By Eta Ting
KUALA LUMPUR — Caritas Malaysia (CM) had its first face-to-face meeting on July 29 -31 at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre. Fifty-five delegates representing nine arch/dioceses came for the National Meeting themed Growing Together which was jointly hosted by the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur and the dioceses of Penang and Malacca Johore.
The first day began with Mass presided over by Archbishop Julian Leow with the other priest delegates concelebrating. The varied success stories from the nine arch/ dioceses were enriching and inspiring to all. The stories bore testimony to the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ for Caritas is just the mouth, hands and feet of the Lord, to continue His mission for His greater glory.
A two-hour workshop to understand Caritas Internationalis Management Standards (CIMS) presented by Andrew Lee from Malacca-Johor Diocese was extremely important for every Caritas member, whether full-time and part-time staff or even volunteers.
The CIMS enables all involved to be accountable and professional as demonstrated by the policy of safeguarding, care and protection of minors, women and those with special needs.
Our activities for the rest of the day centred on the homeless. Our visit to Samaritan Hope Home started by one person’s response to feed and shelter the homeless taught us much. The ever-joyful, loving smile of Fatima Emmanuel speaks volume of her love and compassion, not only for the poor and homeless but also to us as her guests over a delightful meal. Truly it was an affirmation that “it only takes a spark to get a fire going”. Fatima started off with a small centre in 2018 which eventually needed to move to bigger premises.
The two-hour underground street walk led by the Street Feeders of KL was a very humbling experience. We were greeted by smiling faces especially from the homeless elderly men, sleeping either on the grassy verges or five-foot passageways. Conversely, the younger homeless adults go to work and return late to their “homes” to rest. These younger males expressed their shame and unworthiness which made them reluctant to return home to their families without any success stories. We learnt that we ought to squat or sit down with them to lend our ears and be present to them and to learn from them too. We left bags containing foodstuff and other items beside those who were already sleeping soundly. Most of them keep a watch out for one another in clusters of five to eight persons residing within the underground infrastructure of the city unseen by the public.
The Welcoming Dinner hosted by Archbishop Julian was rewarding to all, not just in terms of the taste and the variety of dishes, but also the colourful array of traditional attire worn by the delegates. It was a night to be thankful not only for the hot tasty food but also the fruitful fellowship of joy and laughter.
On the second day, the field trip to Jinjang Recycling Plant operated by Tzu Chi and thereafter to their office was indeed an eyeopening experience.
A vital practical lesson learnt from Tzu Chi is to put love into practice. We as children of God no matter whether we are lay faithful or clergy have to ‘put on’ the mindset of being a selfless giver.
 had its first face-to-face meeting on July 29 -31 at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre.){kind=link}