MissioTfal has the aim of uniting children together so that they do something beautiful for others. We stand together to support, understand, and help other children in the world by prayer, thinking about them and helping them. Together we can build a better future, a better world. Yes, together we can be ‘earth heroes’ and therefore, it is necessary to ‘unite’ in true friendship with those near to us and far alike.

Pope Francis has spoken often about the importance of our friendship with Jesus and the importance of our friendships with one another. He has said that ‘faithful friends, who stand at our side in times of difficulty reflect the Lord’s love.

To help us think about this a bit deeper, it may be helpful to explore the word friend. The word friend originally comes from an ancient word that means both love and free. These ancient meanings remind us that good friends make us feel loved, valued, and accepted. They bring out the best in us. 

To make us best of friends, we must understand the cultures, backgrounds, realities, and difficulties of the other children around the world. We understand and empathise with their suffering, and we can do something about it. Knowing the different cultures make it easier for us to communicate and understand their needs.

So Missiotfal during this Summer has continued to highlight different countries in the world and speak about the projects, the difficulties and their tradition and cultures. Some of these countries are Cambodia, Africa, and Myanmar. We focused on the projects that we helped in these countries like the Arrupe Centre in Cambodia, and St John School in Hakha, Myanmar. We also spoke about the largest butterfly Farm in the world, the Banteay Srey in Cambodia. The students do their own butterfly. We spoke about the national bird in Myanmar, the peocock.

The students love to make corner bookmarks with colourful peacocks on reminding them of the children in Myanmar that are so eager to go to school but cannot do so because they live in remote areas and that schools are slowly being built. 

As children of God and followers of Christ, we are sent into our world to share God’s love with all people, everywhere. MissioTfal  unites children together to stand in solidarity with and support their brothers and sisters who are struggling because of poverty, turmoil, or conflict. In studying tradition and culture, we realise how much we can learn and be enriched from each other.

Article written by Nancy Camilleri,

Coordinator MissioTfal

 

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