austraLasia 1518
ITM's 'Santa Teresinha de Quelicai': Angola
connection - and many others
DILI: 5th March 2006 -- The Parish of Laga is Baucau
Diocese' largest parish - large in Catholic population and almost
impossibly large in terms of getting around. It is divided into
three sub-districts. One of those subdistricts, Quelicai, is an
hour's drive from the Laga parish centre on the coast. Baguia,
another sub-district, is two hours drive. They are all look to
Bacau not only in ecclesiastical terms, but most others as well, since
Bacau is East Timor's agricultural Centre. Salesian names like
Fatumaca, Venilale, two name just two, are better known to our readers,
but are also part of this general region.
News only trickles out slowly from East Timor,
though recent correspondence from there promises that we have an actual
'correspondent' now who will send news once a month. The first
item of news concerns the opening of the Lar de Santa Teresinha
Orphanage in Quelicai on 18th March this year. The story has an
interesting link to Angola!
Since East Timor's Independence in 2002, renewed
ties with Portugal have brought some benefits to the nation. It so
happened that a senior figure in Portugal's Ministry for Labour and
Solidarity, a certain Mrs Lucilia Figueira, knew the Salesians and
their approach well from her time in Angola. She brought her
broad smile and her political clout to Quelicai, and in the space of a
mere year, a half million dollar project on behalf of 60 orphans was
realised.
18th March brought some major figures to Quelicai
for the Opening: The Minister for Labour and Solidarity from Portugal
and his East Timorese counterpart, the Portuguese Ambassador to East
Timor, Bishop Basilio of Baucau, the Regional
EAO superior, Fr Klement, the Provincial, Fr Calleja, and of course all
of Quelicai. This included a well-loved and longstanding
missionary in East Timor, Fr Joao de Deus who now has close pastoral
connection with Quelicai. He had known the old orphanage there,
built in 1979 and long since deteriorated to unusable state.
The new orphanage is actually six blocks to
accomodate the orphans aged 10-13 years, a study hall, dining room,
infirmary and recreation area. It is now
possibly the best orphanage in the nation. The 'opening' involved
a little more - later there was the blessing of a new residence and the
laying of the foundation stone for the new Quelicai chapel, which they
hope to finish building in 2007.
One small additional note - the opening of the
Quelicai Santa Teresinha Orphanage featured as the first news item for
the newly opened Bacau 'Fini Lorosae' Diocesan Radio.
__________________________
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