Yo con mi cafe y tu con el mapa!! Llevabas abrigo porque yo te ponia el aire acondicionado muy frio!! En la foto estabamos listas para "hit the road" jajajaja

Que pena que me dan los pajaritos muertos...

Esta era la ovejita de la que hablé en otro post. Estoy super liada, no tengo tiempo de postear pero esta mañana, encontré estas fotos y me hice un tiempito para ponerlas. Me gustan mucho. pienso mucho en lo beneficioso que es para mis hijos vivir en el campo, rodeados de animales. Vacas, ovejas, caballos...

En esta otra foto estoy con mi mamá, mi abuela y su hermano. Siempre me han gustado los caballos, aunque haya tenido muy malas experiencias con ellos. Hace unos meses, he vuelto a subirme a un caballo después del accidente en el que me quebré el hueso de la cabeza. Trate varias veces años atrás, pero no pude.

En la foto estoy con mi amiga Orla, que va conmigo. Es muy divertido y lo pasamos muy bien. Aquí estoy aprendiendo el estilo europeo (muy distinto del estilo americano) y lo mejor de todo es que cabalgamos directamente en el campo, haya sol, lluvia (como en el dia en que tomamos la foto) o viento...me encanta el campo!!

Allí viajé, con los chicos y lloviendo a cantaros (para no variar).
Conocí también a otras 3 personas que trabajan con él desde Irlanda, miembros de la "St Teresa Foundation". En la foto de abajo se puede ver al Padre Liam en el medio, junto a dos de ellos.
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En la foto de arriba se puede ver a José Alberto Jakubow (Cacho) quien recibió el premio en nombre del Padre Guillermo.
Vaya desde aquí, mi saludo cordial y mi felicitación al Padre Liam y a todas las personas que trabajan con él por este premio tan pero tan merecido.

Y mi agradecimiento también por haberme permitido nominarle y haberme tratado desde el principio como una mas de esa gran familia que forman todos los que participan de una forma u otra de este gran proyecto de ayuda humanitaria.

Si quieren leer mas a cerca de la obra del Padre Liam en Oberá, provincia de Misiones, hagan clic aquí.

1-El embajador social a quien quiero nominar se llama Padre Liam Hayes, conocido en Argentina como el Padre Guillermo Hayes. (Liam quiere decir Guillermo en idioma irlandes) Es irlandés, tiene 57 años y es sacerdote de la congregación de Misioneros del Verbo Divino.Vive una parte del año en Oberá, Provincia de Misiones y la otra parte del año en el Condado de Limeric, de donde es oriundo, en La República de Irlanda. La relación del Padre Guillermo con la Argentina comienza allá por 1985 cuando la Congregación de Misioneros del Verbo Divino le envía a Argentina por un período de 3 años.
2- Cuando el Padre Guillermo tomó contacto con la realidad de la gente pobre y necesitada de Argentina, decidió quedarse más de 3 años, y ya lleva en Argentina más de 20 años!.

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Recortes de diarios

7- El Padre Guillermo tiene 30 personas que le ayudan en el mantenimiento de los hogares y del centro de Rehabilitación. En la foto de la izquierda podemos ver a Cacho, quien me envió todo el material a creca del hogar. A su vez, como ya dije, el Padre es la cabeza de un grupo de personas que recaudan fondos y materiales para enviar a Argentina. A su vez, recibe colaboraciones personales, de voluntarios irlandeses que viajan a Argentina, sólo para trabajar gratuitamente por algunos meses en sus hogares.

Como tercer paso, nada mejor que las imágenes...

WILMAR GONZALEZ – 47 years-old (foto de arriba)
As this is being written Wilmar Antonio is seriously ill and we fear for his life. We found him in the hut pictured in this photograph living all alone. He was also found in a most undernourished and dehydrated state. At present the doctors are trying to discover the exact nature of his illness. It seems to be tuberculosis.

Con una Abuela del Centro

RAMÓN FAGUNDEZ – 67 Years- old (foto de arriba)

Ramón a poor paralyzed man lived in an open roofed tiny cabin by the side of a busy road. It is a miracle that no articulated truck swept away this cabin and killed Ramòn. He was also found in a most undernourished and dehydrated state. One immediately noticed the crushing weight of sorrow in the eyes of his poor alcoholic brother who had asked us to rescue Ramòn. What terrible squandering of such precious lives!

JONATHAN SOROKA – 7 years- old (foto de arriba)
Two years ago we found five year old Jonathan. He weighed five kilograms. He was living with his father by the side of a dirty stream in conditions not worthy of an animal, not to mention, a human being His mother had abandoned the family when she discovered that Jonathan was intellectually disabled. This occurred when he completed his first year of life.His two sisters had died. One of them drowned in that stream. His poor father was in a terrible state of despair hoping that Jonathan would die. He could not affoard medicines and did not have a suitable bed for his little son. We arrived and rescued Jonathan on the brink of time. He is now very happy in our home and we love him very much.

