{"id":75600,"date":"2026-05-29T10:38:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T08:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mdipime.org\/?p=75600"},"modified":"2026-05-29T10:38:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T08:38:40","slug":"small-oases-of-light-the-caress-of-solidarity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdipime.org\/en\/missionary-life\/small-oases-of-light-the-caress-of-solidarity\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Oases of Light: The Caress of Solidarity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Generosity is not a question of how much we can give, but of how much we are willing to open. Opening our hands, but above all opening our gaze, our minds, and our hearts.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this recently concluded season of Lent, each of us, from India to Brazil, from Cameroon to Papua New Guinea, committed to making our own small contribution to help those in the forgotten fringes of the world. Thus, drop by drop, the miracle of solidarity was fulfilled. The Lenten collection linked to the 90th anniversary of our Institute has not only allowed us to fully complete the “Everyone to School in the Holy Land” project, but it has also generated a wave of solidarity that has expanded to touch another frontier land: South Sudan.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is as if generosity possesses its own internal logic, a force of its own that goes beyond our limits. Once set in motion, it is not content with reaching the first milestone. It seeks other horizons, other lives to touch, other dreams to make possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Voices from Jerusalem<\/b><\/h3>\n

The first destination of this journey of the heart was the Holy Land, with the project “Everyone to School in the Holy Land”. In a reality currently marked by uncertainty and the wounds of conflict, the support given to the Comboni Sisters has made it possible to keep alive what they themselves define as “small oases” of normalcy. These are the kindergartens in the Bedouin villages of the West Bank, places where time seems to stand still to leave room for play and learning.<\/span><\/p>\n

From their letter of thanks, faces emerge that now have a brighter future:<\/span><\/p>\n

“Seeing the children’s smiles renews our hope every day and encourages us to continue. In the midst of so much painful news, the Lord also gives us signs of hope. One of these is the story of four children \u2013 three girls and a boy \u2013 who walk for 30 minutes every morning to reach the school. Despite the cold or the heat, they always arrive with joy. Kusai, the only boy, is very intelligent and so eager to learn that, even when he is unwell, he does not want to miss a single lesson.”<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Kusai. A child who walks for half an hour every morning because he has discovered that learning is worth every step. And then there is the other story, that of the little girl at the Abu Nawar kindergarten who spoke very little, isolated herself, and seemed destined for a special school. It was enough to believe in her for one more year, to offer different materials, and to accompany the educators with patience. Today, that little girl speaks, participates, and smiles. The miracle does not lie in a sensational gesture, but in the daily perseverance of those who believe that every life deserves to be nurtured.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Bedouin villages of the West Bank \u2013 where forced evictions are a collective memory and violations of fundamental rights are part of the landscape \u2013 around 125 children have found small oases of normalcy in these kindergarten schools. Places where the war does not enter, where childhood can still play, learn, and grow. Eleven educators accompany these children and their families on a path that is much more than literacy: it is the restoration of dignity, it is a promise for the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aweil in South Sudan<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/b><\/h3>\n

Generosity did not stop there. It went “beyond”, allowing us to fund a second project in South Sudan as well. In Aweil, a county where unfortunately 99% of women are illiterate, a new girls’ high school will be established. This is not a simple construction, but a dream born from the community itself: it was five young former students, who had experienced the value of education, who loudly called for a school for their younger sisters, involving the entire community. This new facility will provide a safe, residential environment for 400 female students, in a country where a girl is often more likely to die in childbirth than to finish her education.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is truly true that the Spirit broadens the horizons of the heart and sustains efforts to build a world where peace reigns.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today we can say it with joy: the objective has been achieved and exceeded. Thanks to this collective participation, we have offered hundreds of children and girls the key to redeeming their own lives and those of their communities. Because solidarity, when shared, takes nothing away from those who give, but multiplies the life of those who receive.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lenten solidarity that overflowed: from the ‘small oases’ of education in the Holy Land to the new girls’ high school in Aweil, South Sudan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":75566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow8ovLDA:productID":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178],"class_list":["post-75600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-missionary-life","tag-general-direction"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mdipime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/progetto-comboniane-quaresima.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdipime.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdipime.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdipime.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdipime.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdipime.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75600"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mdipime.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75601,"href":"https:\/\/mdipime.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75600\/revisions\/75601"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdipime.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdipime.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdipime.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdipime.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}