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Changing the World One Child at a Time a Visit to Honduras

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HOSPITALLERS IS PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY THE SOVEREIGN MILITARY HOSPITALLER ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM OF RHODES AND OF MALTA® Volume 5 Fall 2008 AMERICAN ASSOCIATION, U.S.A. WWW.MALTAUSA.ORG Fellow members of the American Association: Changing the World One Child at a Time Upcoming Presidential and Other Elections he 2008 Presidential race, which will culminate A Visit to Honduras on November 4th, has been interesting, even By Bob Fredericks, KMOb Tbizarre, to say the least. And, at the same time, there are many important state and local contests. n July 28, a small group of American Associa- Soon we will be finally deciding for whom we will vote, and, in that connection, I want remind all of tion members traveled across time and space to you of our Order’s mission to WITNESS AND DEFEND Oa world that most Americans cannot conceive. OUR FAITH. As Catholics, as well as members of Joe Metz, KMOb, the American Association Hospi- our Order, we are duty bound to vote for candidates taller, Patricia King, DM, Chairman of the House of who are pro-life, and we must fulfill that obligation. Remember: the Church Friendship Board, Lou Cappelli, KM, Tony Rosa, Aux., teaches that there can be no set of social, economic, or other concerns that a member of the House of Friendship Board, and Bob can offset the promotion or support of abortion on the part of any candidate. Fredericks, KMOb, New Jersey Area Chair, flew to Hon- The stakes are high. If we help lead the way to elect pro-life candidates, at duras (one of the poorest countries in Central America) both the national and state levels, we will thwart pro-abortion legislation, and to visit our work in Honduras: the House of Friendship. enhance the chances that the right Supreme Court Justices will be appointed. Children at home in Honduras. In 1986, Patricia and Henry King traveled to Hon- Board of Councillors Meeting, September 4, 2008 duras to adopt Andrew, the first of their two children. Highlights of actions taken at our recent meeting of the Board of Councillors Seeing the abysmal poverty in Honduras, they mortgaged their home on the New Jersey Shore in New York include: to secure the necessary funds to construct their first shelter, which initially housed 12 chil- • Approval of the Report of the 2008 Nominating Committee, recommend- dren. From this modest beginning, the House of Friendship has grown to five shelters housing ing eleven excellent candidates, including three incumbents, to fill eight 221 boys and girls from ages two to eighteen. vacancies on the Board of Councillors as of January 1, 2009. Soon you will The children in our shelters are literally picked up off the street and from garbage dumps be receiving a ballot for your votes to elect a third of the 2009 Board of Councillors. Once again, I urge you to resist the temptation to be “provincial” where they have been abandoned. In Honduras, these children are referred to as “throw away when you vote, but rather to only consider the experienced leadership, geo- children”! If not rescued from the street, they will devolve to a life of drugs and prostitution. graphical / Area representation, and skill needs we have. Be sure to vote! We arrived at Hogar Providencia in El Progreso and were greeted by the 56 boys and girls • Approval of the following Area Chair appointments which I proposed for in residence who ran up to us with arms open, looking to be picked up and hugged. three year terms ending in September 2011: The children are clean, well-nourished, happy and energetic. Their dormitories are Connecticut: Mary Jean and Thomas Tisdale (Co-Chairs) (New) spotless. It is an oasis of love and care in a Catholic environment. Interestingly, five of these Florida – Miami: Mark Wolff (Reappointment) “throw-away children” have obtained university degrees and several more are currently study- Florida – Naples: Richard Copeland (New) ing at the university level. Helping us with the spiritual needs of the children are the School Florida – Vero Beach: Margaret Lyons (Reappointment) Sisters of Notre Dame, whose motherhouse is in St. Louis. Indiana (Northern Division): Christopher Godfrey (New) The next day we visited the “homes” from which our children come. We saw poverty as Indiana (Southern Division): Hans Geisler (Reappointment) bad as anywhere in the world; the tarpaper shacks housing eight or nine family members, cor- Michigan: Thomas Larabell (Reappointment) rugated tin roofs, dirt floors that turn to thick mud during the rainy season. The only running Missouri: Carole Less (Reappointment) New York – NYC: Camille and Rory Kelleher (Co-Chairs) (New) water springs from a small spigot in the middle of the “village.” Buckets are