ALICIA

MARIO ELISEO SERGIO - 12 years-old (Foto de arriba)
Mario Eliseo is a very special person. We found him in subhuman conditions when he was eight years old. He weighed 8 kilograms. We all entered into a state of shock to see an eight year old boy so undernourished and dehydrated. For most of us it was a terribly tough disturbing experience. He was skin and bone. His mother had died two years previously. Mario Eliseo’s father was a wandering labourer one of the most exploited and abused classes of people in South America. These men work long unsocial hours far away many times from their families, for barely subsitence wages and are prone to terrible accidents without any insurance or other help. Thank God Mario Eliseo has improved physically and in the first year with us his weight increased to sixteen kilograms. The brain damage suffered by Mario Eliseo is irreversible. He will need constant care all his life. He is a most lovable child. There is something Divine about him.

Un cuarto paso para conocer al Padre Liam y a su obra, es leer sus Cartas de Navidad...algunas como las del 2004, estan en castellano, el resto estan en inglés.

La Historia de Julio (extraída de la Carta de Navidad de 2004)

Déjenme contarles a cerca de Julio Mario porque su historia nos ilustra la tristeza y la alegría de transitar con nuestros residentes. Julio vino de una familia muy grande y pobre. Lo encontramos en el hospital local hace tiempo en Noviembre del año 2000 después de un serio accidente de buceo. Había calculado mal la profundidad del río donde él estaba zambulléndose y su cabeza se golpeó contra una roca. Sus compañeros creyeron que les estaba haciendo un chiste y se arrojaron sobre él. Como resultado quedó cuadriplégico a la edad de 20 años.
Se lo trajo al hospital estatal de Posadas, Capital de la provincia de Misiones a unos 100 km. de Oberá, ciudad donde nosotros trabajamos. Se lo descuidó en el hospital, como puede suceder tan frecuentemente en hospitales estatales en Argentina. (Es común ver a gente seriamente enferma o muriéndose abandonados y dejados solos para arreglarse como puedan). Estos lugares están lejos de los hospitales irlandeses donde el nivel de limpieza y cuidado siguen siendo altos, a pesar de los problemas con el sistema de salud irlandés).
Julio pasó dos años en este hospital donde su salud empeoraba día a día. Sus padres nos rogaron ayudarlos y es así que nosotros lo trajimos al Hogar Santa Teresita.
Recuerdo la primera velada con nosotros. Su cuerpo recubierto de escaras, algunas de ellas ulcerosas. Lo teníamos que acomodar en una posición especial para descansar y tuvo que estar acostado boca abajo durante muchos meses. Pero nuestros asistentes ponían almohadones en el piso para enfrentarlo mientras charlaban con él. Este gesto cariñoso fue típico de su gran amor, compasión y trabajo duro en aras de nuestros residentes. Julio mejoró vertiginosamente. Pasó por dos operaciones más de transplante de piel de una parte de su cuerpo a otra. Las escaras se sanaron y se cerraron durante los tres años que estuvo con nosotros.
Gracias a un generoso donante disfrutó de una silla de ruedas automática. Obtuvo un diploma de radio-aficionado amateur. Y llegó a ser muy conocido y popular y muy querido en la ciudad de Oberá. Atendía el teléfono y recibía a las personas que visitaban el Hogar Santa Teresa. Estaba encantado con la noticia de que la Presidente de Irlanda, la Señora Mary McAleese, iba a visitar nuestros hogares el último 20 de Marzo. Había estado visitando e invitando a nuestros vecinos para venir y conocerla.
Tristemente, Julio nunca llegó a conocer a la Presidente. Falleció repentinamente el 11 de Febrero, seis semanas antes de su llegada.
Estábamos aturdidos por el schok. Todos nosotros, residentes y asistentes lloramos profundamente y experimentamos una sensación de vacío, todo parecía cambiado. Nos encontramos con que nos resultaba muy difícil continuar. Para mi, personalmente, fue un terrible golpe. Cada año, antes de que saliera hacia Irlanda en búsqueda de fondos, Julio me despedía en el aeropuerto de Posadas, derramando copiosas lágrimas y haciéndome recordar de no quedarme demasiado tiempo.
En los días posteriores al entierro de Julio Mario, reflexionamos y evaluamos su breve vida. Amaba el Hogar de Santa Teresa. Vivía para él. Estaba muy feliz cuando nosotros rescatábamos a alguna pobre persona abandonada y la traíamos a vivir con nosotros. Cuando nos contactaron para ayudar a Mario Eliseo de diez años, Julio no descansó ni de noche ni de día hasta que la criatura llegara sana y salva. (Ustedes recordarán de Mario Eliseo de cartas anteriores. Él continúa mejorando, gracias a Dios y está mucho más fuerte de lo que era cuando llegó). La muerte de Julio me hizo recordar las palabras del poeta Mar Van Doren ante la repentina muerte del Padre Thomas Merton:
“El mejor envase del mejor vino,
Volcado de una sola vez de repente
Sujetado, pero nadie lo puede salvar,
Nada quedó excepto la fragancia…”
A pesar de nuestra tristeza, sabíamos que la mejor manera de honrar la memoria de Julio sería continuar nuestra misión y alcanzar y brindar ayuda a tanta gente como nos sea posible.

