Presentation on Mother of Peace Community by Janet Hall

MS. HALL: My name is Janet Hall, and I'm a member of St. Benedict's Catholic Church in Oakland. I'm here today to talk to you about the Mother of Peace Orphanage in Zimbabwe, Africa. The Mother of Peace orphanage is one of our charitable ministries at St. Benedict's. But before I tell you about the orphanage, it's important that I share with you some information as to what is happening in Zimbabwe with the HIV/AIDS virus, because it very much relates to what Mother of Peace's mission is and what they're trying to do.

It's really hard to believe, but today in Africa there are over 22 million people who are infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. Of that, 2 million live in Zimbabwe. The sad thing is that many of the people who are infected with the virus are not able to get proper treatment, access to the antiretroviral medicines which help to improve the quality of life as well as extend the life for AIDS patients. They are just not  available in the country. So many people there, they don't have access, and they're dying from AIDS complications.

Today the life expectancy in Zimbabwe, it has gone from 75 years of age to 36 years of age for men and 32 years of age for women. What this has caused is it has now created a large number of children who have been orphaned as a result of AIDS. Between the age of 0 and 14, there are over 800,000 AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe. 800,000! And they only have 4,000 registered orphanages in the country that are able to take care of the children.

You know, the African culture has always been known as one that takes care of their own. Whenever a child loses a parent, a mother or father, typically what has happened is another relative will step in or someone from the community will step in to help raise that child. But what's happening with the devastation with the AIDS virus, it's wiping out entire communities to the point where they are not able to take care of their own. So in today's world, Zimbabwe has the fastest growing rate of orphans in the world, with one in four children being orphaned as a result of AIDS. So let's see what's happening at Mother of Peace and how they are trying to address this.

The Mother of Peace orphanage was established back in 1994 as a direct response to the AIDS pandemic. It was started by two sisters, Jean and Stella Cornneck. They both  trained as nurses in the UK and came back to Zimbabwe to help develop an orphanage for the children. They went to the government and they asked the government to lease them a small area of land in Mutoko, Zimbabwe. The government leased them this land for $1 for an entire year. One of the reasons was that this land was located right next to a leper colony, so it was an area that wasn't very desirable. But it's wonderful to think that now in an area where there has been so much death they now have so much life as a result of the children in the orphanage.

Right now the orphanage cares for about 160 children. Out of 160 children, 30 are infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. The orphanage provides shelter, clothing, health care and education for all of the children. You know, when Mother of Peace started the orphanage, they actually had children coming from all over. They found children on the wayside, by the side of the road that they took in. They were called to the homes of parents that were dying to come and get the children. They went to get them and brought them in. The social workers would bring children to the orphanage. And so even today children are coming on a daily basis.

They have care within the orphanage. Mother of Peace is working towards self-sufficiency. They have a farm operation. They have cattle, goats, chickens. They have vegetable gardens. They even have a  bakery where they bake bread for not only the children but for the other people within the community. They provide jobs for many people living in the community at the orphanage. So they are working toward self-sufficiency. And they're experiencing tough times that I'll talk about in a minute.

The Mother of Peace orphanage is built on the precepts of the Catholic Church, but they open their doors to everyone regardless of race, color or creed. There are some difficult times right now facing not only Zimbabwe but also Mother of Peace. There is a lot of political unrest within the country. Hunger and poverty are at the highest rates. Right now in the country there's 80 percent unemployment. The inflation rate is over 3,000. I said 3,000! When you look at the basic services -- clean water, electricity -- they are all in need.

I don't know if you've heard, but there is right now a cholera outbreak epidemic within the country of Zimbabwe. And so what's happening is that many people, when they go to get food, they go into the stores, the stores are open but there is no food on the shelves, there is nothing to buy. So many people are traveling to border countries in order to be able to buy food. Just last month, Momma Stella had to travel all the way to South Africa in order to be able to buy food for the orphanage. So even though Mother of Peace is working at being self-sustaining, what's happening is, because  they don't have food, the chickens, and the cows and the goats that they have, they're losing them, they're dying because they can't buy feed for the animals. They really need our support in order for them to be able to continue to exist.

So let me show you some pictures of the orphanage. (Slide show presentation.) (Slide.) This is Momma Jean. She's the founder. She's still there running the orphanage. And these are some of the babies at the orphanage. Look at that one in that pink hat. Isn't she cute. Look at that! It's almost like she's talking to us, isn't it? About two-thirds of the 160 children who are at the orphanage are babies or toddlers. The majority of the kids are babies or toddlers. (Slide.) Here's some more of the children. Look at those faces. The one beautiful thing about the children at the orphanage, they're always smiling, they're always happy, they're always so thankful. You know, at the earlier Mass I saw all the children coming in the church with their parents, and I was really touched, because all I can think of, we don't realize how blessed we are, when we look at our children and the parents that they have. And, hey, these children have no parents. (Slide.)

This is meal time. This is a mixture that the children get for all of their meals. It's called sadza. And it's basically got the cornmeal that's all mashed up. This is  what they have at just about every meal. (Slide.) This is the family house. The way the orphanage is set up, instead of having one large building, they have these family homes that accommodate about 10 to 15 children. They assign two mothers to each house. These are caretakers that take care of the children. And so it's like they have their own little family environment. (Slide.) And you see here this is one of the mothers who are outside with the children that are in her care. And so they really to try to give them more of a family type of environment and setting. (Slide.)

