Helping missions worldwide is just a click away

By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
August 6, 2020

“Growing up as an orphan, I’m one of the people who received support from generous people like you,” Father Fortunatus Rwehikiza tells viewers in a video on the Diocese of Davenport’s Missionary Cooperation Plan (MCP) website. In the video, the Tanzanian priest, who recently studied at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, speaks about the needs of his home diocese of Rulenge-Ngara, which include access to clean water, maternity homes and tuition for seminarians.  Read more...

The Mission Cooperative Plan (MCP) of the Diocese of Davenport  promotes awareness of missions worldwide in the parishes throughout the Diocese.  Each year representatives of missionary congregations are invited to visit select parishes to share their experience and ask for financial support and prayers.  Groups applying to the Missionary Cooperative Plan must be in good standing serving in foreign countries or in a diocese in the United States that has been designated as a missionary by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Below are the mission that were selected for 2023 to do Mission Appeals at the Diocese of Davenport. Please keep them in your prayers as they make appeals in our Diocese.

Diocese of Davenport
Mission Coop Plan
Attn: Nancy Karn
780 West Central Park Ave. 
Davenport, IA 52801

Group 2. Catholic Diocese of Rulenge-Ngara

Is located in a remote and rural area in the Northwestern part of Tanzania and at the border of Rwanda.  It serves a population of over a million people.  This includes 334,000 Catholics, 31 parishes, 2,072 small Christian Communities.
Funds collected through the Mission Appeal will assist with the implementation of the following projects in 2023/2024:

• Training and Formation of seminarians: currently there are 56 seminarians who need to be supported with tuitions fees and other school expenses.  The cost is about $2,000 USD per year.

• Provide Safe Clean Water: The aim is to drill three wells to provide clean water to poor communities.  The cost is about $15,000 USD

• Construction of Labor and Maternity Unite: currently lacking this service for hundreds of women and their babies.  The cost is about $126,000 USD.

Is a mission Diocese located in the Telangana State in South India.  Most of the Catholic serve are very poor landless farm laborers.  They are victims of thousands of years of oppression and discrimination in the form of caste system.  The Diocese has undertaken several activities such as Education to the Orphans, provide a home for the age and elderly, adults and children infected with HIV/AIDS, Preaching and Healing ministry, Faith Formation for the Youth, Media Ministry and carry for the poor.

Funds collected will help:

• Evangelization of Banjara/Lambada-Tribal Mission: The Diocese is actively involved in reaching out to them and providing evangelization.

• Educational Apostolate: Provide education to the rural and poor children, with special focus on the education of the girl children and many who have drop-out of school due to many reasons.

• Medical Supplies: the poor don’t have the accessibility to the hospital.  People are affected by different diseases. They have to go to private sector of hospitals which would turn them down for lack of finances.  Diocese wants to provide basic minimum medical supplies to maintain good health.

The Archdiocese is located in the South India State of Tamilnadu, Chennai City and Thiruvallur Civil District.  Chennai city has 80 parishes and Thiruvallur Dictric has 54 parishes.  Funds from this appeal will go towards a new Holy Family Spiritual Renewal Center.   The center will actively promote stronger faith base family unity, reduce the breakdown of marriages, to counter the great poverty or affordable housing.
 

Group 6. University of Saint Joseph Mbarara (USJM) 

Is a young Diocesan Institute which opened in 2018.  Its enrolment, despite the effects of COVID 19, for the past two years, is steadily growing.  The Diocese has invested substantially in primary and secondary school.  The Archdiocese of Mbarara has founded and still runs about 700 primary schools.  In the secondary and post primary school sector there are about 120 institutions under the church.  Opening and operating a University is a crucial step in consolidating the diocesan mission and efforts in education.

GROUP 7.  Brothers of St. Charles Lwanga (Bannakaroli Brothers)        

Serve children under five years old.  The programs are known as the Feeding Program and Teen Mother Program.  Provide food and medical care to the youngest children who are suffering from the debilitating effects of malnutrition.  In most cases, there is no food available at home, and the young mother does not know how to properly care for their children. 

Members of the Brothers of St. Charles live and work in the slum, and provide a stabilizing influence.  They provide food and medical care for the children for a year.  The child’s health and weight is monitored, and the mothers learn about nutrition, hygiene and parenting.  The mothers receive quality job skills training so that they will be able to support their child.   The cost of the program is about $1.30 per day to care for a child and mother.  This fees are not charge to the mothers.
                         

GROUP 11.  Crosier Fathers and Brothers National Shrine of St. Odilia

The Crosier Missionary work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is an area where much civil unrest has taken place over the past years.  Financial support is needed to help provide basic needs for the people of the Congo such as medical supplies, education supplies for schools, and care for women and children who have been harm as a result of the Civil War.   In the Eastern part of the Congo Crosier has founded Holy Cross College, which has fully accredited program for men and women leading to a Master degree in Philosophy or Clinical Psychology and Agriculture-Veterinary Sciences.   Another project they are looking to complete is the construction of a new K-12 Catholic School in Butembo/Eastern Congo.  This school will allow 1,600 children from poor families to access quality education.