La Historia de Marcelo (extraída de la Carta de Navidad de 2004)

Nos encontramos con Marcelo de veintisiete años, mal nutrido, deshidratado y muriendo en condiciones infra-humanas. Su cuerpo estaba cubierto de profundas escaras ulceradas y otra vez tuvo que estar acostado boca abajo y nosotros encontramos una posición especial para él. Pero Marcelo nos llegó demasiado tarde. A pesar de que logramos aliviarle sus sufrimientos en algo durante su breve estadía con nosotros, fue llevado a una mejor vida dentro de las nueve semanas posteriores. Tuvo el consuelo de la visita de su madre por primera vez en quince años. Semejante separación tan prolongada se debía al hecho de que sus padres estaban separados y Marcelo había quedado con su padre. Ahora en la última semana de su vida, su madre estaba de visita en la localidad y gracias a Dios se conmovió y vino a visitar a Marcelo.

La Historia de Jorge y Ana (extraída de la Carta de Navidad de 2004)

Nuestros otros dos residentes quienes fallecieron este año eran Jorge y Ana. Jorge vino de una familia con un entorno muy duro y estaba discapacitado desde el nacimiento. Repentinamente se enfermó a fines de Julio, así como Miguel, otro de nuestros residentes acerca del cual he escrito anteriormente. Mientras que Miguel se recuperó y ahora está bastante bien, Jorge falleció después en unos días en el Hospital.
Ana era una mujer mayor, abandonada por su familia. Aún en sus últimos momentos fueron renuentes a verla. Pero nuestro asistente Fernando, la acompañó con cariño y oraciones mientras ella se preparaba para el próximo mundo.

La Historia de Ariel Márquez (extraída de la Carta de Navidad de 2004)

Su visita fue un evento que le cambió la vida por lo menos a una criatura en especial. Recientemente llegamos a conocer a Ariel de 10 años, quien vive cerca de nosotros y cuya familia es extremadamente pobre. No hace mucho tiempo Ariel perdió un ojo a consecuencia de una infección descuida. Pero, gracias a la buena voluntad generada por la visita de la Presidenta, pudimos “presionar” a las autoridades locales a favor de él. Ariel recibió una atención adecuada y ahora tiene un ojo ortopédico que le ha dado un nuevo enfoque a la vida.
No es solo eso, pero nuestros hogares a pedido de nuestros voluntarios irlandeses e ingleses, han “adoptado” en cierto sentido a Ariel, a sus padres y sus cinco hermanos y hermanas. Estamos ayudándoles a adquirir una casa y enseñándoles como plantar un jardín. El padre de Ariel, era hasta entonces, un labrador errante, una de las clases más explotadas y abusadas en América del Sur. Estos hombres trabajan largas horas lejos, muchas veces, de sus familias, por jornales que apenas cubren su subsistencia y están expuestos a terribles accidentes, sin ningún seguro en otra ayuda. Ayudarle a esta familia a recuperar su dignidad es un nuevo reto para nosotros.

Los Voluntarios del 2004 (extraído de la Carta de Navidad de 2004)

Tal vez tendría que mencionarles a los que reciben una carta de Navidad por primera vez de que nuestros 2 hogares, Santa Teresa en Oberá y Nuestra Señora de Luján en la cercanía de Guaraní, son centros de cuidado y oración. Son un refugio para la gente abandonada con dificultades físicas y de aprendizaje y de mayores abandonados. Actúan como hogares de tránsito para gente que no tiene otro lugar donde recuperarse de sus enfermedades. Son asilos donde algunos pasan sus últimos días en un ambiente de cuidado y confort. Y para algunos niños, son hogares temporarios hasta que podamos organizar unos padres adoptivos convenientes.
Estos hogares están formalmente ligados con la Organización Cheshire Internacional que ha sido un respaldo durante años. Financieramente, no obstante, dependemos casi completamente de las donaciones de Irlanda y Gran Bretaña. Este año tuvimos 9 voluntarios (irlandeses e ingleses) quienes vinieron a ayudarnos en varias etapas durante el año. Por favor, únanse conmigo para agradecerle a Dios Niamh, Triona, Edmund, Aileen, Denis, Rónán, Ciara, Páraic, John, los dos Rom, Breege y Josefina. Ellos aliviaron el peso durante un año muy difícil. Creo que un rasgo particular de los voluntarios irlandeses e ingleses que ellos no se limitan a trabajar en sus propios países sino que se extienden a los confines de la tierra. Esto es ahora mas importante que nunca por la terrible situación económica y social que divide al primer mundo del tercer mundo. Somos una familia humana global y la mayoría de la familia está viviendo en grandes lagunas de pobreza y falta de esperanza.
Los voluntarios que se nos unieron brindaron generosamente su tiempo, talento y energías, no por algún beneficio sino por amor a Dios y respeto por algunas de las gentes más olvidadas del mundo. El trabajo voluntario aquí no es fácil debido al idioma, los caminos de tierra y la mera pobreza inhumana. Pero fuimos muy afortunados de que nuestros visitantes tuvieron la fortaleza y las cualidades necesarias para adaptarse.
Ayudaron de varios modos- alimentando, enseñando, jugando, hablando, riendo, consolando, atendiendo, otorgando cuidado terapéutico profesional, etc. de acuerdo a sus habilidades. Enseñaron inglés, música y arte a algunos de nuestros jóvenes en tránsito de una manera de la más agradable y disciplinada.

