Aids Orphans Rising

In Ethiopia the kids are not afraid of catching Avian Flu but more concerned that many of them will lose their source of income! This young fellow came to St. Lucy Center when he was just six years old. He was joined by his only living relative, his 3 year old brother. Sister started him on selling six eggs at a time. He now has his own house and a yard full of chicks that are able to support the two of them in good style. Many children are living off their own microenterprises.

What can one person do to help halfway across the world?
Perhaps you have some ideas of your own to help others get started!

God bless you.
Sr.MB
srmel@vfemail.net

These girls are all under 18 years of age and have the responsibilities of a grown adult. Both parents have died from AIDS. Many are taking care of three or four siblings, the house, cooking, going to school and working! Yet they have a smile and can break out into a song and dance with little coaxing!
It was not always this way. Most of these girls when they arrived at St. Lucy Center with their siblings were starving with no place to live and no education.
You can help us in so many ways. Go to
http://14seconds.tripod.com
and join us in keeping the smiles on the faces of these children!
God bless you.
Sr.MB

Even in the poorest parts of the world they know of basketball! How do such sweatshirts make their way to the remote corners of the earth? Many good people of the USA give their extra clothing to groups that collect for the poor. Here once a month a truck comes to this city and dumps a large mound of clothes. The children run out and you would think they would grab as many clothes as they could but no, they are quite clever. They pick through the pile and put on what they need, shirts, pants, jackets, one on top of the other. Then go home an deposit them in their one room homes. And wear as needed. You see you never wash your clothes in this part of the world, water is so scarce, you wear your clothes until they fall off!

Happy Spring! Next time you put on a clean clothes say a prayer for these children.

It's easy to help these children just call 973-538-2886 and say you would like to help the children of the missions of the Religious Teachers Filippini.

So many small orphans! You’ve got to picture this town. More than a thousand of these little souls have no one else in the world but each other. And more come to town each day. Sr. Desta makes sure they have a place to sleep. See the cement structures in the back. For three dollars a month we can rent one room, and so little brothers and sisters call this one room home! They have a blanket on the floor, paste some pictures on the walls. No bathroom. No need for a clothes closet as they wear their clothes until they fall off! In the morning Sister goes and collects them and makes sure they get to school Feeding all of them is the biggest challenge. They survive on so little – sometimes all they eat all day is one roll and a cup of milk. But yet they smile. And as one little boy said to me it was more than he had before he and his brothers and sisters moved to town!

Have a great St. Patrick's Day!

God bless you.

Sr. Mary Beth

For more information concerning our work please email me at
srmel@vfemail.net

or mail a contribution to:
Religious Teachers Filippini Mission Fund
455 Western Avenue
Morristown, NJ 07960

100% of your gift goes to the children - I promise!

The Religious Teachers Filippini The Religious Teachers Filippini is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization.

After my mother died, I went to my mother's mother. In 2001, she died, so I stopped school. . . . Then we went to my auntie, my mom's younger sister. . . . Most girls find that they start keeping up with [having sex with] stepfathers or uncles. Most are raped. They have no say. They think if you bring them to the police, there will be no one to keep me. So they keep quiet. -Patricia M., age sixteen from Human Rights Watch interview, Lusaka, Zambia May 22, 2002
Through girls' own testimonies, this report shows sexual assault of girls in Zambia in the era of HIV/AIDS to be widespread and complex. It documents several categories of abuse that heighten girls' risk of HIV infection, including (1) sexual assault of girls by family members, particularly the shocking and all too common practice of abuse of orphan girls by men who are their guardians, or by others who are charged to assist or look after them, including teachers, (2) abuse of girls, again often orphans, who are heads of household or otherwise desperately poor and have few options other than trading sex for their and their siblings' survival, and (3) abuse of girls who live on the street, of whom many are there because they are without parental care.
This is one story that can be multiplied over and over in every nation with AIDS orphans. You feel helpless when you read of the millions of orphans at risk, what can we do? St. Lucy worked tirelessly to help young girls in similar situations more than three hundred years ago! We, too, must continue her work. Pray, sacrifice, do whatever you can to make this world a better place.
God bless you.
Sr.MB
p.s. for those new to linking, click the underlined words to go to the site of this information.

How very sad it was to hear of the death of Christopher Reeve's wife Dana. How she cared for her husband so lovingly. My heart goes out to their only son, William. He's only 13 years old and now totally alone!

And as I was praying for him I realized he is just like these poor orphans in Ethiopia. Unlike these children he's got economical support, but he has lost those he loved the most. No amount of money can bring them back. Take a moment and pray for him and for all the children of the world that have lost their parents.

Don’t get scared but “ The worst is yet to come," warns a report issued by the UN Children's Fund. By 2010, there will be about 18 million orphans in Africa alone. The majority of these children will be between the ages of 10 and 16 and will be left without critical guidance, protection and support(like food and clothes and water!). The problem is overwhelming, the need is immense, but we can help them.
Three quarters of all CHH are led by girls. Pictured here is a CHH led by an 11 year old girl who is trying to raise her 2 younger sisters, her 2 younger brothers and go to school! There are usually three to eight children per household and these children try to stick together as much as possible.

What’s your opinion? Do these children have a right to support so they can remain in charge of their lives without fear of being split up or sent away?.

Many of you have asked how you might send money instead of socks or flip flops. We thank you for this most kind thought and "The Religious Teachers Filippini" promise that 100% of your gift will get to the children. Not many organizations can make that promise – and it is tax deductible!

Please make checks payable and mail to:
Religious Teachers Filippini Mission Fund
455 Western Avenue
Morristown, NJ 07960


Great book that gives you a real picture of how these children are living.
Children of AIDS : Africa's Orphan Crisis by Emma Guest

Thanks for the great response for my sock request!!

Since the term Child Headed Household aka CHH might be new to some of you I'd thought I would speak of that today. Every 14 seconds a Child Headed Household is formed. But what exactly is a Child Headed Household?
Look to your right, and you see children who have survived the death of their parents from AIDS. A CHH is brothers and sisters under the age of 18 struggling to stay alive and remain together as a family. Not a new phenomenon to history, but in years previous most CHH came about because the parents had died from war. I won't bore you with statistics today but last year 43,000 new CHH were formed in Ethiopia! YIKES! ALL THOSE KIDS WITHOUT PARENTS!!

So since you are into feet...these kids could use some flip flops for the summer!!

God bless you all.