Dear Columban Friends,
I hope this letter finds you well and filled with the spirit of the holiday season. As Christmas approaches, I am reaching out to you with a heartfelt request on behalf of people living in dire poverty around the world.
As you may know, Columban missionaries work tirelessly to help people living in poverty better their circumstances. They have made a significant difference in the lives of many, like Jemuel whose story I share with you below. With your help, we can ensure this vital work continues.
The Subanens are an indigenous people whose ancestral homeland is in the mountains of northwest Mindanao, Philippines. Like other indigenous peoples in the Philippines, the Subanens have a spiritual bond with their habitat and relate with that habitat through their dance, music, and rituals.
Early in 2017, Jemuel Rote, a 20-year-old Subanen, left home on a 6-hour bus trip to Marawi City to work in a small grocery store. Marawi City is the homeland of the Maranao people. The Maranao People are Muslim and along with other Muslim peoples make up about one quarter of Mindanao’s 26 million people. Maranao shopkeepers have a reputation among Subanens for treating their workers well.
A month after Jemuel started work, a violent Jihadist group called “Maute” invaded Marawi City and held the city residents hostage. What followed would be a 5-month battle during which time the Philippine army surrounded the city and rained bombs on buildings where the Jihadists hid with their hostages.
For a few weeks, Jemuel along with three Subanen workmates avoided discovery by the Jihadists. They hid in a bakery where they survived by eating the bread and flour that was stored there. Eventually, a Jihadist patrol passed through their area looking for people hiding in houses and shops. Jemuel and his companions heard them coming so they quietly crept out the back entrance and hid behind a wall.
Without shelter, Jemuel and his companions decided to flee the city that night. They remained behind the wall until about 3 in the morning, then they crawled through dark, muddy streets to the edge of the city. They saw a rice field nearby where they could continue their escape, but they had to get there without being seen by the Jihadist’s patrols. Tragically a Jihadist patrol spotted them and opened fire. Jemuel’s companions were killed. Jemuel was shot in the leg but managed to reach the cover of the rice field.
Jemuel could not move because of his wounded leg. He survived in the rice field for six days by drinking the dirty water in an irrigation ditch. After six days, soldiers of the Philippine army found Jemuel and took him to a nearby hospital where his infected leg was treated with antibiotics. After three months he was strong enough to return home, but his leg remained dangerously infected.
After he got home, Columban missionaries heard about Jemuel’s condition and got him into a hospital where doctors soon realized that antibiotics were not helping his infected leg. To save his leg he needed a major operation that would remove two inches of his infected shin bone. With the help of Columban donors, Jemuel had the operation after which he spent six months in a leg brace while waiting for his leg bone to regenerate. During his long convalescence the Subanen crafters taught Jemuel the art of making their Christmas cards. Their cards show how Mary and Joseph had to flee into the desert to escape Herod’s soldiers who were sent to kill Jesus. Jemuel saw that, like himself, Mary and Joseph had narrowly escaped death.
It has been seven years since Jemuel’s traumatic experience in Marawi. He is now a skilled Subanen crafter and has benefitted – in body and spirit – by being in a supportive community in his home. He hopes to get another operation soon to restore more movement to his leg. Jemuel will never forget the night he and his three companions tried to escape since it was his 21st birthday.
Your donation, no matter the amount, will go a long way in supporting programs like the card project that has made such a difference in Jemuel’s life. Your generosity will truly make a difference and bring hope to those in need during this holiday season. Every donation counts and is greatly appreciated.
Thank you for considering this request and for your ongoing support of causes that matter. Together, we can make this holiday season brighter for those who need it most. Wishing you and your family a joyous Christmas filled with peace and love.
Gratefully yours in Christ,
Fr. Chris Saenz | Director, U.S. Region
The Missionary Society of St. Columban is entrusted by the Holy Father with part of the Church’s mission to spread the Faith and saving work of Christ.” (Vat.II) The Society works under the guidance of the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and under the leadership of the bishops. We are listed in the U.S. Official Catholic Directory published annually by P.J. Kennedy and Sons. As such, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service recognizes us as a religious not-for-profit corporation, therefore contributions to our work are tax deductible. We employ no outside professional fund-raisers and pay no commissions.