Myanmar Jesuit seminarians bring joy to disabled, orphans

While many people were welcoming the new year with various celebrations such as parties and gatherings, seminarians from the Jesuit congregation in Myanmar reached out to a church-run disabled centre.

Jan 09, 2021

By John Zaw
While many people were welcoming the new year with various celebrations such as parties and gatherings, seminarians from the Jesuit congregation in Myanmar reached out to a church-run disabled centre.

Young brothers and candidates spent the first day of the year with people with physical impairments and orphans by playing games and doing other fun activities and preparing food for them.

For Jesuit candidates, it’s also a weekly outreach programme for the centre. Some are visually or hearing impaired while others suffer from polio or epilepsy. Several are orphans, while a few have to be physically restrained lest they hurt themselves.

The centre, which has been running for more than five decades,  survives on donations, especially from local donors including Buddhists and some Chinese.

It is now struggling to provide food to the residents as there are fewer donations from local benefactors due to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the nuns.

Since the pandemic hit Myanmar in late March, Jesuits in Myanmar have filled the gap in responding to COVID-19 by offering aid to the poor and vulnerable.

They provide food to the needy in Yangon, Taunggyi and displaced people in Myitkyina, capital of Kachin state. And they have helped families build simple livelihoods by supplying small loans to purchase tricycle taxis, sewing machines and cooking utensils.

In September, Myanmar Jesuit Mission (MJM) held an eight-week  sewing and tailoring programme for women in two IDP camps in Myitkyina as part of a project designed to empower women, enhance vocational skills and enable them to overcome poverty and dependence on aid.

MJM is also working with local sex workers to support women in Yangon, the commercial hub of the country. A growing number of women have been forced into working as prostitutes after hundreds of factories were closed down.

As a future plan, MJM aims to offer skills training and microcredit loans with the aim of empowering the women and offering them a route out of the sex trade, leading to a safer and more secure future for them and their children. ––ucanews.com

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