Carta de Navidad de 2005 (en inglés)

Dear

Christmas is always a special time. In spite of all the pains and difficulties of life Christmas reassures us that we have access to a “peace which the world cannot give”. The beautiful carol “Silent Night” reminds us to pray that Christ will fill our hearts with that peace which he came to give us on that first Silent Night.
It is thanks to an Austrian priest Father Josef Mohr that we have the song Silent Night. On Christmas week 1818, he was called to perform a baptism in a small Alpine cabin high up in the mountains above the Austrian village of Oberndorf. The little wooden cabin had one low room, was badly lit and filled with wood smoke. In the centre stood a rough wooden table and two stools. It was a poor house. But on the crude wooden bed lay the young mother, smiling happily as she held her sleeping baby in her arms.
Bethlehem was foremost in Father Mohr’s mind as he baptised the child. The mountain cabin was not as poor as Bethlehem´s cave, but the peace surrounding the Alpine family and their poor home reminded him of that first Christmas night long ago. On returning home from the baptism his soul was filled with peace and joy, and with this peace of Christ in his heart, his thoughts about the events of the night took the form of a poem. Originally he called the poem Song from Heaven. Its simple words are a mirror of the beauty and joy he saw and felt on that Christmas night so many years ago.
In this part of the world, it is the custom for us Divine World Missionaries to meet socially after the busy pastoral season of Christmas. During this get together Silent Night is sung in a number of different languages including Japanese, Hungarian, Polish, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Filipino, Portuguese, Spanish and Irish. We are an international team working here in Misiones, Argentina, but the mysterious charm of this beautiful song creates a unique family bond between all of us as each one of us can claim it for our own.
Joyous Arrivals
Like the joyous arrivals in Oberndorf almost two centuries ago, St. Teresa’s Home welcomed four wonderful new arrivals during Christmas week 2004. First a twenty four year old woman, Sandra, arrived with two beautiful children: Karina aged five years and Alejandro aged two years. Sandra has severe intellectual disability and lives in a world of her own. She is continually making noise and talks very loudly to herself. Her life story is very sad, overflowing with all kinds of mental and physical suffering. We found her in an unventilated space beneath a wooden house, in an advanced malnourished and dehydrated state. She had been abused by her stepfather and other men in the neighbourhood. Her youngest child Alejandro is intellectually and physically disabled as a result of these inhumane and harsh conditions and is unable to walk. As well as being dehydrated and malnourished, both children were suffering from advanced trauma on arrival. Mabel and Fernando, a fantastic couple who have worked in our homes for a number of years, have adopted these two beautiful children and the process of healing their horrific psychological and physical wounds is now, thank God, underway.
Mario Junior
Late Christmas Eve brought us our fourth and extra special delivery, Mario Junior. He was born in September 2004, in the local hospital where I am chaplain. He suffers from both hydrocephaly and hydranencephaly, which means that part of his brain tissue is absent and that he has fluid in the brain. His seventeen year-old mother had abandoned him. Thanks to some hospital nurses, he managed to survive beyond what was expected in the hospital, but by and large he was untreated by the staff. The hospital doctors informed us that he had only a short time to live. One of the doctors even remarked that it was a waste of money to try to save him as he was sure to die very soon. It was shocking to realise that Mario Junior has spent a hundred days in a State hospital, that nothing had been done for him and that people considered spending money on him a waste. As a result he was denied appropriate treatment, including the insertion of a valve to drain fluid from his brain.
For us, Mario Junior is a child, deserving of our love and care while he is with us on this earth. As time went by we noticed that his eyes would not close properly. We began to enquire about getting him correct treatment.
By chance a visiting medical specialist from Buenos Aires came to our homes and was shocked to learn of the careless and unethical way in which Mario Junior had been treated. He offered to install the necessary valve. This seemed like a good move. However, it was only the start of a long arduous journey to help poor Mario Junior. Argentina is a very bureaucratic country and we had to seek the permission of the local judge in order for him to undergo treatment. The fact that his mother had pretended that he had died complicated matters further. We needed her permission and so the judge authorised a police warrant to detain her to enable us to get the required permission. The police search extended over the north east of Argentina. Eventually she was found and the necessary permission was given to enable Mario Junior to undergo the operation. We breathed a sigh of relief. But further complications awaited us.
We then needed to transport Mario Junior by ambulance to Buenos Aires since it would have been too risky to travel by air. The province’s Minister for Health authorised the necessary ambulance with some reluctance, but a hundred kilometres into our journey he changed his mind - stating that what could be done for Mario Junior in Buenos Aires could in fact be done in Posadas, Misiones. Thanks to helpful local journalists who had covered President McAleese’s visit, we were able to lobby the Minister successfully. The valve has been installed and the quality of Mario Junior’s life has improved a lot. He now laughs and cries and is well able to look for attention. We had the joyous occasion of celebrating his first birthday on the 14th September last.
Farewells
There is a great family atmosphere and sense of love in our homes. This is why we feel so heartbroken and a terrible loss when family members die. Three of our residents - Miguel, Loraine and Maria Yoli passed to Eternal Life in the past year. All had been abandoned and had suffered a great deal. It can be hard for us to fully comprehend the true horror of being abandoned. The worst disease in the world is not leprosy or tuberculosis but the feeling of being unwanted, unloved and abandoned by everyone.
Maria Yoli
