Sixteen seminarians and their formators from the major seminary of Laos have visited the ministries of the Divine Word Missionaries in Udon Thani Diocese, Thailand, learning about their care for people living with HIV-AIDS, as well as parish ministry.
Fr Toub Anisong SVD, who himself hails from Laos, says the visit by his countrymen to the SVD ministries was part of a broader visit exploring the main ministries of the Udon Thani Diocese.
While there, they visited the Mother of Perpetual Help AIDS Centre, located in Nong Bua Lamphu, in the North-East of Thailand, about 100km from the Mekong River on the Thai-Laos border, which works to make a difference in the life of people suffering from HIV/AIDS in the Northeast of Thailand.
Extreme poverty, isolation and stigma all collude to make the situation very difficult for people in the north-east of Thailand with AIDS. Young parents die leaving orphaned children who are often also HIV infected.
Since 1997 Mother of Perpetual Help Centre has been assisting babies and young children of HIV and poor families in Nong Bua Lamphu. The program started with assisting about 40 children and has grown into helping almost 400 people each year.
One of the priorities of the Mother of Perpetual Help Centre over the years has been the AIDS Education and Awareness Program with school students, which we take to up to 20 schools each year.
The Ban Mae Marie Home for Teenagers began as a home to care for orphans of AIDs, but has now been opened up for care of non-HIV-related teenagers and the elderly.
Fr Toub says the visit to these ministries by the Lao seminarians and their formators was an opportunity to give them a first-hand look at situations they might not have seen before.
“It was the seminarians’ first experience to learn about how the HIV parents are cared by our brothers as well as how to live with the positive patients respectfully,” he says.
“It is also a good opportunity to introduce our SVD presence, its charism and its mission as worldwide as well as in Thailand where we will soon celebrate the 25th anniversary of our foundation here in Thailand.”
While in Udon Diocese, the Lao seminarians also enjoyed hospitality at the SVD house and visited the SVD parish of St Michael the Archangel in Nong Bua Lamphu.
Other SVD ministries in the Thailand district, which is part of the Australia Province, include parish ministry in rural and remote locations, English language teaching, Vietnamese migrant ministry in Bangkok and other provinces, and seminary and academic research ministry in Bangkok.
PHOTO: The seminarians from Laos national seminary with their formators and members of the SVD Thai District during the visit.