On Tuesday 5 February we welcomed CAFOD partner Sr Gladys Dimaku of the Medical Missionaries of Mary (MMM), Nigeria to our Diocese. Sr Gladys spent two days visiting schools and parishes, speaking about her work and the difference the Medical Missionaries of Mary are making to the lives of the most vulnerable people in Nigeria thanks to CAFOD’s support. It is the first time that Sr Gladys has been outside of Nigeria.
Nigeria is a huge country in the west of Africa, roughly about three times the size of the UK, with a population of around 132,000,000 people, more than twice the UK’s population. CAFOD has had a presence there since the 1960s. The Medical Missionaries of Mary have been one of our partners for over 20 years. Sr Gladys is the Health Co-ordinator for the Catholic Diocese of Minna, in the north of the country. She represents the Bishop on matters relating to medical provision and strategy. She is 30 years old and took her final vows as a MMM in 2006. Sr Gladys is a trained nurse and midwife. During her short stay with us she visited St Peter’s RC Primary School, Scarborough and the Scarborough parishes. From there she spent the morning with students at St Patrick’s RC Comprehensive, Thornaby then went on to visit Sacred Heart RC Primary School, Middlesbrough. Sr Gladys rounded off her visit with speaking at the Ash Wednesday Mass at St Andrew’s, Teesville and then meeting people in the parish hall afterwards.
Sr Gladys told us that despite having very important natural resources such as oil, Nigeria is a very poor country. Seventy per cent of its population live on less than one US$ a day. Many Nigerians still do not have access to the basic necessities of water, health care, sanitation and education. Yet, Nigeria is the 12th largest petroleum producer in the world and the 8th largest petroleum exporter.
Nigeria’s health indicators are very poor. Life expectancy is only 45 years. HIV and AIDS is playing a dramatic role in lowering life expectancy. Over five million adult Nigerians are estimated to be living with HIV and AIDS. There are other health issues too such as malaria, TB and diseases borne through lack of access to safe drinking water. Infant and maternal mortality rates are high; 77 per 1000 and 704 per 100,000 respectively. Nearly half of women in rural areas receive no antenatal care. Sr Gladys said “One of the things we have been doing is training women to be traditional bedside attendants during childbirth. Previously women who could not reach hospital frequently died. With CAFOD’s support MMM has set up 26 clinics in rural communities and trained more than 400 midwives, who work for free and have learned how to carry out safe deliveries with sterilised equipment and how to spot problems in advance so that in emergencies they can call on professional services at the hospital. This has had the result in our projects of reducing greatly the numbers of children and mothers dying due to difficulties during birth. Our own midwives have not lost one child or mother in the last six years. We give thanks to God”.
During her visits to the schools, Sr Gladys spoke to pupils about the importance of clean, safe drinking water. She explained that many communities still get their drinking water from the same place where their cattle and animals drink from and where they wash their clothes and bathe. This is causing diseases that would not occur if there was safe drinking water. CAFOD has been helping people to dig wells. Pupils were also encouraged to try on some traditional Nigerian clothes.
Sr Gladys said she was very grateful for the warm welcome extended to her by everyone she met and she wanted to say a very big thank you to everyone who supports CAFOD. She said “Your contributions are making such a huge difference to the lives of people in my country. Without your financial help we would not have been able to train our midwives. Your help has and is saving people lives. There are two ways of shedding light. Either you are the light or you are a mirror reflecting the light to others. When you give like this your life becomes a light shining and reflecting the light of God. Thank you”.
As you read this article we will be in the middle of Lent. It’s still not too late to do something to help people like Sr Gladys. Why not have a hunger lunch in your parish, school or college, fast for a day or do some other fundraising activity and give the money to CAFOD.
When you fast, or deny yourself, a miracle happens: the hungry are fed, the sick are healed, the naked are clothed, the prisoner visited, the homeless are housed, the ignorant are educated, the lonely are befriended and the world becomes a brighter, safer place.
If you would like someone from CAFOD to visit your parish, school or group please contact David or Carol at the CAFOD Office on (01904) 671767 or by emailing middlesbrough@cafod.org.uk
David Cross, CAFOD Diocesan Manager