2011-08 Horn of Africa – Drought/Famine
October 7, 2011 — Message for the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary
October 7, 2011
Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary
SOS DRS
Servants of St. Camillus
Disaster Relief Services
The CTF-SOS DRS Assessment Team in East Africa begins to implement a project to help those affected by the spreading famine.
Both prayer and action are needed.
On the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (October 7) we ask that you pray the World Mission Rosary with us to end the famine. 30,000 children have died in three months. 12 million people are vulnerable in the region. We pray to Mary for her special motherly intercession and mercy for the children of East Africa currently suffering from the famine.
In Wajir, Kenya, our CTF-SOS DRS team has joined local Camillian Sisters and Fathers/Brothers who reside in the local province in the epicenter of this on-going disaster. The team has concluded that the CTF-SOS DRS response over the next year should focus on 1) food relief, 2) potable water, and 3) a mobile medical clinic to reach out to victims in near-by communities. Currently, CTF-SOS DRS is gathering resources from Europe and the Americas for this relief work. Immediate relief is already being provided as we secure more support for the next several months.
Scripture Passage
Joel 1:13-15 (Reading 1):
Gird yourselves and weep, O priests!
wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
O ministers of my God!
The house of your God is deprived
of offering and libation.
Proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the elders,
all who dwell in the land,
Into the house of the LORD, your God,
and cry to the LORD!
Reflection
Today’s first reading reminds us how the Old Testament prophets would regularly cry out to the Lord in times of need. Today during the on-going famine we need to make ourselves heard by the Lord. Archbishop Fulton Sheen encouraged us to raise our voices to the Lord through the medium of the Rosary. Praying the World Mission Rosary that has a decade devoted to Africa is especially appropriate at this time. Let us pray it together today. As the Camillians in Wajir, Kenya and our CTF-SOS DRS community respond to the on-going famine they need the prayer and support of us all.
The Pope has challenged all people of faith stating: “Think about all our brothers and sisters who in these days, in the Horn of Africa, are suffering the dramatic consequences of famine that has been aggravated by war and a lack of solid institutions. Christ is concerned with material needs but wants to provide more because man is always hungry for something more: he has need of something greater.”
Please support our efforts to end the famine by praying the World Mission Rosary this weekend.
http://sosdrs.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/world-mission-rosary-intentions-september-26-october-9-2011/
Please follow the link below to make a financial gift to SOS DRS:
http://www.sosdrs.org/English_Help_Us.htm
Thank you for your support and prayer over the last several months!
In Christ, through Mary –
Fr. Scott Binet, MD,MI
Family Physician
Camillian Task Force
President – SOS DRS (SOS Doctors)
SOS DRS is a non-profit organization and all donations may be deductible.
About SOS DRS: SOS DRS is a registered 501(c)3 organization in the USA and is an integral part of the Camillian Task Force of the international disaster relief organization of the Ministers of the Infirm, the Catholic Order founded by St. Camillus de Lellis in 1590. SOS DRS serve the medical, pastoral and humanitarian needs of people affected by man-made and natural disasters. SOS DRS is composed of lay people, priests, brothers and sisters who evangelize through healing and witness to the Catholic Faith.
SOS DRS
1039 East Russell Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53207
(Toll-free) 877-537-6737
(Office) 414-431-6503 (Fax) 414-431-6504
Email: fatherscott@sosdrs.org
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Horn of Africa – Famine – Update 1
THE MISSION HAS JUST BEGUN – Horn of Africa
NAIROBI – Three members of the Assessment Team (ATeam), Bro. Joseph Niri, MI, Sr. Bernadette, CS and Ms. Anita Ennis (LCF) arrived in Nairobi last August 17. They were welcomed by Fr. James Wanjau, MI and Sr. Catherine, CS. They were sent by the CTF Central to conduct assessment of needs of the Somalian refugees in the Diocese of Garissa, where the biggest refugee camps are situated in the town of Dadaab. August 20, they arrived at Garissa together with Sr. Catherine. They were hosted by Fr. Clement, a clergy member of the diocese who happens to be the brother of Bro. Joseph.
After an initial briefing and meeting with some personalities in charge of the diocesan program, the team proceeded immediately to Dadaab, a place which hosted four (4) big refugee camps: Ifo, Dagahaley, Hagadeiro and Kambios. These camps were under the coordination of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and with the collaboration of the big international organizations such as Norwegian Refugee Council, Medecins Sans Frontier (MSF), etc. All those camps were visited by the ATeam.
by Anita Ennis, LCF.
Horn of Africa – Drought/Famine 1 – Please Help!
The famine in the Horn of Africa has affected more than 11.6 million people according to the UN. It is estimated that 1.26 million children in the south of Somalia need immediate care and that 640,000 are gravely malnourished.
The Pope launched an urgent appeal to all people of good will. “Think about all our brothers and sisters who in these days, in the Horn of Africa, are suffering the dramatic consequences of famine that has been aggravated by war and a lack of solid institutions. Christ is concerned with material needs but wants to provide more because man is always hungry for something more: he has need of something greater.”
The Camillians, through the Camillian Task Force, responding to the urgent appeal of the Pope, have decided to send in the next few days a first response team composed of healthcare personnel, in particular a Camillian from the Kenyan Delegation of the Order, a volunteer from the Lay Camillian Family, and a sister from the Ministers of the Sick. The task of this team is to evaluate the needs of the affected population in view of a targeted and significant intervention and to coordinate the first response to the enormous needs.
The Camillians have been in Kenya for almost 30 years. At Wajir, on the border with Somalia, one of the zones where thousands of people that have fled from hunger and a sure death are amassing, the Ministers of the Infirm (Sisters) have for the last several years operated a facility directed at meeting the social and healthcare needs of mothers and children.
At Wajir the Ministers of the Infirm will offer a natural logistical base to support what is already taking place and to plan for a larger intervention in the next few weeks directed at helping the thousands of refugees that are arriving from the areas affected by the famine.
To Donate
In the USA, to give an immediate one-time gift on-line to our East African famine effort:
http://www.sosdrs.org/English_Help_Us.htm
Or send a check to:
SOS DRS
1039 East Russell Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53207
- Make your check payable to: SOS DRS
- On the memo line write: CTF/SOS DRS – Famine in the Horn of Africa
Bank Account of the Camillians – Camillian Task Force
IBAN: IT 54 E0351203200000000011643 – Credito Artigiano, Via S. Pio X, 6/1°- 00193 Roma BIC SWIFT: ARTIITM2
Bank Account of the Ministers of the Infirm (Sisters)
Al servizio della vita, Onlus
IBAN: IT70E0335901600100000006081 – Banca Prossima, filiale di Via Gregorio VII, 00165 Roma
Reason
To Support Relief Initiatives in the Horn of Africa
