MYANMAR

WHEN THE PARTY’S OVER …

HOLY CHILDHOOD ASSOCIATION2219 Kennedy Rd., TORONTO, ON M1T 3G5, CANADA

1-800-897-8865 www.missionsocieties.ca

Jan. - Jun. 2019Vol. 28.2JuniorGr. 4 - 6

CHILDREN HELPIN G CHILDRE

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®

Well, wasn’t that fun?? As you know, 2018 was the 175th Anniversary of our Holy Childhood Association (HCA)! We celebrated that very signi�cant birthday which has come and gone so quickly! In the Newsletter sent out before Advent last year, you were able to see how wide-spread the HCA is. You have helped children in several countries in Africa, in Asia, the South Paci�c region, South America and the Caribbean. That’s a very big e�ort.

However, just like you have to get back to your ordinary life after your own birthday, we need to continue to help less fortunate children around the world. Unfortunately, there are still countries where children su�er from not having enough of the things we take for granted each day. Let’s not forget our responsibilities, but renew our missionary e�orts in 2019!

REMEMBER THE PURPOSE OF THE HCA:

TO PRAY and encourage others to pray for children around the world, that they may all come to know Jesus.

TO LEARN about children from di�erent countries and cultures.

To encourage young children to develop the habit of SHARING with less fortunate children.

We are

This edition of the Newsletter focuses on the country of Myanmar. Chances are that you don’t know too much about this country, partly because it has only had that name for 29 years, which I know is a long time for you! Before that, it was called Burma. It is bordered by Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Laos, coun-tries you have probably heard of a bit more. There has been much political trouble and violence in recent years, and that has caused some of the di�culties for children today. Here are a few facts about Myanmar:

Myanmar is the largest country in mainland South-east Asia with a population of 53,900,000A typical meal in Myanmar includes steamed rice, �sh, meat, vegetables and soup served at the same time.Want to visit? Beware! Major credit cards are not always accepted in Myan-mar, and there are few ATMs, so visitors need to bring plenty of U.S. dollars

The major economic product is rice.Believe it or not, it is considered healthy to be plump (a bit obese?) in MyanmarThe country’s name was changed from Burma to Myanmar in 1989 and also the capital city’s name, Rangoon, to Yangon. The capital city was moved from Yangon to a newly constructed city, Naypyidaw, in 2005.

INTERESTING DETAILS:

HCA PROJECTS in MYANMARAs recently as October 1 this year, the Propagation of the Faith, along with the HCA, a branch of the Ponti�cal Mission Societies, has put out a special appeal to help the Pyinya Sanyae Institute of Education (PSIE) in Yangon, Myanmar. This school trains teachers who work with disadvantaged children throughout the country. The HCA directly has projects that support the provision of boarding facilities so that children from remote areas can attend school. These locations include: Lashio, Kyaing Tong, Kengtung, Kamamaung, Hpa-An. Poverty and ethnic disruptions have contributed to the lack of educational access for many children.

Teacher training in Yangon (Catholic Mission, Australia)

DID YOU KNOW?Myanmar is mostly a Buddhist country, and if you visit the country today, you can see many impressive Buddhist pagodas and temples – as well as a few Catholic Churches. Go online with a Google search and you will be able to �nd many more.

DID YOU KNOW … MORE? Aung San Suu Kyi is the most well known political �gure to emerge from Myanmar and its di�cult past. She has even been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize! Do some research about her struggles to achieve democracy for her country, and why she is still a controversial woman today. Has she been a good leader?

DID YOU KNOW … EVEN MORE?The animals in Myanmar are similar to many of the animals in its neighbour-ing countries. A couple of the more spectacular are shown here. Can you �nd more online?

Inn Oo Pagodas (Jakub Halun, CCA-Share Alike 4.0 Int)

Botataung Pagoda (Marcin Konsek, CCA-Share Alike 4.0 Int)

Photo by Richard Dicky.(CCA 4.5 International)

Creative Commons AttributionShare Alike 3.0 Unported

Water bu�alo: (Althein: CCA-Share Alike 4.0 Int)

ElephantsAlthein: CCA-Share Alike 4.0 Int

POPE’S LENTEN MESSAGEIn 2018, Pope Francis wrote:

“I urge the members of the Church to take up the Lenten

journey with enthusiasm, sustained by almsgiving,

fasting and prayer.” These are the traditional Lenten values. As this Newsletter is printed before the Lenten season, we will have to wait for what he says for 2019.

