Saigon: "Charity in love", 20years of help for sick and abandoned children
Hundreds of people attended Mass of thanksgiving for the Catholic organization’s twenty years of activity. There are also hundreds of children helped by the center, the majority of them non-Christians. Aid for orphans, HIV-positive, disabled and autistic. Catholic Volunteer: Fighting against "discrimination" in families and communities.
Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews) - The Catholic community in Ho Chi Minh City has celebrated the 20th anniversary of the "Charity in love" Group linked to the church and at the forefront of work to help children who are sick, orphaned or abandoned by their families.
On the eve of the celebrations for the Lunar New Year of the Rooster, on January 21 last a Mass of thanksgiving was celebrated among workers, children living in the community and the faithful. The Sunday mass was celebrated by Fr. Anton Nguyễn Ngọc Sơn, former deputy director of Caritas Vietnam and Fr. Nguyễn Thanh Tin, Ba Chuong parish priest in the archdiocese of former Saigon.
The twentieth anniversary of the association was attended by about 300 children who benefit from the activities and projects promoted by "Charity in love". There are some Catholics among them, but most of them do not profess the Christian faith. Some are in care because HIV-positive or living with AIDS, transmitted by their parents. Still others have physical disabilities or mental health problems, and for this are relegated to the margins of society.
Sunday mass, say the leaders of the association, was also an opportunity to thank the sponsors, supporters, volunteers and non-Catholics who support the projects and make this important contribution possible. People who "work in silence" to "lend a hand even to the last," the poorest communities, to those who have been forgotten or relegated to the margins by the race for economic progress.
Speaking to AsiaNews Fr. Anton Nguyễn Ngọc Sơn says that he was mandated by Card. Francis Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận to "take care of the poor, the wretched, the underprivileged Vietnamese children". Not only through his appointment as vice-director of Caritas, but also and above all in the daily commitment to those most vulnerable and neglected among the population.
"The children - continues the priest - always try to give courage, telling them they have to live with joy, peace and hope."
According to official statistics from Catholic workers in the office in Ho Chi Minh City, there are about 200 thousand children with autism problems in Vietnam today. And every year there are at least 15 thousand new cases, which add up to a million and more prone to mental illness or personality disorders of various degree and importance.
In addition, there are at least six million orphans and physically disabled nationwide. These include the blind, the disabled, the deaf and dumb, and autistic. In particular, in the former Saigon alone there are 54 thousand children with disabilities and 3 thousand orphans.
Recently, the " Group Charity in love" has promoted a project in collaboration with the University of Hoa Sen, focused on the care of mental problems. The program monitors the activities of the human mind and aims to find new answers for those suffering from mental illness, depression, schizophrenia or paranoia.
The Catholic entity operates is shared with enthusiasm and dedication by the volunteers who work at the various support and recovery projects. "It's nice to spend time - says a young man - with children in need. I hope that children benefit from such support and a better education. I also hope that there are less and less discrimination towards children with difficulties within our families and communities".
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23/10/2005
