24 Jan Christmas letter 2017 by Sister Laura
Dear parents and friends,
our traditional Christmas meeting is unusual for this year, but particularly rich in joy: we are completing the first two lanes of the hospital, which we hope to inaugurate the 24 May 2018, on the feast of Mary Help of Christians.
Each square inch tells a story of your generosity, for example the corridors are covered by donated tiles from the Italian factory S. Agostino Ceramiche. The pictures will give you an idea of what will be this place: an oasis where life can be treated, protected and saved. We are making important steps with the local government and working for partnership with Italian Institutions of the highest level: one with some Italian hospitals and with the Catholic University of Addis Ababa will give us the legal status of “teaching hospital”, a place of training for young doctors in Africa and Europe specialising in tropical diseases. It will be another step to the solution of migrants’ escape, running away from their country looking for a decent life.
We offer an excellent school for years, but people must be alive, healthy and well nourished, for being able to study and work. With this hospital we will offer a complete solution: the Kidane Mehret Hospital will guarantee quality health, study and professional formation. This are concrete answer which already convinced thousands of people looking to Adwa and our hospital with hopeful eyes and planning for the place where they belong to.
All this things is THANKS TO YOU who are reading to my words, thanks to all the thousands of simple and unknown people who support us. Unpopular names for the world, but meticulously written in God’s heart. That God who became a child such as one of ours, needy of cares, milk, diapers, parents’ hugs and cuddle.
Someone wrote “tears don’t make noise”. Also your hands don’t make noise while they are picking up and wiping poor tears. The GOOD doesn’t make noise, it doesn’t make the story, and apparently it’s not interesting, while instead is the only fact which BUILD THE STORY getting its hands dirty with life stories and which solve big problems without too chatting.
You have to ask yourselves: how many boats full of desperate will not leave thanks to your friendship and donations from the last 25 years? You saved them, still without meeting or knowing them.
You already know that school always leads to better results and we have received again a recognition for this: the 100% of our 12th grade students have been admitted to the university, paid by the government.
We’ve started the nursing school with few young students who want to do the best.
Volunteer doctors are always more and more and we are full of requests by high professional doctors in retire but who are still very active.
Other of them are still working and have families to take care, but their donate us their vacation time.
A slice of humanity bringing up the doctors’ title and confirming Enzo Biagi’s words: “…Italians, good people!”.
I know that this is an unusual Christmas letter, but it’s “TRUE”. It’s maybe pruned of the sentimentalism and choreography which often transform this event in a commercial one, while should be the celebration of life, of God walking with us, of God wiping tears and cures, of God who became our Brother to teaching us what is brotherhood.
I conclude, giving you a gift: the picture of a “Baby Jesus”, pulled up from state hospital where he was going in a coma for an extremely serious malnutrition. He was starving and the hospital was unable to do anything for him. We take him to the mission, where the Cottolengo sisters took care of him.
Merry Christmas!!!
Mesghenna, 4 years old for 5 kilos when we’ve taken him away from the state hospital.
He was first nourished with nasogastric tube because he was unable to swallow . Then, he has learned to eat from himself.
His smile and his flourished life may be a wish for you and your sons, for every bad things, every dream and hope your heart brings .
Merry Christmas!