This is their chapel. As I said, they are built on the precepts of the Catholic Church. The children go to church every day. They pray before they go to school. They pray when they come back from school. We're so proud at St. Benedict's.

I see your beautiful statues here of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. Last year we were able to send a statue of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph to the orphanage. Although it is not shown in this picture, it is in the chapel now. And we hear that Momma Jean polishes the statues every day. She is so happy to be able to receive love. (Slide.)

But this is the reality of what's happening not only in Zimbabwe but also in Africa. This is a mother that is being brought to the clinic. She is dying of AIDS.  This is her son. She's being brought to the clinic in a wheelbarrow, because there's so many areas where there's not transportation. She's so sick. And you see people coming to clinics for treatment. Bottom line is in many cases they come and they are not able to get treatment. This mother died. This little boy is now at the orphanage being cared for by Mother of Peace. (Slide.)

This is Dr. Robert Scott. Some of you may know him. Dr. Scott is a specialist in HIV/AIDS. He works with Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland. Dr. Scott is the one who brought Mother of Peace to our attention. He traveled to Zimbabwe over 8 years ago, heard the story of Mother of Peace, saw what was happening with AIDS, and he decided he had to do something. Dr. Scott now travels back to Zimbabwe three times a year carrying medicines. And he's able to treat over 750 AIDS patients in Zimbabwe. Here is one of his little patients from the orphanage. He treats the 30 children who are at the orphanage, and this is one of his little patients here. And Dr. Scott is the reason that we're here today and trying to support Mother of Peace.

We are all blessed. We don't realize how blessed we are. I ask you to keep Momma Jean, Momma Stella and all the children at Mother of Peace in your prayers. And I thank you in advance for your support. Thank you so much. (Applause.) 


Presentation on St. Vincent de Paul at Christ the King by Steve Paris

MR. PARIS: I first heard Janet speak about the horrible conditions in Zimbabwe about five months ago at a Social Justice committee meeting here at Christ the King. Then, as today, I was deeply moved. How could one be anything else?

But you don't have to travel to Zimbabwe to find the poor and the vulnerable. They live among us right here in Pleasant Hill. Just drive by the parish house any Monday through Friday anytime after about 2:00 or 2:30, and people are lining up. Because of your continued generosity over the years, St. Vincent de Paul has been active and well long before I even became a parishioner.

But it's getting tough. You read the papers; the economy is tough today. And because of that, the demands are getting even more stringent upon all of us. (Slide.)

This gives you a quick picture, one table I'd like you to take a look at. A family can be one person or it can be many. And this shows you really clearly that in the past two years the number of people we're serving and the amount of money that we're spending on that service has gone  up over 30 percent. And the number you see for 2009 is a very, very conservative projection. And even at that, we've had to make a major policy change. Through 2008, each of our clients could come by once every month. Beginning this month and going forward, they can only come once every two months. (Slide.)

The first time they come to Christ the King, they go to the intake station, where they provide identification for themselves and documentation for their family members so that when they come back in the future it becomes quicker: They just show their photo ID, and then they go on to the distribution center. (Slide.)

Here they talk with a couple of volunteers. And you just see the volunteers here. You don't see the clients. They're there, but we're very sensitive to their anonymity. In here they get coupons they can exchange for groceries or Grocery Outlet. They get bread. If the family is large enough, we give them bags of groceries. And if they have a need, we give them coupons they can exchange for two sets of clothing for each family member at the St. Vincent de Paul store on North Main Street. If they are even less fortunate and homeless, we give them a bag which has basic incidentals, and we give them cards that they can exchange for showers and meals at McDonald's.

Now, clearly these services don't meet all the needs of the people. Through dialogue, if we identify other needs,  we've got a very substantial catalogue that has referrals to other agencies throughout Contra Costa County. These agencies provide services such as job training, job search assistance, and housing. It's just incredible, the work that goes on here.

When I returned at the end of 1989 from Southern California with my family, Fr. Joyce was our new pastor here. And I can't count the times since then that I've heard him remind us that Jesus, when He was here on earth, spent His time with the outcast of society, the poor, the oppressed, the vulnerable, the very focus of St. Vincent de Paul.

Back then, like most of you, I was lucky enough to have a job. So all I could do was really contribute financially, because the work took place in the afternoons during the week. At the end of 2007 I retired. So I got actively involved, I thought to serve. What I found is what my fellow members found before me -- that I was the one getting the gift. The people that come here are so incredibly thankful, it's just really hard to imagine unless you see them in person. And if you look carefully into their eyes, you can truly see the spirit of Jesus. And I often wonder what you would see if you looked into my eyes were I in their circumstances.

Earlier this week I was preparing for this presentation and I was talking to someone far more steeped in theology than  I. He knows more about theology, but I've got more hair than he does. And you'll recognize this guy. As we talked, he said that there was this buzzard that was squawking and interrupting. And the more the squawking went on, the more the interrupting and the arguing went on, the clearer we were that we knew the truth that Jesus gave us, because He said to us: If you see one of your brethren naked, or you see him thirsty, or you see him hungry, and you clothe him, or you give him a drink, or you feed him, and you do this in my name, you will be with me for eternity. And that's a pretty good deal. Amen.

FR. TIMONEY: Amen. Thank you, Steve. (Applause.)

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