Local Impact

Child Sponsorship Programs Building Communities of Caritas

Posted by Staff Writer on Oct 29, 2015 3:48:00 PM

CARITAS For Children founder, Christopher Hoar, will tell you, "CARITAS is about relationships." In Milwaukee Tuesday night, many donors, supporters, sponsors and their CARITAS children had an opportunity to enrich their relationships with one another.

For the fourth year, sponsors, donors, and supporters came together locally for an "Evening of Thanksgiving", a means for CARITAS For Children to express appreciation, gratitude, and prayer for the people who make this ministry possible.

facebook_2Fr. Rich LoBianco, CARITAS' Director of Catholic Mission and Evangelization, concelebrated Mass with Fr. Jerry Herda, a pastor in the Milwaukee archdiocese who supports the education of a young man studying for the priesthood through CARITAS' Sponsor a Seminarian program.

IMG_0522Sponsors gathering together creates a real sense of community. Chris Hoar, CARITAS For Children Founder, welcomed everyone before dinner.

Each year the event begins with everyone gathering together for Mass, prayer and song. Sponsors who are distant are kept in mind and heart and remembered in intentions offered in the universal prayer. San Camillo Retirement Living Community provides the gathering space and a hearty meal. The highlight of the evening is visiting with our friends in our Uganda child sponsorship programs over the internet by means of the Skype software application and a webcam.

"I love meeting you," said Immaculate to her sponsors whom she had met, virtually face to face, after corresponding by letter for eight years. Although the visits may be brief and even a little awkward with language barriers, the connection for the children and the sponsors is real and the emotion is palpable. Of most importance for the children is to see their sponsor's face.

skype_3Agnes, enrolled in CARITAS' child sponsorship programs, skyped with her sponsors. To her left is Sr. Juliet, headmistress of Stella Maris Secondary School, one of the schools students attend in CARITAS' child sponsorship programs. On the right is Sr. Immaculate, who is Program Coordinator for Uganda.

Prossy skyped with her American sponsor family as she had the year before. Her American "mum" said to her, "We are happy to see you again," and shared a drawing Prossy's American little brother had drawn as well as a picture of the family dog.

Pope Francis asks of us, "When you give alms to someone do you look them in the eye or do you simply toss them some charity and walk away? If you do not touch them, you have not encountered them…We must build a culture of encounter.”

skype_2Peace skypes from Uganda with her sponsor Mary C. Behind Peace is Joseph Kkonde, Technical Coordinator for CARITAS For Children in Uganda.

IMG_0620Mary C., on the other side of the ocean, skyping with her sponsored child, Peace, who is pictured in the image above this one.

Chris Hoar envisions people gathering together as we did in Milwaukee wherever people connected through CARITAS are found. He anticipates additional Communities of Caritas such as this to be formed in parish faith communities where groups of sponsors can come together for fellowship and prayer. Encountering their sponsored children together needs only their care, love, and enthusiasm.

Some sponsors are very fortunate to have visited the child they sponsor in their home country, but not everyone has that capability. What a truly wonderful gift for child and sponsor to look one another in the eye. It is often said that technology has made the world smaller. With the availability of software applications and a webcam which allow us to have a conversation with someone over the internet, say someone in Uganda, that certainly rings true.

Build a Community of Caritas


   

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