Mother Teresa and our collapsed school
Fr Leslie Kearney’s local primary school collapsed, so what did he do? He called on the saints -
or at least one who is on the way to canonisation
A few years ago the Hosororo primary school decayed and the children were moved into a nearby hall used for social events, this building also collapsed and was finally replaced by a new brick-built modern school which now cares for over 300 students.
Many of them live some distance away and, as many are from families that are not well off, they arrive at school hungry. While Fr Church was in charge he begged Bishop Guilly for the help of some nuns. The Sisters of Mercy had had to withdraw and the Bishop asked help from Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She sent some of her sisters who, I think, were admitted into the country as visitors and, after a while, were advised to move out. They hadn’t applied for the right visas.
Lo and behold! Mr Desmond Hoyte, who had taken over as president of the country after the death of Mr Burnham, was called to the phone and found himself speaking to Mother Teresa herself, who persuaded him to allow the Sisters to remain. Fr Church’s request was answered and four Sisters were housed in a new convent, a stone’s throw from our Church and presbytery. A further convent is in Georgetown and another in Berbice.
They were a much-needed help for the two priests at Hosororo. At 11am each day they now feed about 140 students who live too far away to travel or are too poor.
I provide Mass at 6am each weekday in our Church, but on their day off - Thursday instead of Sunday - I go over to their convent chapel to say Mass. The Sisters also visit homes, bring Communion to the sick, and prepare children for First Holy Communion and Confirmation.
By the way, the name ‘Hosororo’ means flowing water in the local language. It was selected as a suitable site for a village as it has a year-round flowing well. It is no coincidence that our Church is dedicated to our Lady of Lourdes. The earlier settlement was at Morawhenna, which has submerged into a bog over the last 50 years. The local government offices were moved about 40 years ago to Mabaruma, which now has its own post office, hospital and police station. We are four miles away from there and an hour’s flying time from Georgetown on the coast. In the opposite direction we are 30 miles from the boundary with Venezuela and even further from Brazil.
I was posted here over 15 years ago but, when a friend in Georgetown was told I was going to Hosororo he said, ‘Where is that, never heard of it!’
Many of them live some distance away and, as many are from families that are not well off, they arrive at school hungry. While Fr Church was in charge he begged Bishop Guilly for the help of some nuns. The Sisters of Mercy had had to withdraw and the Bishop asked help from Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She sent some of her sisters who, I think, were admitted into the country as visitors and, after a while, were advised to move out. They hadn’t applied for the right visas.
Lo and behold! Mr Desmond Hoyte, who had taken over as president of the country after the death of Mr Burnham, was called to the phone and found himself speaking to Mother Teresa herself, who persuaded him to allow the Sisters to remain. Fr Church’s request was answered and four Sisters were housed in a new convent, a stone’s throw from our Church and presbytery. A further convent is in Georgetown and another in Berbice.
They were a much-needed help for the two priests at Hosororo. At 11am each day they now feed about 140 students who live too far away to travel or are too poor.
I provide Mass at 6am each weekday in our Church, but on their day off - Thursday instead of Sunday - I go over to their convent chapel to say Mass. The Sisters also visit homes, bring Communion to the sick, and prepare children for First Holy Communion and Confirmation.
By the way, the name ‘Hosororo’ means flowing water in the local language. It was selected as a suitable site for a village as it has a year-round flowing well. It is no coincidence that our Church is dedicated to our Lady of Lourdes. The earlier settlement was at Morawhenna, which has submerged into a bog over the last 50 years. The local government offices were moved about 40 years ago to Mabaruma, which now has its own post office, hospital and police station. We are four miles away from there and an hour’s flying time from Georgetown on the coast. In the opposite direction we are 30 miles from the boundary with Venezuela and even further from Brazil.
I was posted here over 15 years ago but, when a friend in Georgetown was told I was going to Hosororo he said, ‘Where is that, never heard of it!’