It was not all work and no play when the Alma Nuns visited Victoria to raise funds for their work with disabled and abandoned children in Timor-Leste. Among touring Catholic schools around Melbourne and speaking on ABC News Breakfast, sisters Anastasia and Isabel attended an AFLW match, where they were guests of the Western Bulldogs in their game against the Collingwood Magpies.
‘I loved seeing girls playing sport because they don’t get much opportunity to do this in Timor Leste,’ Sister Anastasia said.
‘Sister Isabel and I were given a few footballs and when we get home we want to get our girls playing the game. Who knows maybe we can get a side to play against an Australian side. Do you think people would support The Dili Crocodiles?’
Late last year, the nuns visited a number of Catholic secondary schools, including Xavier, Kew; Star Of The Sea, Gardenvale; Assumption College, Kilmore; De La Salle College, Malvern; St Bede’s, Mentone; Loreto College, Toorak; and Caroline Chisholm Catholic College, Braybrook.
Using slides and singing traditional songs, the sisters took students and staff on a journey through their world where they operate on a limited budget tending to thousands of children. They also appeared on ABC News Breakfast to talk about their work.
ALMA is an acronym for ‘Asossiasi Lembaga Misionaris Awam’, which means Association of Lay Missionaries for the poor and the disabled.
The nuns serve only the most disadvantaged children (the poor, the abandoned, the disabled) and live together with them in the community. Thanks to the support of generous Australians the Alma Nuns have now purchased a van, a motor bike and built two classrooms.
During their visit they caught up for morning tea with Jesuit Provincial Fr Quyen Vu, who spent a long time in Timor Leste helping build the new school at Kasait. Sisters Anastasia and Isabel were housed at St Mary’s College, Melbourne University and got to sing at a Mass there featuring leading Jesuit Frank Brennan.
Danusia Kaska, St Mary’s pastoral residential coordinator, said it was a delight to host the two sisters.
‘Many of our students have been to Timor Leste on immersion trips and were anxious to hear how things were going there,’ she said. ‘The sisters were happy to share their stories and several students said they would look into visiting Timor Leste with a view to helping them with their work.’
For more information on the sisters, the work they do in Timor-Leste and how to donate, visit
https://give2asia.org/almanuns/.
Images: Clockwise from top left Sisters Anastasia and Isabel at the AFLW Western Bulldogs game with ABC News Breakfast presenter Michael Rowland; with Fr Frank Brennan after Mass; and with Jesuit Provincial Fr Quyen Vu.
Article supplied.