Maria Yoli was a very special person with hydrocephalus. Nine years ago we found her abandoned in a field with grass in her mouth. Her head was twice the size of the rest of her body and her veins were very visible. Her mother was, like Sandra, severely intellectually disabled. We took Maria Yoli to the local hospital. I personally did not think that she would survive, but little by little she improved. A valve was installed in her head and this stabilised her condition. She came to live in St. Teresa’s Home, and continued medical help, good food and lots of love worked wonders for her. She had lost the gift of her sight due to the terrible malnourishment that she suffered, but she enriched the quality of life no end in our family. She simply spread joy all around her. She loved music, singing and praying. She simply lived for the Liturgy and the Rosary. She was blessed with a superb sense of memory and would recall the numbers of hymns to be sung, and would recall with exactitude what books they were in, the Old Books and the New Books. She helped us realise the great potential that music has in providing therapy. She brought home to us that music is an essential means of communication and interaction between all the residents and that group music experiences creates bonding and a sense of community among our residents and assistants. This is something we would love to develop more in the new wing of the home that we hope shortly to build.
Maria Yoli died rather suddenly on the 8th July last. The State-run hospital was not very helpful. It was heartbreaking (but so common here) that they had no sense of urgency in attending poor Maria Yoli. We all miss her. Ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann.
We remember Maria Yoli as a most happy person who communicated a great sense of happiness to all around her every day of her life. Liturgy for Maria Yoli was truly a celebration. She put her entire heart and soul into it. Adapting words from Psalm 41, we can say:
“These things will we remember
How Maria Yoli would lead the rejoicing crowd
Into the House of God
Amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving
The throng wild with joy.” (cf Psalm 41:5)
Maria Yoli´s voice may not blend in perfect harmony with the choirs of angels in heaven, but she will rival them in volume and enthusiasm as with them she proclaims God’s glory and joins in the unending hymn of praise.
Tsunami
The last Christmas gathering of the Divine Word Missionaries here was overshadowed by the terrible tragedy of the tsunami. A number of my SVD brother priests come from Indonesia and East Timor. They were cut off from their loved ones and so their suspense was terrible as they wondered what had happened to their nearest and dearest. We all prayed together. It was incredible to believe that the tsunami had laid waste to thousands of miles of the Indian Ocean coastline. Our SVD congregation with other religious congregations have played an important role in the relief effort in all the stricken countries. Our congregation put their local knowledge and expertise to good use in this major disaster. In India and Indonesia our combined congregations of priests, brothers, sisters and lay people distributed much needed supplies including rice, sheets, saris, towels, utensils and kerosene.
Our Superior General, Fr Antonio Pernia SVD, visited Banda Aceh in Indonesia, a region which received the full blast of the tsunami. He was asked to say something about the Resurrection. It was a most difficult challenge for him to preach about the Resurrection to a people who had just experienced death and destruction on a massive scale. What to say about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead to someone who has lost a brother, a son, a sister, a daughter, parents or relatives in one of the most devastating natural catastrophes in recent times? In the end he chose the words “I am the Resurrection. If anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (JN 11: 25-26). While he was there one man stood on a bare site that used to be his home. The man believed that he’d lost everything and everyone. Moments later a young man came by on a motorbike. It turned out to be a family member. On seeing each other both men embraced and cried with joy. Fr Pernia returned from Banda Aceh impressed by the resilience of the people and their capacity to start life anew.
Visitors, Volunteers and TG4
We were honoured by the visit of the Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr Michael McDowell to our homes on 18th March last. The Minister was accompanied by his wife Niamh Brennan, the Irish Ambassador to Argentina Mr Keith Thompson, his wife Soledad, and other members of their delegation. Later on in the year Maria Kenneally, Mary Hoolahan and Aidin O´Sullivan from the Institute of Technology in Blanchardstown, as well as Ciara Davin, Huw Taylor and the O’Shaughnessy family from Mullingar, Ireland were cherished guests among us.
Again in the past year superb English and Irish volunteers as well as Ruben Weiringer, our first Austrian volunteer from the magical village of Oberndorf (see above), came to help us at various stages. May God bless abundantly Joanne O’Sullivan, Rupal Karia, Tejal Shan, Frances Marriet, Isabel MacMillan-Scott and Ruben. All those wonderful people through their individual talents, skills and generosity brought a great sense of purpose to all our lives. They found the time spent with us a vital antidote to materialism. All had in common a desire to search for a deeper meaning in life and a wish to narrow the terrible unjust gap between the first and third world. Their time with us helped them reflect on how lucky they are to have so much and they felt that the best way to thank God for this was to share so that others may escape from abject poverty. All came with a deep respect for the dignity and life of the people here.
London Event
I want to pay a special thanks to Kerry Keegan, the Secretary of our UK charity, her husband Brian, Frances Marriet and Isabel MacMillan-Scott for all their Trojan efforts in organising a fundraising event for us in London. The venue was Tavistock Square, where three weeks before a double decker bus was blown up in the London bombings. As you can imagine this added untold strain and worry to the event organisers. They decided to go ahead and thank God the night was a success. I would also like to thank Tom Duffy from Mullingar who flew over at this vital time to give support and encouragement to the event.
TG4
The Irish language television channel TG4 came last December and did a feature on the homes. This was broadcast on Good Friday last and subsequently shown on two other TV channels. I would like to thank all the crew from TG4 who did us a great service by bringing the work of the homes to a wide audience.
Wedding Bells
“It’s love that makes the world go round,” the song says. Una McAnulty, one of our Irish volunteers, met Ernesto Silclir, one of our assistants from the locality, here in Oberá. They fell in love and were married last February. Ernesto and Una have a great sense of vocation to help people with disabilities find their potential and live as active a life as possible. The happy couple is now living in Ireland. Ernestor made an enormous contribution to our homes over a number of years, and worked for a long time without pay in the very early days when we had next to nothing. All of us wish Una and Ernesto many years of love and happiness. May God shower his innumerable blessings upon them.

