Sydney
14 July 2002
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School defies terrorism
Pope ‘force for freedom and good’
Vinnies reaches out: a new generation
Abuse allegations ‘devastating’
Caritas renews call for help as southern Africa faces food crisis
Jason scores with ‘no sex before marriage’
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Conversation: Never say never - always hope - Larri Hayhurst, nurse educator
Reflections: Justice: what it means to me
Earthcare - a call to ‘expand our vision’
Opinion: Where young and old share the joy!
Comfort zone
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Stem-cell research: Legislation provides for ‘destruction of embryos’
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Stem-cell research: Risks to egg and sperm
Resurrection and ‘last things’ in Catechism series
Sing? Yes! Sing-along syndrome? No!
Inspirations: Joseph, 8, gives up toys for Cebu kids
Inspirations: Joseph, 8, gives up toys for Cebu kids
School’s out - taking dinner home from child care
By Marilyn Kerjean
Eight-year-old Joseph Lomi reckons lunch boxes are just for kindy kids. So he used to get $5 to buy his sandwiches at school every day - until his mother, Mona, returned from a trip to the Philippines and told him about the poorest of the poor who live on Cebu’s Smokey Mountain.
Mona Lomi was one of a group of 25 friends and parishioners of St Pius V, Enmore-Tempe, who went with parish priest Fr John Iacono to see how the Cebu child care project he established is developing.
After she told her son about the poor families scratching out their living on the mountain of refuse they call home, he decided to help the children receive an education, too.
And Joseph, who is a Year 3 student at St Pius V primary school, also wants to go on the next trip, planned for January, for what will hopefully be the grand opening of the permanent Bethlehem Day Care Centre in Cebu.
So each week he gives Fr John all his tuckshop money; $20 to give to the children and $5 for the priest to keep safe and put towards Joseph’s airfare to Manila.
But that’s not the limit of Joseph’s zeal, for “he’s got a big heart,” say his parents, Truman and Mona.
“Every week he used to whinge to his father to buy him a toy,” says Mona.
“But after I shared with him about the poor children, he said: ‘No more toys, because those kids don’t get any toys’.”
Following The Catholic Weekly stories on the Cebu child care project, readers helped to raise the money used to purchase land for a permanent building outside the dump.
Building plans are now complete and the land prepared for a day care centre to accommodate 150 children. However, Fr John says the project needs ongoing financial support to meet the goal of its opening next year.
On their return to Sydney seven of the group formed a fundraising committee to support the project begun by Fr John and the Cebu Archdiocesan Prison Apostolate.
The seven are Ron and Maria Natoli, who instigated the two-week trip, Virginia and Damian Natoli, Jacinta Natoli, John Stephan and Mona Lomi.
They have planned a fundraising dinner which will be held at Western Suburbs Soccer Club, in William St, Five Dock, at 7pm on Friday, August 30.
Part of the money is earmarked for the temporary centre, which already supports the families living on the mountain, giving more than 100 preschool aged children lessons in their national language, Tagalog, as well as English.
Parents receive instruction in hygiene, living skills and natural family planning.
Virginia Natoli, 26, says she was initially reluctant to take up her in-laws’ suggestion to go to Cebu, but became intrigued by the images and stories they brought back from their visit with Fr John last year.
“The children looked so beautiful and so happy,” she says. “And the island of Cebu has a very strong Catholic community.
“The faith of the people was incredibly touching. The numbers of people at Mass and at charismatic prayer groups were huge.”
The highlight was a Mass to celebrate the anniversary of Our Lady’s appearance at Fatima, she says.
“I really felt God’s presence and the presence of the Holy Spirit.”
Virginia says it used to be a struggle to get to Sunday Mass, but she has been inspired by the example of Cebu’s poor to sometimes go during the week as well.
Ron Natoli also says there is something very special about Cebu, and that everyone on the trip was touched spiritually by some aspect of their visit.
“We went initially to help the people over there,” he says. “That is still our basic aim. But in actual fact we are the ones who got the most out of it. What we got far surpassed what we gave them.”
Donations of more than $2 are tax deductible. Send to: Bethlehem Day Care Centre Appeal, 256 Edgeware Rd, Enmore NSW 2642. For tickets to the fundraising dinner. call Fr John on (02) 9557 1815 or Ron and Maria Natoli on (02) 9712 1878