In 2020, around 30 abandoned and orphaned children living with HIV were cared for at St John’s Care Centre, where three Religious Sisters provided a loving home, nutritious meals, and a sense of family.
On a daily basis the children living at St John’s Care Centre are provided with a stable environment. There, the Sisters help them to understand the importance of good nutrition, regular medication, and rest – vital to successful treatment of HIV. Social workers also work alongside the Sisters to reunite the children with their relatives where possible.
All part of God’s beautiful family
The Sisters encourage the children to see themselves as members of God’s family, with responsibility to love themselves, other people, and all God’s creation. Through Mission Together – Missio’s children’s branch – they also learn that there are children around the world who care about them, who share with them, and who pray to God for them.
The Sisters teach the children to look after one another. As the children are of different ages, they help each other in different ways. For example, at mealtimes the older children help the younger ones by cutting up their food and encouraging them to finish their meals. At the end of the meal, the younger children help to clear the tables.
The Sisters help the children to build a different kind of family at St John’s – God’s family, to which everyone on earth belongs. And every morning and evening the Sisters and the children gather for prayers.
With your help, Missio helps the world’s poorest children to grow to their full potential. Thank you for your support>>
More than a generation of vital help
Missio supporters have been funding healthcare, feeding programmes, and pastoral care for children and young people affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa for almost 30 years. With your help, Missio will be there for generations to come.
We also provide spiritual and educational resources for schools in England and Wales which focus on the Gospel, liturgy and on our overseas projects. They help children learn, reflect and stand in solidarity with children around the world living in hardship: children helping children.
In 2020, our most popular resources were adapted for home schooling and we provided as much support as we could to Catholic educators.
You can find our primary school resources at missiontogether.org.uk and our secondary resources here>>