Carta de Navidad de 2006 (en inglés)

“To us a child is born…He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)” Christmas is almost upon us again. I was assigned to Misiones in the north-east of Argentina twenty-one years ago.
I had not opted for this part of the world preferring to stay some where in the northern hemisphere. One of my first reactions was how can one endure Christmas in ferocious hot and humid tropical conditions with temperatures soaring to over 40º C. this imagined culture shock was for me very difficult to think about. A German brother missionary invited me to accompany him to concelebrate midnight Mass in one of the outlying chapels. On my first Christmas night here of red and We bumped over miles before reaching our destination_ a little chapel with galvanized roof, gravel or dirt floor, was poorly illuminated with no windows or doors. Mosquitos abounded and really annoyed one. Our congregation consisted of families from the barrio. This simple celebration brought me face to face with a beautiful Christmas tradition here in South America. The children of barrio acted the Christmas Story and placed a recent newly born sleeping baby boy in the manger. It was a sight to behold to see the children and young people dressed as angels, shepherds and kings. The real baby in the manger really touched my heart. All of this drama really gave me a wonderful sense of the Christmas spirit. This poor chapel without a floor, windows, door and lit by lamps and candles helped to give one an idea of Bethleham’s cave on that first Christmas night over two thousand years ago. It brought home to me what a great night is Christmas night. These wonderful people inspite of their extreme poverty gave great joy and shared most generously their few material possessions. They gave from the heart. They also helped me appreciate the beauty and importance of the birth of the infant Jesus which expresses itself beautifully in all cultures and climates.
And so it is a joy to share some of our yearly “happenings” in the light of the great hope which Christ gave to us by becoming one of us.

Bangkok Conference
The ink was barely dry on last year’s Christmas letter when I received an invitation to attend a meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council for Asia and the Pacific with Leonard Cheshire International in Bangkok, Thailand. It was a wonderful and a most up-lifting experience. Just imagine the camaraderie and the energy of spending some days with people of different cultures, such as Buddhist, Islamic, African and others, from many different countries, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, South Africa, Kenya, Brazil, Afghanistan, India, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and many other countries. The variety of national costumes was most colourful. Lecture themes were most interesting and challenging. It was a great spiritual experience to meet people who go quietly about their business in sometimes harrowing and dangerous circumstances, giving help to the suffering and the hungry. They make no claim to be anything out of the ordinary but their commitment is very far from ordinary.
It was during this Conference that I witnessed a glowing example of how the inspiration and energy of a married couple can benefit thousands of others. I met with Thomas and Andrey Carson Harte from Co. Down, Northern Ireland. They have set up the Cambodian Trust in order to help victims of landmines explosions. This all began some years when watching the horrendous suffering of landmine victims on television. They could not put out of their minds the images of people made suddenly legless, armless, and condemned to life of misery and utmost suffering. Thomas is a manufacturer of orthopedic parts. He and his wife decided to pay a short visit to Cambodia and see this brutal reality at firsthand. This visit changed not only their lives but the lives of thousands of other people as well. Thomas told me that he could have a comfortable nine to five regular life but he could not be happy thinking of the difference that could be made for many other people by sharing his and talents life with them. He trains local people in Cambodia to make orthopedic parts. He and his wife have set up local centres in order- to reach many more victims. Their rehabilitation work has extended to Laos and Vietnam. It was fantastic to meet one of their Cambodian helpers. Thanks to people like Thomas and Andrey and many more who were present at this Conference many thousands will enjoy a better Christmas this year.
My stay in Thailand gave me the opportunity to meet with an outstanding Irish missionary Sr. Louis, a Good Shepherd Sister, from Bandow Co. Cork Sister Louis is a great humanitarian and over the years has helped and rescued innumerable orphans on the streets of Bangkok. But I suspect that that Sister Louis’ great sense of humility prevent her from appreciating the full extent of her achievements.
The visit to Thailand was a special grace for me. I visited the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and was fascinated by the magnificent arquitectural expressions of an ancient and beautiful religious culture. Listening to the Buddhist chants in the different temples brought to my mind that we are made to praise God and the chant reminds us that our lives are flowing to this great meeting with God. This wonderful moment that we have been created for.

