{"id":2119,"date":"2013-11-16T08:00:35","date_gmt":"2013-11-16T00:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=2119"},"modified":"2022-04-20T10:29:44","modified_gmt":"2022-04-20T02:29:44","slug":"91-on-pilgrimage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=2119","title":{"rendered":"92. Teenage Girls, Dignity Robbed and Restored"},"content":{"rendered":"

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the\u00a0Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.<\/span><\/strong> [<\/span>Jeremiah 29:11<\/span>]<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

[L] Sr. Mathias Mulumba and her happy girls. [M]\u00a0The new dormitory. [R]\u00a0The scouts, the camaraderie, the hope<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The work of God at Saint Maria Goretti Girls Training Centre at Mukono, Uganda continues to tug at our hearts.<\/span><\/p>\n

After our first visit to the Centre three years ago, we Malaysians partnered our fellow pilgrims from America to dig in and help raise funds to build a new dormitory for the girls. For background information and reflection on the spirituality that accompanies this kind of work, please go to our post No.18 published on this website on 2010\/10\/16.<\/span><\/p>\n

On this second visit, we had the immense pleasure of seeing the completed new building and are pleased to report to donors that it is indeed being put to maximum usage.<\/span><\/p>\n

On arrival at the Centre this time round, two things immediately happened.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, the warm hospitality shown by the girls had a huge impact on all of us. There were no dry eyes on any pilgrim\u2019s face! The experience was so deeply touching because, somehow, we all realized that the mystery of the presence of God was deeply at work here.\u00a0We intuitively sensed that \u201cthis is holy ground\u201d.\u00a0It is an awesome experience to encounter these girls who had suffered so much, and yet could move us so deeply\u00a0inside<\/em> with their warm and accepting touch. Coming as we did with foreknowledge of the place of deep pain from which these girls were plucked, it was incredibly pleasing to the soul to witness their palpable spirit of hope.<\/span><\/p>\n

Second, Sr. Mathias at once said, \u201cI must apologise to you. I know that you have asked me to put only four beds in each room. But new girls keep on coming in and we do not have enough rooms for them. So I have put five beds in every room instead of four. I hope you will forgive me.\u201d Well, we thought, one additional bed should not be too much of a problem. Upon inspection, however, we were shocked to find that even though each room had five beds alright, but each bed was a triple bunker, so that each new bedroom now accommodates 15 girls, instead of the 4 we originally had in mind! And yet, as she continued to brief us, we soon realized that Sr. Mathias had no choice really. From a figure of seventy plus three years ago, the number of girls soon rose to two hundred plus. At the time of this second visit, the number stood at 215.<\/span><\/p>\n

All these girls were seriously deprived, and many have been badly exploited. They are orphans, rape victims and victims of abuse, or they have come from extremely poor families. Without the saintly work of Sr. Mathias and people like her, these girls, and plenty more like them, run the risk of walking the streets and having their God-given dignity wantonly robbed, trampled on, and senselessly trafficked. Society owes them a duty of care. Basic justice, far more than mere charity, demands that help be rendered to them by those who can.<\/span><\/p>\n

At another front, our young members in the group were delighted to see that the scout movement has been introduced to the Centre.<\/span><\/p>\n

All of us were hugely impressed by the innate talents these girls had – gifts which, in the name of God, ought to be nurtured and promoted for themselves and for the benefit of society.<\/span><\/p>\n

We were impressed too by the palpable sense of hope these girls carried in them, despite having come from very hard places indeed.<\/span><\/p>\n

God bless Sr. Mathias and all those who work, day after day, to shore up the dignity of these underprivileged teenage girls and to restore them to hope. Inspired by the God of compassion and his Word, especially the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Sr. Mathias has no problem choosing from the two questions implicitly raised by the characters in the parable, of which Msgr. Socrates Villegas,\u00a0the Rector of the Edsa Shrine, Manila, has articulated with amazing clarity:<\/span><\/p>\n