Dear Friends,
One of the truths about our country is that we are basically a nation made up of immigrants. We are proud of that reality. Most people are also proud of their heritage and desire to help the family members and country they left behind.
I remember in our group tour of Sicily a couple of years ago, when we visited the church and the school in Carlentini, Italy, we were shown the items that had been donated from the community in Omaha. The names on the memorial in the garden read like a list out of the phone book in Omaha. The folks in Carlentini were so grateful that those who had come to the United States had not forgotten the community left behind. In fact, the school in Carlentini was still seeking help from the Omaha community with the purchase of new school desks and chairs.
One of the more recent immigrant groups to Omaha are those from South Sudan. A large number of the students in All Saints School are children of immigrants from South Sudan. Many of the families have become parishioners at Cabrini. They, too, have a desire to help those who have been left behind.
A group of local Sudanese immigrants have formed a non-profit organization to help homeless children in the community of Kapoeta, South Sudan. Currently, they are providing shelter for 135 children. Their facility does not have any latrines or a water source. They are asking for our assistance to construct latrines as well as drill a well to obtain water. Their guess at the cost of both projects is $30,500. Hakim Peter, a parishioner at Cabrini, will be personally supervising the construction of the project. You can learn more about the organization at their website: https://www.triplelorganization.com/.
To help with this effort, the Parish Council decided to take up a second collection for them. That collection will take place next Sunday, January 23rd.
Another group of local immigrants that we are helping are those from Huehuetenango in Guatemala. You may have noticed that work has begun to form a mission team to go to Guatemala in June to help on a project in San Sebastian Coatan. In prior years, mission trips have had a school team, a medical team and a construction team. If you are interested in helping IXIM on this year’s trip, please contact Charlie Petro in the parish office.
As followers of Jesus, we come to understand that we are brothers and sisters to fellow believers whether they live close to Omaha or are thousands of miles away. We cannot turn our backs on our family members who are experiencing great poverty. We need to make sure that their lives are as blessed as our lives. Thank you for your generosity to these projects.
Peace,
Fr. Damian