Every time I have visited Umuagwu village I have marveled at the resourcefulness of the MOJ Sisters and the Masters, at how they do so much with so little! During the current COVID-19 lock down in Nigeria, MOJ resourcefulness has risen to the challenge.
While the Masters are out of school, they are still very focused on their formation into Servant Leaders! “We spend more time now on the farm with the Sisters and also engage in more prayers”, says JSS-3 student Faustina Anyanwu. “The sisters also take time out to teach us and give assignments.” So, the MOJ’s are not letting the Masters rest their minds!
In addition to the increased farming and prayer, relief outreach to the poor villagers of Umuagwu is suddenly the main focus of our mission. In a live stream broadcast produced last week, Deacon Leo and I discussed the ravages of the appropriately labeled “hunger virus” spreading throughout Nigeria and our plan to combat it.
The pandemic has altered our mission such that the MOJs and the Masters are now focused on emergency aid for our neighbors in the village. “For those of them in dire need, we support them in any way we can and advise them on how to manage their scarce resources”, says Sr. Ann Okweji, MOJ. Indeed, the MOJs are sharing their own food with the villagers.
Deacon Leo and I have been strategizing about how HEAL can help ameliorate the growing hunger crisis at our doorstep. We are going to visually share the small scale relief efforts we have made so far in our LIVE broadcast this Saturday. Please take 30 minutes this Saturday and join us as we give you a closer look at our mission!
We must scale up our relief soon if we are going to effectively create a “food bridge” to get people to the other side of the pandemic lock down. We need sufficient quantities of rice, beans, and tomatoes to feed 4,000 people for 30 days. Between raising funds to buy the foodstuffs and shipping donated food, we will reach this goal to meet the need.
Please join my Saturday interview with Deacon Leo, which will include footage of the MOJ’s emptying themselves like Christ (Phil 2:6-11) for the least of His brethren. The challenge of the Coronavirus will only make us stronger. As Fustina says, “We are no longer able to go to Church, but I feel God is using this period to test our faith in Him.”
Let us pass this test together by addressing the dire need at hand!