Well, it will soon be that time of year again

This year, 2019, Lent begins on March 6, which is certainly later than last year. That means that Easter Sunday will be on April 21. What does this mean for you? By Ash Wednesday, winter will have been upon us for a long time and Easter should have very spring-like weather. We’ll see!

In the last Newsletter, you did a quiz on how much you knew about Advent. Let’s try one for Lent and see how smart you are.1. What was the original meaning of the word “Lent”? ______________________________2. What is the �rst day of Lent called? ___________________________________________3. What do we call the day before Lent begins? ___________________________________4. From where do the ashes come? _____________________________________________5. What color vestments does the priest wear during Lent? _________________________6. What word is never said or sung during Lent? __________________________________7. Which day of the week is traditionally not part of Lent? __________________________8. On what days are Catholics required to fast during Lent? _________________________ and ________________________.9. What Irish saint’s feast day takes place during Lent? _____________________________10. On what Sunday during Lent does the priest bless palms? ________________________11. What event in the life of Jesus do the palms recall for us? ________________________ _______________________________________________________________________12. How many Stations of the Cross are there traditionally? __________________________13. How many times does Jesus fall in the Stations? ________________________________14. Who helped Jesus carry his Cross? ___________________________________________15. When does Lent o�cially end? ______________________________________________

Answers: Simon of Cyrene; Tuesday of Holy Week; St Patrick; Ash Wednesday & Good Friday; Shrove Tuesday; Holy Thursday before Mass; fourteen; Palm (Passion ) Sunday; Alleluia; burnt palms from last year; Ash Wednesday; three; Jesus entry into Jerusalem; Sunday; purple; spring;

(hopeforwilmington.com)

(Catholic Principals’ Council Ontario)

Lenten Prayer

My God, Jesus our Savior is a model of humility. He ful�lled Your will by becoming human

And giving His life on the Cross. Help us to bear witness to You

By following His example of su�eringAnd make us worthy to share in His Resurrection.

Amen.

175 YEARS AROUND THE WORLD

We concentrated on the Holy Childhood Association in Canada when celebrating the 175th Anniversary in 2018. It was also celebrated around the world by corresponding HCAs in other countries. Below are a few snapshots from around the world.

CanadaStudents from Sacred Heart School, Prince George, BC hold collection boxes used during their Lenten donation campaign. For more than 20 years, the school has been collecting funds for the HCA missions.

MyanmarMyanmar is our featured

missionary country in this issue. Here is a Youtube link to

the o�cial birthday celebrations of the Missionary (Holy) Childhood celebrations in that country:

htps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8gsPD6RqMQWatch and enjoy!

Bangladesh“The care and protection of children is a pastoral priority for the Church in Bangladesh”. This statement came from Cardinal Patrick D'Rozario, Archbish-op of Dhaka in the Agenzia Fides. “The responsibility of the Church is to support families in protecting the rights of children.” Children in Bangladesh, (Agenzia Fides; CCA 4.0 International)

FranceOn June 19, 2018, Mgr Henri Bodet, National Director of the Ponti�cal Mission Societies in France and Secretary General of the Ponti�cal Missionary Childhood Society until 1993, died. He was a great promoter of every child accepting “the mission-ary dimension of his/her faith”.

Charles de Forbin-Janson, founder; (MCA; CCA 4.0 International )

BoliviaSister Roberta Tremarelli, Secretary General of the Ponti�cal Missionary Childhood Society, said in Bolivia on July 12, 2018: “It is important to recog-nize the relevance and validity of the participation of children in the universal mission of the Church". Children in Bolivia (Agenzia Fides; CCA 4.0 International)

Oceania/Australia"We thank God because the construction

of the training centre for girls continues and is about to end". This was the message from Sister Agatha Phawsu on October 18, 2018, to "Catholic Mission Australia" about work in Myanmar. Girls training in Myanmar

(Agenzia Fides; CCA 4.0 International)

KyrgyzstanThe need to assist homeless children pushed the SOS Children's Villages to assist in the construction of facilities. This work is supported today, Oct 6, 2018, by the Ponti�cal Missions.Homeless children in Kyrgyzstan (Agenzia Fides; CCA 4.0 International)