Rosalia y Maria
A number of our residents experienced this moment of ecstasy during the past year. Let me tell you about two of them Rosalia y Maria who went home to God. They lived in our “Virgen de Lujan” Home for abandoned senior citizens.
The life story of these two residents is not at all romantic and is the earthly fate of thousands of people here: a toilsome youth and adulthood, a life of humility and deprivation and terrible suffering and finally a quiet death, about which few people knew unless they were closely associated with them in life. Both had families. Both worked long and had under the hot tropical and endured the ferocious tropical rains in order sun to make ends meet. Both had no material luxury worth speaking of. Both were found in sub-human conditions undernourished and dehydrated. Both became great friends in our Home. They shared the same room. Time and time again they expressed their joy for having a roof over their heads protecting them from the ferocious sun and very heavy tropical rains. They enjoyed listening to the rain pounding like our galvanized roof. They were so contented to have enough to eat. Many is time the words of Padraig Colum’s poem came to my mind:
“Oh to have a little house!
To own the hearth and stool and all…
For a little house- a house of my own
Out of the wind and the rain’s way”.

But Rosalia and Maria shared a common incurable interior pain. Their children never came to visit them.
It was impossible to cure or alleviate this pain. For some an aged parent is a nuisance and some sons and daughters are unwilling to repay the debt they owe. Rosalia and Maria would agree with Shakespeare when he wrote:
“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is
To have a thankless child!

Rosalia fell and injured her ribcage. She was interned in the local hospital. She begged on me to take her home. The doctor ordered her to stay. It almost broke my heart to refuse her request- three nights later she died suddenly at 22:35 p.m. We decided not to inform her friend Maria until the following morning- but at 00:30 a.m.- just two hours later Maria also died suddenly. It is rather lovely to think that Maria who was very friendly with Rosalia should have gone so soon to join her.

Visitors and Volunteers
God blessed our Homes with wonderful and most generous visitors and volunteers during the past year Des Kelly and Tony Kavanagh led this great procession of people who promoted health, welfare and well-being.
Des and Tony have set up the Waterford Support Group. Please find enclosed a copy of their leaflet.
Mr. Tom Kitt T.D., Government Chief Whip and Minister of State to the Taoiseach, his wife Jacinta, Irish Ambassador to Argentina Mairtín Ó Fainín his wife Anne and the Minister’s Private Secretary Andrea Heron.
John Hayes who is doing the legal work in order to set up Charity in Ireland to support our Homes accompanied by Tom Carroll, June Walsh, Pauline Wynn and Coleen Roughneen from Co. Mayo..
Niamh Herathy and Regina O’Malley also from Co. Mayo.
Lisa Casey and her boyfriend Cian from Cork paid us a surprise visit, Lisa is the daughter of our “fairy Go-Mother” Mrs. Lilian Casey who has been helping here from the beginning. Lilian with Breda Ó Dwyer in Cappamore helped us to keep alive by organizing the sale of Christmas Cards.
Our work was given a new lease of life by the enormous contribution of thirteen others from all over Ireland. They work in different professions, teachers, nurses, bricklayers, electronic engineer, PhD student, computer experts, and some of the groups were also good traditional musicians. Some of this group built a house for a Muslim fishing family who had lost everything, including their mother, father, son daughter and orphaned newhew in the Tsunami disaster in Thailand. They raised money and under a fierce tropical sun laid the foundations of Store for our Homes. In this way we will have place to deposit future containers from Ireland and England. They plan to send us needed wheelchairs, hoists, clothes, bedclothes and other items. Many of them sacrificed their annual holidays in order to help some of the poorest people in the world. It made me feels happy that these people with all the mod cons such as pods, expensive cameras, etc, should have made a sacrifice and worked from dawn to dark here in order to make a difference and help others. Each one of them individually told me with great emotion when they were departing that the “help” they gave was far from one way. They all gave generously of themselves, their time, their talents, and their energies. A great bond has come into being between our Homes and these fantastic people. It was mentioned in last year’s Christmas letter that a very special baby arrived to us on Christmas Eve 2004. Mario Junior is his name. He suffers from both hydrocephaly and hydranencephaly. We have all fallen in love with him. He was very ill recently. We begged of God to allow him stay with us a little while longer. During the course of his illness it was impressive the number of e-mails we received from our returned volunteers enquiring about Mario Junior. Thank God, Mario Junior is full of life again.

