austraLasia #2712
Pakistan Army praises Salesian relief effort in Hyderabad (Pak)
LAHORE: 12 September 2010 -- The Muslim Eid celebrations throughout Pakistan have been very low-key and without the traditional fanfare. Eid has been celebrated with fear as well. Reports are still to be confirmed of attacks on Christians in Quetta and other localities of the country amid the row over the threatened burning of the Koran in the US. But we know in the Don Bosco Technical Centre of Lahore that many families will have a smile in their faces thanks to so many donors who have made possible a large-scale operation to reach out to 30,000 people plus in a few days.
The days might have been few but they were definitely very intense… As happened at the time of the Northwest Frontier Earthquake, Don Bosco has led the large-scale Outreach Project of emergency relief thanks to the operational capability that 170 boarders in the Hostel can allow. The work has been done in cooperation with the Pakistani Army who came personally to retrieve about 2,000 Family Bags with about 50Kg of food in each at the Hyderabad Cathedral. Another 700 bags were delivered to the different Parishes of the Diocese as a contribution for the tribal people affected by the floods, especially in the Franciscan settings. And a large convoy with 8 tracks loaded with a further 1,200 bags were carried and delivered personally to the different camps of IDPs, always under the escort and protection of the Army.
Fr Miguel Angel, the Rector at Lahore, said that he must personally praise the role the Army is having in this crisis as it is the institution with more credibility in the country. "As the General who welcomed and briefed as in the Camp told us 'What you do today is a great contribution and Pakistan will never forget it. If it brings a smile just to one human being, I am sure it has been well worth all the work of the past days…'. And he was absolutely right… We saw many beautiful smiles that paid back one full week of work, work, work to have everything ready. Our 30 youths have now become heroes in the Christian Community, have received uncounted praises from Muslim authorities and, what is more important, have built important bridges of tolerance and respect between peoples of different faiths: Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
It is time now to plan for the rehabilitation stage which will be once again done in coordination with the Army and where other Congregations and Orders, after seeing the work done in Sindh, are ready to come on Board. Don Bosco leads the way once again. We will not fail to those most in need!
(Miguel has prepared a very fine pictorial account of the floods in the Sindh Province and the relief work. We are adding it gradually to sdb.org in a new 'experiences' section under the Missions Department tab).
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AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use Bosconet-wiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2010 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
Pakistan Army praises Salesian relief effort in Hyderabad (Pak)
LAHORE: 12 September 2010 -- The Muslim Eid celebrations throughout Pakistan have been very low-key and without the traditional fanfare. Eid has been celebrated with fear as well. Reports are still to be confirmed of attacks on Christians in Quetta and other localities of the country amid the row over the threatened burning of the Koran in the US. But we know in the Don Bosco Technical Centre of Lahore that many families will have a smile in their faces thanks to so many donors who have made possible a large-scale operation to reach out to 30,000 people plus in a few days.
The days might have been few but they were definitely very intense… As happened at the time of the Northwest Frontier Earthquake, Don Bosco has led the large-scale Outreach Project of emergency relief thanks to the operational capability that 170 boarders in the Hostel can allow. The work has been done in cooperation with the Pakistani Army who came personally to retrieve about 2,000 Family Bags with about 50Kg of food in each at the Hyderabad Cathedral. Another 700 bags were delivered to the different Parishes of the Diocese as a contribution for the tribal people affected by the floods, especially in the Franciscan settings. And a large convoy with 8 tracks loaded with a further 1,200 bags were carried and delivered personally to the different camps of IDPs, always under the escort and protection of the Army.
Fr Miguel Angel, the Rector at Lahore, said that he must personally praise the role the Army is having in this crisis as it is the institution with more credibility in the country. "As the General who welcomed and briefed as in the Camp told us 'What you do today is a great contribution and Pakistan will never forget it. If it brings a smile just to one human being, I am sure it has been well worth all the work of the past days…'. And he was absolutely right… We saw many beautiful smiles that paid back one full week of work, work, work to have everything ready. Our 30 youths have now become heroes in the Christian Community, have received uncounted praises from Muslim authorities and, what is more important, have built important bridges of tolerance and respect between peoples of different faiths: Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
It is time now to plan for the rehabilitation stage which will be once again done in coordination with the Army and where other Congregations and Orders, after seeing the work done in Sindh, are ready to come on Board. Don Bosco leads the way once again. We will not fail to those most in need!
(Miguel has prepared a very fine pictorial account of the floods in the Sindh Province and the relief work. We are adding it gradually to sdb.org in a new 'experiences' section under the Missions Department tab).
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use Bosconet-wiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2010 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
