Senegal: Trusting in Mary
They depend entirely on donations, faithful to the words of Christ: “Freely you have received, freely give” (Mt 10:8).
Jesus spoke these words when he sent his disciples out to heal the sick and cast out demons. A major aspect of the vocation of the Dominican Nurses of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is the care of the sick and dying in the countryside. For 36 years they worked in the region of Thiès in western Senegal. Then in 1992 they were recalled to their mother house in France. But they kept up their close links with the people of the region, who waited patiently for their return and even made a plot of land available for them.
A quarter of a century later, the sisters came back, initially for a few weeks, then for a few months, and now they are planning to build a new convent, close to the Saint Dominic’s dispensary and healthcare centre on the land given them in the parish of Saint Peter. Here they will also follow the other aspects of their charism, namely prayer, communal life and evangelisation. The hope is that children and young people in particular will be able to spend time here in peace and in quiet retreat. One wing of the convent will be reserved for the sisters, while another will be for volunteer workers at the clinic.
It is a difficult venture, and they need our help. They are asking for €30,000and entrusting everything to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who has never yet failed them.
