Jesuit effort brings food and health care to the margins in East Timor
At the top of a hillside in East Timor, Christina Da Cruz and her colleague Leonora Mendonsa slowly maneuver an aging four-wheel-drive stacked with plates, spoons and a massive pot of soupy stew to a halt by a small, whitewashed church atop the village of Cocoa. Their aim is to provide as much nutrition to as many children as they can during their visit.
Longuinhos da Costa Monteiro, a malnourished 10-year-old, approaches the truck. “This feeding program is important for me to build my body and then to help my brain to be strong,” she said. “When I am strong, it means my future is bright.”
Her explanation neatly illustrates the Jesuit program’s emphasis on nutrition, health and education, a trio of social needs that are essential for the nation’s future development. The nutrition program has its roots in an earlier version run by the Good Samaritan sisters in the 2000s. Its current incarnation includes a church-run medical clinic in the larger community of Railaco and a traveling medical clinic that provides basic health care to mountain villages. A secondary school is also offered in Railaco, with ever-improving facilities, services and results.
Bong Abad Santos, S.J., a Filipino missionary and a medical doctor, was posted to East Timor in 2004. He runs the clinic in Railaco, but he still travels three times a week to remote villages on treacherous, cliff-hugging roads.
“I think the government should do more to help us in this isolated area,” one villager complains. “My grandson is sick and I asked my daughter to take him to the state health center, but the people said there is no medicine. I have no money to buy the medicine, so Father Bong is our last hope.”
Michael Sainsbury contributes from Bangkok, Thailand. Twitter: @sainsburychina.
