Chai Brady
Teachers and students in a class for deaf- blind pupils at the Bauleni Special Needs Project and School (BSNP) in Lusaka, Zambia. Run by the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the BSNP is Zambia’s only school to provide education and support to children who are deafblind. Photo: Moses Mtonga The legacy of Irish missionaries across the world continues to be felt today, with the focus now on locals to continue the mission according to the CEO of Misean Cara.
CEO John Moffett spoke to The Irish Catholic following the charity’s 2023 annual report which stated it provided €13.6 million in funding to support 321 projects in 52 countries, administered by 52 members.
He said: “We could mourn the decline of the Irish missionary, but I think it’s more to be celebrated that that legacy is left in place and actually it is right and proper that the responsibility for the decision making, the leadership, is being transferred into the hands of people on the ground locally that will take the mantle forward.
“That is exactly why Irish missionaries are involved in development work, it was to build the capacity and pass on the responsibility to people within those countries. It was never to indefinitely run things,” he said.
The report highlighted the work of missionaries involved in reducing the impact of natural disasters, such as the Salesians of Don Bosco during the Syria-Turkey earthquake in February last year, and a plethora of education and health services delivered at every corner of the globe.
Speaking of the importance of missionaries’ ties to communities and their ability to respond to disasters, Mr Moffett said: “These crises they spring up quickly, they can be over within a matter of months, but it takes years to rebuild trust the confidence and to address the trauma communities have suffered. Particularly if you look at what’s been happening in Tigray over the last year, it is probably much more horrific than we got through the media here in Ireland.” The Daughters of Charity continued operating in the embattled region of Ethiopia at the height of the conflict.
Mr Moffett added: “With the rapid rise of crises across the globe, it seems the focus is on wherever the next big crisis is, our screens are probably filled with everything that’s happening in Gaza and to a lesser degree now Ukraine, but there are conflicts happening in large parts of the world that go underdressed and where missionaries and congregations continue to offer support to communities often where other NGOs are unable to go.”
The CEO said that the charity is aiming to streamline the way they pass on funding to their missionary members in order to give more predictability and flexibility through longer term commitments and contracts, which would “give them more autonomy over how that money is used and where it’s needed most”.