We are a team, standing up and saying “No” to racism.
Upholding human dignity and promoting equality for every race and people remains our social responsibility.
Our mission to improve the quality of life of thousands of the vulnerable people is a privilege and an opportunity given to us by God, the creator of humankind.
Therefore, as a development partner with Indigenous engagement, all participation is based on mutual respect, trust and understanding.
Maryanne Kolkia RSM, Mercy Works Ltd PNG, In-Country Coordinator
Walking with our First Nations People
Mercy Works Ltd is committed to walking with our First Nations people in the journey of reconciliation. We accept and honour the Uluru Statement from the Heart and support an Indigenous voice to parliament and constitutional recognition. We especially acknowledge the tireless and important work of First Nations women across Australia.
Concern for the people of Papua New Guinea with growing COVID Crisis
Mercy Works Ltd is a member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID). Mercy Works have PNG national staff in our offices in Kiunga, Wewak, Goroka, Mt Hagen and with new work beginning in the Province of Simbu. Therefore, we are most concerned for the health and wellbeing of all our staff and the local people of PNG.
Mercy Works has been deeply committed to working alongside the people of Papua New Guinea for the past decade and the developing COVID crisis is extremely concerning.
We ask you to add your voice to urge our Australian government to be generous in responding to this complex and growing crisis on the doorstep of our nearest neighbour Papua New Guinea.
An Update to our supporters regarding Mercy Works and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Due to COVID-19 crisis both locally and globally we are all facing an uncertain and a rapidly developing situation.
Mercy Works is closely monitoring advice provided by government and relevant authorities and following their directives to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our project participants and our staff.
In terms of both our staff and Board, most of us at Mercy Works are therefore working from home, so are able to be contacted by email and by phone (where calls can be diverted to the individual staff member if required). We are also valuing regular online meetings where we can stay in contact and give support to each other.
As always Mercy Works remains committed to our mission amongst marginalised communities in Australia and in the Asia Pacific region.
We are committed to continue operating and supporting our life-changing projects to ensure those in need receive the assistance they require, although some projects will inevitably be impacted. In terms of the COVID -19 we are very concerned about the possible impact on both Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste given their very limited health systems, and we will do all we can to continue our support in both places. Interruption or adjustments to some of our projects may be required.
The current status of our various projects is as follows:-
In Papua New Guinea we hope to start new projects in the province of Simbu later this year. We plan to continue our projects in Kiunga into the future. Projects in Goroka, and Mt Hagen continue till mid 2021 as we transition into Simbu.
In Timor-Lestewe support one health project in the Suai Covalima district and if funds permit we are hopeful of partnering with new projects in the Baucau district later this year.
Mercy Works Mercy ConnectRefugee Student Mentoring is running in schools which remain open and where the school and the volunteer have deemed it is safe to continue. We are also exploring possible creative ways to continue this
online.
The Mercy House of Welcome in Kilburn in Adelaide continues to offer support to asylum seekers via telephone while the Centre has been closed to comply with social distancing guidelines.
We are still exploring possible new Indigenous projects in Australia to start later this year, and we will keep you posted.
At this time, we all need to reach out to each other. Your support in delivering these works of Mercy is essential, as is their continuation wherever possible, so that when, together, we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, the vulnerable and marginalised will be empowered to change their lives for the better. We will keep in touch with you in the coming weeks.
In the words of Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Sisters ~
‘The Poor Need Help Today, Not Next Week’
I recently received this beautiful reflection by Lyn Ungar and I offer it to you to ponder ~
‘Pandemic’
What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath –
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now,
on trying to make the world
different than it is. Sing. Pray. Touch only those
to whom you commit your life.
Center down.
And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)
Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has come clear.)
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils
of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.
Promise this world your love –
for better or for worse,
in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.
It feels like we are writing to you from a very different world this month. Finding ourselves in the midst of yet another extended lockdown in Sydney and some other parts of Australia is far from where we expected to be at this point of the year when it started. But if we have learnt anything from this global pandemic, it’s that life is even more unpredictable, uncertain and fragile than we knew. We hope you are all keeping well and safe in these days!
In this month’s Mini Bilum, we focus on ‘Connections’. Our phones and other digital devices have quickly become our connection to the rest of world. While the digital world has become a lifeline for community groups, organisations and businesses, it’s the individual connection that has become a beacon of light for our Mercy Connect Program. In this edition, you’ll read about how a group of school students with very different life journeys forged a connection through photo taking and how we are still making connections with schools.
Your support of Mercy Works enables disadvantaged and displaced people to transform their communities through development projects in Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, the Philippines and Australia. Thank you for making that possible.
We have officially crossed the halfway mark for the year and it truly feels as if time has sped past us at a record-breaking pace. You don’t often notice growth or change until its already happened, when it’s obvious. This is what the last six months look like for Mercy Works, little things have created the biggest of changes.
In this month’s Mini Bilum, we focus on ‘Growth’ both here in Australia and overseas. We have grown our support for Indigenous communities in Australia with five new partnerships. We have also added the Philippines to our Asia Pacific outreach. We are now partnering with two new projects which support vulnerable young women and girls who have experienced human trafficking. Growth comes in many different forms and for one Mercy Connect volunteer this came in the form of new understanding as they reflect on their years of teaching.
Your response to our PNG COVID Appeal was beyond what we had expected, your generosity is invaluable, and we can’t thank you enough for your support. The difference you’ve made in the lives of the people in vulnerable communities in Papua New Guinea cannot be underestimated.
