The operation in Angola grew in the last half of 2019 in Luanda, with the participation of the Grace Mercy Order (OGM), in support of the Santa Isabel Children House (OCSI) which is dedicated to welcoming, protecting and educating orphaned children and young people in vulnerable situations.
According to the coordinator of the OGM Monastery of Our Lady of the Poor and Innocent Saints, the arrival in the country “was a sowing period. We recognized the importance of forming and empowering certain age groups, through live workshops – by exercise, by learning and self-transformation, considering each one’s inner awakening.”
Several practices were performed such as “music, pedagogical accompaniment, lectures on education for teachers and child caregivers, volunteer group cleaning and painting (…), Eco-Enzyme workshops, a food prepration workshop to make soy milk and the use of okara (name given to the remains from the process of making soy extract or other plant extracts), ”he says.
Love, affection and dedication are guides for healing and transformation in this work, through close contact with the children.
Young people over 18 were given “workshops on natural therapeutic care to treat children with respiratory problems and other recurrent symptoms, nutritious baths with soy milk and essential oils, among others,” he adds.
In this context of mutual learning, there was also an opportunity to record a video clip with a song of Angolan culture, organizing various activities and contributing to the interaction and harmony throughout the Children’s House group.
Prayer, which was already a part of life in the shelter, was also included in the routine as an aid for the little ones to find, within themselves, a link with the sublime and the sacred.
Young people like Anabela and Euclides, welcomed by the Children’s House, and are currently working there, express their gratitude about the involvement of the Fraternidade – International Humanitarian Missions FMHI in the mission through the OGM:
“I’ve known the organization for almost two years. It was a transformation in our lives, we learned a concept about God that we had no idea was there. We prayed for ourselves, always for ourselves, but we forgot to thank God for the kingdoms; the animals, the plants, for nature itself, because everything is interconnected with the sacred … “, says Anabela.
“In recent months we have gained lots of experiences with the sisters who came here, and all the joy that is here today. I hope soon to be part of this great mission, because here I learned the real importance of helping others. I can only thank you for the coming of the monastery to Luanda”, shares Euclides gratefully.
For the monastery’s coordinator, the activities are opportunities to do the best that is within each human being to awaken and become a greater good.
“In reality, what we do is very little in the face of so many needs, but we have learned over the years that, in simplicity, we can reach the essence,” he concludes.
Learn more and learn how to contribute!
The missionary activity in Angola, carried out by the Fraternidade – International Humanitarian Missions FMHI, is regularizing its institutional presence in the country.
* OCSI – Obra de Caridade Criança Santa Isabel, founded and coordinated by Sister Domingas, is a charitable, non-profit, non-governmental organization that aims to protect and educate children – essentially orphaned and at risk – in the communities of Cazenga and Viana, outskirsts of Luanda.
