    A network of Catholic communities joined in mission and outreach |
Catholic Life and Catholic Communities in AFRICA UPDATED: Friday, August 17, 2001 |
| A network of Catholic communities joined in mission and outreach |
Catholic Life and Catholic Communities in AFRICA UPDATED: Friday, August 17, 2001 |
This section as well as the entire Parish Without Borders website is devoted to providing information and resources in support of that worldwide solidarity.
NEW FOR THIS AFRICA SECTION (Friday, August 17, 2001):
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African Newspapers and News Services:
Additional Africa Internet Resources:
Pages for individual countries are active only if the country name is underlined and in a color other than black. This list is not intended to be complete. We welcome ALL stories of relationships between U.S. parishes and communities in any African nation.
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It has been exciting news for many of us here in East Africa (and elsewhere) that the international medical relief organization Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières or MSF) was awarded the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on October 15, 1999. The award honors the work of all national and international MSF relief workers bringing medical assistance to around 80 countries, over 20 of which are in conflict. Annually more than 2,000 volunteers representing 45 nationalities work in front-line hospitals, refugee camps, disaster sites, towns and villages. MSF is the world's largest independent medical aid agency and is committed to two objectives: providing medical aid wherever it is needed, regardless of race, religion, politics or sex and raising awareness of the plight of the people that it helps. The organization has a unique mandate to speak out against violations of humanitarian law that its medical teams witness to in the course of providing aid. "Doctors Without Borders" demands full and unhindered freedom and access to populations in need to carry out its mandate.
I remember several years ago flying from Entebbe, Uganda to Nairobi, Kenya. Sitting next to me on the plane was a young French woman. In conversation she told me that she was a medical doctor working with Doctors Without Borders. Her particular work was helping children with eye diseases in northern Uganda near the war zone on the volatile border with Sudan. With "quiet passion" she described her commitment to saving African children from being unnecessarily blind for life. So inspiring! I was really touched.
Over the years Maryknoll in East Africa has had very positive experiences with Doctors Without Borders. Their doctors have worked with Dr. Susan Nagele, MMAF (Maryknoll Mission Association of the Faithful) on the Sudan-Uganda border. In Kenya the Doctors Without Borders personnel helped sort out the immigration status of an Ethiopian priest connected with a Maryknoll-sponsored course.
Congratulations Doctors Without Borders. And thank you!
Rev. Joseph G. Healey, M.M.
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
