ETHIOPIA: Nuns Reach Out to Vulnerable Families Amid COVID-19 Crisis
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
In a bid to alleviate the suffering of families which due to Covid-19 crisis, a Religious Order of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Anna (FSSA) serving in Dongora Catholic parish has reached out to support hundreds of needy families.
“Since there is lockdown and limited movements, most people are staying at home and are not able to do casual jobs for their economic sustainability. So, we have people coming to our Convent door to ask for food, most of the time. As a community we exhausted what we had and therefore resolved to develop a project to see how we can help,” Sr. Dorothy Odundo, Coordinator of Dongora Women Promotion Group told AMECEA online in an interview Thursday, June 25.
“I wrote to Missionszentrale der Franziskaner, a charity association which supports Order of Franciscans’ and through them we have managed to distribute food and soap to over 300 families in need,” the Kenyan-born nun ministering in Ethiopia narrated.
Through the Church elders and parish priest of Dongora Catholic parish Fr. Mulugeta Moges Naramo, the nuns identified the needy irrespective of faith, and they have done the distribution of foodstuffs for a number of days.
“We did the distribution which has taken us four days to the identified families. We had Christians and even Muslims,” Sr. Odundo a member of FSSA underscored.
Fr. Moges has appreciated the nuns’ initiative saying that the intervention came at the right time and that food is the most important support required during this period of Covid-19 when most families are starving and cannot afford proper meals.
“I thank God the Father who has given faith to donors to help the poor, and to Sr. Dorothy who felt sympathetic with the poor and organized this program. She has done a great thing to the vulnerable,” the Ethiopian cleric told AMECEA online.
“Food is very important for our vulnerable people especially during this pandemic and the help has come at the right time to our people. I am very grateful and thankful for that together with my parishioners,” he added.
According to Sr. Odundo who works with over 600 women in the Promotion Group, in a different project which she initiated last year prior to the pandemic dubbed as “Give-a-hand” families support each other with what they have for sustainability purposes.
“I came up with a ‘give a hand’ initiative whereby those who have can also help those without,” Sr. Odundo said and explained, “The initiative is for neighbor to neighbor. We have always emphasized on helping each other especially the families who at times go without food.”
As at Thursday, June 25, Ethiopia had reported 5,175 Coronavirus cases including 1,544 recoveries and 81 deaths.
