Religious Education and Social Justice

Project Compassion Week 5

As we draw closer to Easter we are encouraged to keep our Lenten promises and continue to pray for others, fast, or give up some of the things we enjoy and continue to donate to others in need. Here at Corpus Christi, we are giving our community to donate money to Carita Australia's Project Compassion.

This week we hear the story of Halima from Bangladesh who is very grateful for the support she has received from Caritas Australia.

Halima is raising two children under seven in a refugee camp in Bangladesh while caring for her mother who has a disability. Widowed at just 21, Halima fled violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in 2017, arriving at the camp with nothing.

Caritas Australia, through its partner, Caritas Bangladesh, helped Halima out with a shelter and cooking equipment so that she could feed her family. She participated in hygiene and sanitation training and took on the role of community trainer herself, organising the cleaning of washrooms, wells and toilets.

Halima’s training became all the more invaluable as the COVID-19 pandemic struck - when safe hygiene and preventative measures suddenly became lifesaving.

Halima is proud that she is able to earn a small income, while maintaining the health of her family and the cleanliness of the camp community. Her children are adapting to life in the camp and are now at school.

Halima aspired to ‘Be More’ for her family and for the community around her.

“My hope is that our children will be able to do a job, to live with pleasure, they will find their happiness - that will bring wellbeing for them,” Halima says.

You can watch Halima's story below:

Pope Francis reminds us that:

"However dark things are, goodness always re-emerges and spreads. Each day in our world beauty is born anew."

May God bless us all during this season of Lent.

Jane Wilkinson

Religious Education Leader