Projects

SARS AND THE PROTECTION OF THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY IN SINGAPORE
30th FEBRUARY - 30th MAY 2003

SARS devastated our country from March 2003 until the end of May 2003. It left 238 persons critically ill in hospital, 33 dead and 5,000 persons in quarantine. The respiratory virus infection, totally unknown then was later identified to be the corona virus, a strain later found to be associated with poultry. At the time no vaccines or antiviral drugs were available, and the only protection was quarantine of the ill, their contacts and wearing a N95 face mask. As the epidemic grew, even face mask became scarce.

Several members of the Order here, served in advisory committees to advice on the protection and the defense of our Clergy and the parishioners when the virus had spread into the local community. Working with our Ministry of health and the World Health Organization, we advised His Grace, that the sick and the febrile were not to attend Mass, and no Communion was to be given on the tongue. The priests were also advised to don masks, and parishioners were asked to keep their tissue papers or flush them away. At Easter, as parishioners feared congregating together, a general absolution was granted by His Grace.

In the Intensive care units where some of our staff worked and were incarcerated for a week, we joined the chain of Novena prayers for our nursing and medical colleagues who were exposed in there looking after the SARS cases. We lost two doctors and one nurse.

MEDICINES FOR BLESSED MOTHER THERESA'S HOME FOR THE DESTITUTE IN CALCUTTA
AUGUST 2003

A large outbreak of typhoid and malaria occurred at the destitute home in Calcutta. 100kg of anti-typhoid antibiotics, vaccines and anti-malarias were sent to the Home.

TSUNAMI PROJECTS, BANDA ACEH
26 DECEMBER 2004 - 31 DECEMBER 2005

The Tsunami which hit South Asia on 26 December 2004, with its epicenter situated off the West Coast of Meulaboh in Aceh, was both a gigantic submarine and terrestrial earth quake measuring 8.5 on the Richter scale. Vast areas of the shores and islands within Asia were devastated with some disappearing completely. More than 100,000 people died and many were never found as they were swept out to sea.

EARLY RESCUE
In the early days , we arranged for medical and other volunteers to go to Medan , and from there they took the land route to Lokesamawe on the East Coast, which was passable. These missions were dangerous as our volunteers went into an area of armed conflicts, between the Aceh rebels, and the Indonesian armed forces, and every day there were still earthquakes. And tremors.

LAWE DESKY, SOUTH ACEH PROJECT
In response to an urgent appeal for help from Archbishop Sinigar of Aceh and Medan , the Singapore Order (with His Grace Archbishop Nicholas Chia) visited Archbishop Sinigar in Medan on 18 March 2005) to ascertain the needs of any specific area. In response to the Tsunami, the Archdiocese had collected $1.8 M to aid Tsunami affected areas.

His Grace Sinigar requested our help in Lawe Desky, which was in the mountainous area of South Aceh, and was 350 km from Medan. It had been badly damaged by the tsunami and its after shocks. The schools as well as the second Parish Church of Aceh was badly damaged and help was urgently needed. The local community had a Christian population of 30% with 25% Catholics. The Moslems “loved” the Catholics and had sent their children to this Parish schools. Of 1,200 children. It was an important gateway of Christianity .

On 30^th March, a small reconnaisance team comprised of two Knights (Gabriel Oon and George Thia) and a Friend of the Order and a Consultant Architect familiar in church architecture, visited the site after negotiating perilous landslides and broken mountain roads to reach Lawe Desky.

The community was vibrant one. However, the clock tower and roof were in imminent danger of collapsing onto the congregation and required instant repairs. Several surrounding school buildings had damaged walls and roofs and not usable.

The Singapore Archdiocese Tsunami Fund awarded S$100,000 to aid in the total reconstruction and repairs. It is hopeful that by Christmas 2005, the buildings would be fully repaired with Archbishop Sinigar celebrating Mass in the newly repaired Church. Praise the Lord !

HOLY FAMILY HOSPITAL (HFH) AND ORPHANAGE,
BETHLEHEM, ISRAEL

Shortly after our investiture on the 23^rd February 2003, we received reports from returning pilgrims to the Holy Land of the severe war-like conditions and siege around the HFH in Bethlehem. Fr.Guido, Director of the Pontificial Mission for Palestine had sent an SOS to us for urgent medicines and medical equipment for the sick babies and mothers. In those siege like conditions, nothing went in, and nothing came out, and in communication with Dr.Robert Tabash, Director of the HFH, we learnt that HFH was reduced to making their own medicines! The situation was desperate, and there were mothers and children dying in the conflict, both from injuries, and from lack of medicines. When the International Red Cross, and the Israeli Red cross were unable to get medicines through, we realized then that this was…Mission Impossible! We were able to communicate with both sides, the Israelis, and the Palestinians, to allow our donated medicines( from Singapore and Australia) and equipment to be imported tax free by the Palestinians and to be allowed safe passage through Israeli held lines into Bethlehem, which was under the Palestinian Authority.

The Lord’s hands were obviously at work throughout this Mission, not only in providing the high level contacts from diplomatic channels, but even provided free medicines from companies, to free air freight of 100 tons of medicine and equipments, which arrived in Tel Aviv and was then shipped by land route, after its customary inspection, to the HFH. When the cargo arrived at the HFH, both Dr.Tabash and myself gave a prayer of thanksgiving to our Lord. Praise the Lord (Psalm 111)

In answer to the Lord’s request to visit the Holy Land and to bring back the Rosary, a small pilgrim group, (consisting of myself, my wife Susie and a Friend of the Order Peter) visited the Holy Land from 21^st to 26^th Dec 2003. We met Dr. Robert Tabash, visited the renovated war damaged sections of the hospital, the medicines and the pediatric equipment in the neonatal intensive care unit. We were moved most when the young orphans came out on Christmas morning to singing Christmas songs like Silent Night for us.