filled with this Ohio: Declan O’Sullivan (Reappointment) water, which is contaminated with intestinal parasites. We saw one young teenaged boy trying Rhode Island: Joan and Robert Arrigan (Co-Chairs) (New) to shake the lice out of his hair. Sanitary facilities are non-existent. We commend these outstanding Knights and Dames for agreeing to take on Is this unusual for Honduras? No, this is typical. Ninety-eight percent of the country lives these responsibilities, and we look forward to their providing great leadership in poverty! in their Areas over the next three years. On Tuesday evening we had dinner with the Hospitaller of the Honduran Association, • Approval of Joan Straka as Hospitaller of the Pittsburgh Area. Bernard Casanova, KM, and both the plant manager and the director of human resources • Reception of a report on the Haiti Emergency Food Relief Project. Overall, at Fruit of the Loom, a major employer in Honduras in their clothing plant in El Progresso. we received $142,000 in contributions, including $50,000 from Malteser Through a personal contact with Warren Buffet in Omaha, whose Berkshire Hathaway owns International, $5,000 each from the Canadian, Federal, and Western As- Fruit of the Loom, personnel from that company have made two visits to our shelters, bring- sociations, and $77,000 from over 500 American Association members. ing gifts of underwear and tee shirts to each of our children. Both the Honduran Association To date, we have distributed $113,000 of these funds to our supported and Fruit of the Loom promised additional support for our shelters. projects in Haiti. When you see the poverty in Honduras, it is easy to become discouraged. But when you • Recognition of Msgr. Kevin Wallin, Spiritual Advisor to the Board, who has see happy, vibrant children, you come away with the thought that, to a small degree, some been designated a Conventual Chaplain by the Grand Master and the Sover- lives are being saved. eign Council. He will be installed at our Annual Dinner in November. Lou Cappelli, KM, offered the following thoughts on our visitation to Honduras: • Approval of three new Deputy Chaplains: Thanks to all of you for the opportunity to share this wonderful experience visiting Hogar Msgr. J. Peter Cullen — CT Providencia. I will never forget the children we met. Seeing first-hand how the Order of Malta’s Rev. Kevin Reilly — Eastern CT contributions have been able to change the lives of hundreds of children was rewarding. That’s Rev. John Coughlin — Northern IN in no small part due to the fantastic group of staff and volunteers who give more than just their • Recognition of bequests to the Association from the estates of Elmer and time. They give their hope, energy, and their hearts as well. The most generous gift we can give Gerald Kamm of South Bend, IN, aggregating over $1 million. These funds are being added to those of the Malta Human Services Foundation, to to a person in need is the hope of a better future, and that is what is offered to these children. endow our grants program. There were many touching events that took place during this journey, and each of us has • Report on the American Association’s presentation about the Order’s initia- our own special remembrances. The warm and “celebrity-like” welcome by the children was tives and our intention to expand, at the meeting of the U.S. Conference of special. I believe I now know how celebrities feel when asked for an autograph. Catholic Bishops on June 12th, in Orlando, FL. Over 60 Bishops, Archbish- Joe Metz, KMOb, the Hospitaller of the American Association, offered the following reflec- ops, and Cardinals were in attendance. tion on our visit: • Updates on several initiatives led by members of the Board, of which some Our visit to the orphanage near the Town of El Progresso, which cares for 56 children, and are discussed below. our visits to the outlying after-school programs, left a profound feeling on me. I personally Stragic Planning of the American Association experienced and witnessed how the Order of Malta literally lifts up children who otherwise Jack Pohrer, Chancellor and Chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee, would have been left to a lifetime of suffering, if not an early death, either literally or by sim- updated the Board on the status of the strategic planning initiative that com- ply giving up on life. It is a very basic matter of survival. The model of our Order, in lovingly menced earlier this year. caring for the least of our brethren (and let me assure you these children are among them), is Subcommittees have been working all summer, and the full Committee plans surely Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Sister Teracita of the School Sisters of (continued on page 2) to present their report to the Board for approval at the November 13th Board meeting.
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