Your support of Mercy Works enables disadvantaged and displaced people to transform their communities through development projects in Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, the Philippines and Australia. Thank you for making that possible.
It has been more than a year since we were put into a national lockdown due to COVID-19 with no idea about how long enforced restrictions would guide our lives. This time has shown us just how resilient we are. Building on what we have learnt over the past 12 months, we remain focused on ensuring that all our Mercy Works programs and projects are operating with safety as the priority.
In this month’s Mini Bilum, we focus on ‘Resilience’ in two of our domestic programs. The first six months after lockdown have been challenging but the resilience present within the Mums & Bubs group at Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation in Sydney has helped them become a tight knit group. Before the end of 2020, a Pilates studio in Brighton, Victoria came together and generously donated culinary delights to our Mercy Connect Adult Literacy Class asylum seekers and refugees at the Dandenong Library.
Currently we are also very mindful of our nearest neighbours in Papua New Guinea as we hear reports of a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases. Our partners in Timor-Leste also need our ongoing support as they endure serious flooding on top of COVID-19 outbreaks.
Your support of Mercy Works enables disadvantaged and displaced people and communities who are our beneficiaries to receive the development assistance they need. Thank you for making that possible.
Concern for the people of Papua New Guinea with growing COVID Crisis
Mercy Works Ltd is a member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID). Mercy Works have PNG national staff in our offices in Kiunga, Wewak, Goroka, Mt Hagen and with new work beginning in the Province of Simbu. Therefore, we are most concerned for the health and wellbeing of all our staff and the local people of PNG.
Mercy Works has been deeply committed to working alongside the people of Papua New Guinea for the past decade and the developing COVID crisis is extremely concerning.
We ask you to add your voice to urge our Australian government to be generous in responding to this complex and growing crisis on the doorstep of our nearest neighbour Papua New Guinea.
Easter: Living with Radical Optimism and Active Hope
I believe that ‘Radical Optimism’ and ‘Active Hope’ … gives us the faith and courage to face the difficult realities that are being unveiled in our times.
from Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation – Telling a new story, 15 January 2021
At Mercy Works, in very tangible ways I have come to know that such ‘radical optimism’ does lead to ‘active hope’, a reflection of Mercy In Action, a reflection of Easter.
Such ‘radical optimism’ goes much deeper than merely having a positive attitude to life. At Mercy Works we approach each local community that we work alongside from a strength-based approach. For example, as we begin to build relationships of trust and respect, we ask the local people – How can we work together? What is positive about this community that you would like to build on with support from Mercy Works?
As I reflect back on my own life journey, I realise I was once a ‘glass half empty’ person. More recently I know I have become a ‘glass half full’ person. I attribute this to the Grace of God, a very deep Presence working in my own life, who touches and heals the core of who I am. Such Presence is the root of our reality. Such Presence is at the heart of the good news of the Gospel. Such Presence is at the centre of the Easter story.
Let me share with you three of our current Mercy Works stories which are underpinned by ‘radical optimism’ and are evidence of ‘active hope’. With each story I will offer some inspirational words from the Letters of Catherine McAuley (Founder of the Sisters of Mercy). Words I believe she would say to us today.
In Port Augusta, South Australia, last year Mercy Works began a new pilot project called “Prospering After Prison”. We have partnered with Centacare and the Catholic Diocese of Port Pirie. This project provides casework to support aboriginal women through developing relationships of trust as they transition from prison life and reconnect with family and country. We hear stories of pain, grief and loss from the women. Yet we also gradually see signs of the healing of trauma and a growing resilience in the women’s lives.
In response I believe Catherine McAuley would say “The tender Mercy of God has given us one another”.
As we wind down our work among the people of Goroka and Mt. Hagen in Papua New Guinea after 15 years, we are very grateful for all that has been achieved in these communities. We are also very excited about our new work in the province of Simbu. We are currently laying the foundations at all levels of the community for our new work in Simbu in life and skills training for income generation.
Our work in Papua New Guinea always brings life to Catherine McAuley’s words “The poor need help today not next week”.
As we begin our new work in the district of Baucau in Timor Leste we are delighted to form a partnership with the Australian Marist Solidarity. Our two projects there are with Uai Lili, a computer and English language centre, and with a local NGO Katilosa who offers outreach to children and adults living with a disability.
I believe Catherine McAuley would value deeply the courage and competence of the local Timorese people who facilitate these projects saying, “We must strive to do ordinary things extraordinarily well”.
During this Easter season, let’s all consciously live our lives with such radical optimism! In doing this our world becomes alive with active hope which is surely needed in the “difficult realities that are being unveiled in our times.”
Welcome to the first edition of the Mini Bilum for 2021!
Hope and optimism are always at the forefront of our minds as we begin each new year, this year is no different. With 2020’s challenges still present we are still facing increasing uncertainty in our daily lives. Our Mercy Mission is still as important as ever in the face of a global pandemic that continues to wreak havoc on our global community. What we have learnt in the past year has only helped Mercy Works to ensure that we keep the safety of those we support through our programs and projects our top priority.
In this month’s Mini Bilum, we focus on ‘Different Experiences’, showing you how we have kept our connections alive in the Mercy Connect program and how our invaluable volunteers have paved the way for programs to continue after they have moved on.
Your support of Mercy Works enables disadvantaged and displaced people and communities who are our beneficiaries to receive the development assistance they need. Thank you for making that possible.
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