Divine Word Missionaries Genera Chapter
The XVI general chapter of our Congregation was held in Rome from the 4th of June to the 8th of July this year. The General Chapter is the highest governing body of the Society. This chapter is with God’s help renewing the life and mission in the light of the Church’s teaching and the needs of the world.

Comhghairdeas- Congradulations
All of us in the Homes join voices in thanking God for the birth of a baby daughter to Kerry and Brian Keegan in London. Kerry and her husband Brian are among those wonderful people who help so much in order that some of the world’s most forgotten people have their basic needs supplied such as food, medicine, a roof over their heads and for some access to education. Kerry is also the secretary of our U.K. Charity.

With love and prayers from all in the Virgen de Lujan and Santa Teresa del Niño Jesús Homes in Misiones, Argentina.

Por último, les dejo una carta escrita por Mary Bartnikowski , una fotografa que vive en Palo Alto, California. Ella ha viajado a la India, Nepal, Bali, España, Italia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia y Argentina para sacar fotos para sus exhibiciones y al mismo tiempo llevando a cabo proyectos humanitarios.

"I am falling in love here at Santa Theresa Del Nino Jesus. The residents have hugged their way into my heart and are making it difficult to leave. There is no sense wearing any lipstick around here - with all the affection it gets kissed right off. This is a new experience for me to live and work with people who have been abandoned and forgotten by their own families: Mario was riddled with insects when he arrived here, Sandra was found in a dungeon abused by her own father and several men in her neighborhood, Maria Inez was discovered in a field eating grass, left there to die by her family. Angelica was tortured by her father and brother, they bashed her head repeatedly, burned and tore her clothes. Leta had worms and parasites from extreme physical neglect. Almost everyone was brutally abused, denied food or water, ignored, or lived in subhuman conditions. One boy was found eating his food out of a dish on the floor like a dog. And now they are nurtured, happy, and live in a gorgeous home. They are loved by the certified saintly staff, who have taught me in leaps and bounds about patience, tenderness, and unconditional love. It is an extended healthy family here and I am included in that circle of love. I am offered fresh juice from the orange trees in their ample organic garden, meals appear in front of me unasked and we do things together; participate in mass, eat meals, sitin the paradisical garden listening to exotic birds sing and see riots of flowers blooming all day. How can I possibly leave? There have been many profound moments during my stay here. As I feed Lucas, a rambunctious teenager in a wheelchair, his lunch, he throws his arms around my neck and gives me a take-my-breath-away hug. He does this in the middle of every meal. Then one night during bed time - Leta laid down in her bed beaming ablissful smile ready to fall asleep under her cozy blanket. She looked beatific. On one rainy night several residents waiting for mass to begin excitedly motioned from their wheelchairs for me to join them. The next day we took Angelica who cannot talk but speaks volumes with her eyes into town on the bus. Her enthusiasm and laughter at all the shop windows and activity made me feel content and happy to be alive. Unconditional love is what I have received here everyday. How can I go back to the real world now. Father Liam started the home 18 years ago when he found a boy tied to a tree just left there to die by his family. He could not sleep so he did something about it. In his own words he says, "Love solves everything. If everyone did one small thing to help it would change the world. I feel called to do this work. We are all disabled. Stuck in ourselves, weare sad, depressed, self centered. The call to the priesthood is to heal the broken hearted."His work heals lonely and forgotten souls. And to help him, he has attracted a staff of 25 or 30 people who are certified saints. I have been treated with only kindness, love, and patience every hour of my time here exactly like the residents are. All the people who work here are from the local community in Obera, Argentina, Yosevia the cook, Racquel, all the girls, Carmen who has been here ten years, Hector the miracle gardener, the strong men, Fabrizio, and Alberto. Sara, Gladys, and Cacho who steer the ship, they all regard each resident with tenderness and pure love. It is a family here and I have been enveloped inlove ever since I got here. Unlike the real world it is a paradiscial oasis; the homes are large and scrupulously clean with high ceilings and lavishly lush gardens. The last few days have been cold and the fireplaces were blazing tocheer and warm everyone up. Today was difficult as Mario Jr died this morning. He came to the home two years ago when he was close to dying in ahospital after his 17-year-old mother abandoned him. A child prostitute, she fled when she saw him. He had hydrocephalia, fluid on the brain; his head grew to be larger than his body. Barely kept alive by the hospital nurses they expected him to die any minute so they reasoned they did not have to treat him. When Father Liam found him he did everything he could to get him into the home and to finally have his head drained of fluid. He had to make a difference in this little baby`s life. Love did solve everything as he came here to live and was loved and kissed until yesterday when he died peacefully. His coffin was so tiny in the funeral limousine but his heart was bigger than his body as everyone who knew him loved him fiercely. After the service; fit for a king, we buried him and sang at his flowered grave site. Today we all have an angel in heaven watching over us. This place is a miracle. The love here radiates through the homes and out into the world. I have never seen anything like it. I have never seen anything like it. I am leaving tomorrow and I all ready miss it."