When we flew home, at the end of the mission, there was the familiar ‘haunting’ voice in the background, amidst the Christmas song Silent Night, Holy Night whispering, “It is mercy I want , not sacrifices”( Matthew, 9, 13).

UPDATED !! SMOMSG CONTRIBUTION OF MOSAIC ICONOGRAPHY TO BASILICA OF ANNUNCIATION, JERUSALEM DECEMBER 2005. [CLICK HERE]

BALI BOMB DISASTER
OCTOBER 12 2002

This was a continuation of the recovery assistance given to the severely burnt Balinese in Bali, following the first terrorist bombing on the 12^th October 2002. At the request of a local medical practitioner for help, especially in providing urgent amniotic membranes for burnt victims, and strong and opiates for severe pain, we were able to expedite these materials through the Gleneagles Parkway with the Dr. Asmaraja, the Chief Plastic Surgeon of the Emergency Unit in Bali. We collected S$10,150 for the purchase of these urgent medicines. The balance of the S$4,808 was given to the Archbishop Benjamin Rias for the help of victims of the families. Spiritual help was also provided one by one of our Redemptorist priests, Fr.Gino, who visited this area often.

LOCAL

T he pro-life project was set up with the help and support of the members of the Order. The project was initiated to help distressed mums with pregnancy crises to prevent them from aborting their babies, through financial aid, pregnancy care, counseling, and shelter. This project has now provides facilities for counseling, and obtaining tax exemption status through the Council of Social Services.

The project has moved further with the Order now looking into jointly working with the Sisters of the Good Shepherd at Marymount Convent to provide long term care for single mothers and their child, while the mothers train towards a trade or profession while caring for their children.

(a) Feeding the migrant construction site workers, checking on their well being, and sharing with them their stories of their life and work.

(b) Providing free legal and medical aid to the migrant workers, by working with our Catholic lawyers and doctors in the Catholic Legal Guild and the Catholic Medical Guild.

(c) Providing professional help to the Hospice and Home of St. Francis of Assisi. One of our members, Confrere Joe Pillay, is the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Home as well as the Mount Alvernia Hospital. It is the only Catholic hospital in the country. Members of the Order, help to provide medical and bioethics advise on the ethical practices and procedures that take place in the hospital.

(d) Outings for the elderly and visits to the in-patients of Assisi Hospice during Christmas and Chinese New Year.

CELEBRATION OF THE 150th ANNIVERSARY OF THE PROCLAMATION OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: THE LOURDES EXPERIENCE

The Singapore Order of Malta celebrated the 150th Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Immaculate Conception on the Saturday 4th December 2004, which was the nearest Saturday to the 8th December. This was the first major event planned by the 11 Singapore Knights and Dame. Following a request by President Anthony Macken of the parent Australian Association, SMOM received approval from the Singapore Archdiocese's Senate of Priests and His Grace, Archbishop Nicholas Chia

Preparations began in June 2003, with the involvement of all the 30 Parishes in the country, and coordinated by an Organizing Committee, led by the Knights and Dames of the Order.

The purpose of the event was to allow the poor and the sick who were unable to make the 15 hour journey to Lourdes to enjoy instead the spirituality of the Lourdes atmosphere here in Singapore. With Parish representations in the Committee, we were able to involve more Parish activities of pastoral care for the sick.

When it first started, there were only three Parishes which had Pastoral care for the sick, where volunteers, doctors, nurses, the laity and the Priests, took time to care for the sick in their neighbourhood

The event was carried out in two stages:

* 1st stage took place in early November 2004, when the Parish churches conducted the Sacrament of Reconciliation, anointment and blessings of the sick. Several churches grouped together too ,to bring their sick to receive the anointment of the Sick. Ceremonies in the local Parishes Prayers of the Rosary and Rosary processions were also done in some Parishes.

* 2nd stage: The main event took place at the largest Indoor Stadium from 12 noon to 9.00pm. It held more than 10,000 pilgrims, with different maladies, from advanced cancers, heart diseases, blood disease, leukaemia, strokes, kidney, liver and heart failures. Nearly 500 wheel chair with their two helpers were placed in the arena area.

All these sick or those in wheel chairs, were brought by private transport or coaches arranged by the Parish Churches, together with their volunteers and care givers.100 St. John's Ambulance staff, 100 Catholic Nurses, 60 doctors and specialists, including two intensive care anesthetists stood by, supported by Catholic university and Junior College students.

*The event began with a brief video show of the Lourdes Order of Malta Pilgrimage, Prayers before the statue of Our Lady.

*This was followed by the Stations of the Cross, two testimonies of healing at Lourdes , the roll call of the all the countries of the world and the groups present.

*The High Mass was celebrated by His Grace Archbishop Nicholas Chia, Archbishop of Singapore and Conventual Chaplain of the Singapore Order and Con-celebrated by the Apostolic Nuncio His Grace Salvatore Pennacchio and 35 Priests from the Diocese.

The Colorful Procession was led in on the main side by the Knights and Dames of the Order, and on the other side, by other Papal Knights of St. Sylvester and all the representative groups.

All the sick Catholics received Holy Communion provided by the 80 extraordinary Ministers and the Priests.

* Many were touched also during the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as it went round the stadium.

Following a short interval, the torchlight Rosary procession started. It was led by the Knights and Dames of the Order, as the Rosary was said in the 7 languages of the region: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Teochew, Bahasa, Tamil, Filipino, Korean. "Cascades" of People left their gallery stands to join the Knights and Dames in Procession. The Cathedral Choir of the Risen Christ, was led by their Music Conductor Sir Peter Low, Knight Commander with Star of St. Gregory the Great.

Photos