IN light of the alarming current social situation in the country, the Archdiocese of Manila, Caritas Manila and Fazenda da Esperança will celebrate a “Day of Hope” for the Filipino people, especially for all those victimized by drugs, on Sunday, January 8, 2017, at the Manila Cathedral.
Gracing the event is His Eminence Archbishop of Manila Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, DD, who will also lead the Holy Mass at 10 a.m. The Founders of Fazenda da Esperança from Brazil, including Rev. Fr. Hans Stapel, will also attend the event, as well as the rehabilitated and reformed drug dependents from Fazenda who have been living good and respectable lives after their program. They will give testimonies to tell the country that there is life and hope even after drugs.
This partnership between the Archdiocese of Manila through Caritas Manila and Fazenda de Esperança strengthens the drug-rehabilitation and -restoration initiatives of the Catholic Church in the country to help thousands of drug surrenderees resulting from the government’s intense campaign against illegal drugs.
Fazenda da Esperança, or The Farm of Hope, is a therapeutic community with over 30 years of experience in the recovery of drug addicts all over the world. Here, recovery is based on its three pillars: Community—coexistence in the family; work—as a pedagogical process; and, most of all, spirituality—to find a sense of life and love.
Founded in Brazil by Fr. Hans Stapel, Nelson Giovanelli, Luci Rosendo and Iraci Leite, the Farm of Hope has grown to a total of 120 farms scattered in 18 countries around the world. Fazenda da Esperança has been in the Philippines for 13 years now and has recovered over a hundred Filipinos already. They have been giving new life to so many drug addicts, believing that as long as there is life, there is hope.
Caritas Manila, the social development arm of the Archdiocese of Manila, runs the Restorative Justice Prison Ministry intended to the development of the prisoners and the correctional community based on the principles of Restorative Justice (RJ).
The program conducts (Pa-Release-Me): paralegal assistance, religious studies (bible study, catechesis), livelihood training, education, advocacy, services for social action and medical assistance.
Also, in October 2016, Caritas Manila launched Sanlakbay, a Church drug-rehabilitation and -restoration program that strengthens the preventive phase of the Restorative Justice Ministry in partnership with the Masa masid in the community. The program intends to help thousands of drug surrenderees by providing values formation, counseling, sports and cultural and livelihood programs toward healing, rehabilitation and restoration.
To know more about Caritas Manila, visit www.caritasmanila.org.ph. For your donations, please call our DonorCare lines 563-9311, 564-0205, 0999-7943455, 0905-4285001 and 0929-8343857. Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph. For comments, e-mail veritas846pr@gmail.com.