Missions Overseas Posted on 1st Dec 2008, 2:30pm by admin

CMG Missions Committee Report 2007/2008.

Members of the CMG have been active in promoting missions both within and outside the Catholic fraternity during the past year. Many are attracted to missions seeing it as an opportunity of living their Christian faith following the Biblical example of the Good Samaritan. Our members were particularly active in Indonesia, Cambodia, Timor Leste and Myanmar. The following is a summary of our activities in those countries.

Indonesia

A few doctors and dentists were involved in a mission to Rempang where they treated the children in a home run by the local diocese. Drs Sally, Claire, John Lim and Adeline are now exploring opportunities to reach out to the poorest communities in the Riau island.

Our members were involved in the planning and construction of the 60 bed hospital in Teluk Dalam, south Nias. The Stella Maris Hospital dedicated to the memory of the late Pope John Paul II will be equipped with two operating theatres and is expected to be completed by Dec this year.

Cambodia 

Our doctors are responsible for mentoring Project Sabai and Project Lokun run by the student of NUS medical school. Doctors from the Guild went with the students to treat patients in Phnom Penh and Pursat. Project Lokun which is done in collaboration with Columbian priests also sponsored a permanent healthcare facility run by a Cambodian doctor in a place called CROAP.

Working with students from Singapore Polytechnic, we also sent 250 refurbished Pentium 4 computers and 12 laptops which were distributed to various educational institutes run by the various Catholic orders in Cambodia.

In Dec 2007 our members led a group of parishioners from Queen of Peace church to work at a Don Bosco school in Phum Chreh. This advent Cambodian project raised almost $150,000 which was spend on building an extension to the school, scholarships and love parcels containing necessities for some 1,500 children. The advent Cambodian trip as so well received that this year there will be 3 groups from Queen of Peace and St Vincent de Paul parishes as well as from Fides from SMU working alongside medical teams at the Don Bosco schools at Phum Chreh, Teuk Thla and Tuol Kork. They will also try to raise funds to rebuild a dormitory cum vocational institute which is literally crumbling.

In Feb this year a member of the guild sponsored an excursion to Angkor Wat for 60 children from the graduating class at Phum Chreh. For many of the children it was the most unforgettable experience of their lives. Members of the Guild also initiated a project with Raffles Girls Primary School to sponsor scholarships for students from the Don Bosco schools.

Myanmar

During the course of the year, 2 provinces of Myanmar were devastated by Typhoon Nargis with widescale destruction and death. The Archdiocese Crisis Coordination Team (ACCT) on which CMG is represented by Drs Sally Ho and John Lee responded by sending funds for purchasing emergency relief supplies to the Myanmar Disaster Relief Committee headed by Archbishop Charles Bo. In follow-up efforts members of the Guild are working with an agency called WISH and the Canossian sisters to provide filters to supply clean water.

In September, Archbishop Matthias Shwe from Taunggyi met with a few of our members to discuss continuation of a scholarship program dedicated to the late Pope John Paul II which supports students who otherwise cannot afford a tertiary education. Among the beneficiaries of the program is a young man who has graduated as a doctor and several nurses, teachers and IT experts. Due to your generosity US$7,300 was collected in a private collection and given to the good bishop to support some 40 students in the coming year. We were also able to procur some 50 laptops for the school in Taunggyi which will be brought in individually by Myanmese nationals returning to their country.

Timor Leste (East Timor)  

Now that peace has returned to this terribly impoverished nation after the civil war preceding the elections, we are very excited at the prospects of engaging in rebuilding the country. Dr Joseph Ong who spent 4 months there in 2003 has agreed to oversee the projects in Timor Leste.

We met with Sr Alice who was in Singapore in August to discuss various projects which we can assist in. She mentioned that the Canossian sisters were very grateful to the Guild for the numerous projects we successfully completed especially in building and supporting their clinics. In Dec 2006, together with Holy Family parish and JRS, we started building a medical cum dental clinic which was completed end 2007.

In Sept 2008 we sent a doctor Dr Angeline Wee for a one month stint and to evaluate projects. We are planning to send a container in Nov to Dili which will contain some 110 computers and 50 laptops and some other relief supplies. We are looking to tie up with some institutions to provide 100 annual scholarships worth US$300 each to enable girls to learn some vocational skills in the Canossian school in Baocao. Under the leadership of Dr Lim Tock Han, we are planning to organize a pilot cataract surgery mission to Timor Leste in June 2009.

2007/2008 has been a very exciting and busy year for the mission committee and the next year promises to bring new possibilities for our members. We would like to thank all those who have contributed in one way or another and hope that more members will be able to experience the joy of serving those who are less fortunate.

Compiled by Drs Claire Chua, John Lim and John Lee.