rest of the country is not always passable in the rainy season. This is the context within which the 31 religious sisters of the vicariate have to carry out their apostolate.

Bishop Luis Casey of Pando diocese calls the sisters the "backbone of the work the Church is doing here". It is true; the sisters take on every kind of task – preparing the children for their First Holy Communion and young people for Confirmation, helping the elderly, supporting mothers and children, ministering to the poor, providing medical care and helping people who have no documents to obtain birth certificates, ID documents, baptismal certificates etc, from the authorities. This is very important work, for people who have no papers practically do not exist and can thus not lay claim to any of the normal civic rights. Some of the sisters also visit the prisons and give medical care to the inmates. One sister is responsible for the Catholic schools, and another runs a literacy and learning programme for adults.

Bishop Casey wrote recently to the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need(ACN) and said: "So far, ACN is the only organisation willing to help us in this field. Supporting the apostolate of these sisters is the largest single item in our budget, and apart from your charity we have no one we can turn to. Hence any help at all that you can provide for their support will be most welcome. I want to thank you for thinking of our needs and I pray every day for ACN and your generous benefactors, who are helping to ease the burden that our apostolate here inevitably involves".

ACN has promised a grant of over $15,000. To help this cause please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web: www.aidtochurch.org

Priests, Sisters and Faithful united in the celebration of Holy Mass
(Code: 211-05-39)

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Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org