My name is Fr. John Amuda, SMA. I am a Nigerian. I was ordained on July 26, 2014 in Nigeria. I was posted to the Central African Republic for my first mission. Central African Republic, then, was experiencing a political/religious war which started in February, 2013 and ended in March 2016. Going to CAR, I was filled with fear and hope – fear of being killed by the rebels and hope of dying for Christ.
The war caused for many displaced, with the Church compound becoming a refugee camp. (My parish harbored about 24,000 refugees). After the coming of the Pope in November 2015, the country saw a bright light towards the end of the war. My works as a missionary in Central African Republic were: assistant pastor; teaching in the Catholic secondary school and heading an NGO named “Association of Mama Theresa”. This association is a collection of about 160 children, not more than 20 years old, who had been orphans or whose parents were murdered during the war with no means of feeding or schooling. More than 50% of these children are HIV/AIDS positive.
My work as the head of this association is to put the children in good schools, pay for their school materials, pay their hospital bills and feed them at least twice a week. This association started a long time ago, even before the coming of the war, to help children who are less privileged, not to be a victim of child abuse and to give them a sense of a bright future. However, the coming of the war and the aftermath worsened the situation, such that so many children are now left without either the father or the mother or both.
After two (2) years and I am grateful to work in St. Paul-St. John Collaborative in Wellesley. I ask you all to put me in your prayers as towards the end of August, when I shall return to Africa. Also, I ask you to pray for Central African Republic, as she strives for a true reconciliation. Pray for these children also and if you have anything to support them, we shall be much grateful. Thank you for supporting the mission. May the Almighty God bless your endeavors. Amen.
In early July, the St. John-St. Paul Collaborative welcomed Fr. John Amuda, SMA to our community for the summer. Fr. John spoke at Masses at St. John’s last weekend, and will speak at St. Paul’s this weekend, August 13-14. A special second collection supporting his non-governmental organization (NGO), “Association of Mama Teresa”, will take place at St. John’s the weekend of August 20-21 and at St. Paul’s the weekend of August 27-28.
