Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Quito (Agenzia Fides) – On the first day of Lent, February 25, Ecuador launched its Lenten Solidarity Campaign “MUNERA,” which the Church in Ecuador has conducted since 1976, according to a report sent to Agenzia Fides.
This year, the funds collected in the Campaign will go towards poorer schools located in the northern part of the country, in order to improve their infrastructure, promote the quality of educational methods, back funding for the qualification and daily work of the teachers. This will offer support to the pastoral and educational work being carried out by the Church in these areas. The statement reads: “In the Gospel on Ash Wednesday, Jesus invites us to solidarity, to evoke in ourselves and in our communities an authentic commitment of life with those most in need: the poor, the sick, the elderly, children...who knock on the door of our consciences. In this Lent, every Christian and community will have the opportunity to perceive and remedy the needs of their brethren, oftentimes abandoned in their suffering and MUNERA allows us to do something that goes beyond words. This year, it invites us to show our solidarity with the small schools on the northern border.” In spite of all the efforts being made, the educational situation in the rural parts of the country continues to show signs of deficiencies and needs. We should also mention the specific situation of the ecclesiastical jurisdictions of Esmeraldas, Tulcan, Sucumbios, and Coca, where every day thousands of people flee violence and face all kinds of difficulties in social integration, drugs, etc. There is also a lack of resources, which effects the quality of the education system and the children living amidst this poverty.”
“Although the MUNERA Campaign may only be a drop of water in the midst of an ocean of needs, it is an effort of the Church in Ecuador to call all the faithful to solidarity, in imitation of Christ, who gave his own life so that we may have life in abundance. This is also the perfect occasion to place our love for our neighbor in practice,” the statement concluded. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 26/2/2009)
