Striving to be “social poets”, the Famvin Homeless Alliance’s response to COVID-19
In his April 2020 Letter to Popular Movements, Pope Francis says to them: “you are social poets because, from the forgotten peripheries where you live, you create admirable solutions for the most pressing problems afflicting the marginalized”. As States declared a...
Ihor, a life changed amidst the pandemic in Ukraine
Earlier this year in March, Ihor approached Depaul Ukraine Street Outreach project in Odessa and asked us for help. Ihor is 61 years old and has a wife and daughter, but due to a disagreement with his relatives they lost their house a few years ago. Since then, the...
Warde, a story of providence
With a big smile and shiny eyes, Warde welcomes you whenever you visit; a visit she prays for every day, every week, every month. She smiles as if she has no care in the world, she greets as if she has known you forever and she spreads positivity as if she had...
“I know that God does not forget us”, Véronique, from the Mahama Refugee Camp in Rwanda
"My name is Véronique and I am 91 years old. I have been in the Mahama Refugee Camp in Rwanda since 2015 with my granddaughter. She takes care of me. In the five years that I have been here, life has not been easy. There is not a single day that I have had enough...
Diaries of a Vincentian: To die like a dog…
August 18th 2003 I was running between two emergencies. We were Red Cross volunteer lifeguards. We first attended to a man with a stab wound and took him to hospital, but it was a struggle to get him admitted: we knew neither his name, nor of any relatives who could...
Global Statement Of Solidarity And Action To #ProtectTheUnhoused From COVID-19
Protecting, Testing, Housing The associations together call for groups such as the homeless, migrants, whether housed or not, and other groups who have to survive in precarious conditions to be priority groups for screening at Covid-19, given their high vulnerability....
Supporting refugees in Rwanda in the time of COVID-19
The world is currently in the midst of a period of great difficulty due to the onset of the coronavirus. Since March 14th, Rwanda has been under lockdown in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country. This includes the Mahama Refugee Camp, where our...
The Vincentian Sisters of Untermarchtal Start a Prayer Network during this time of COVID-19
In order to help the people during the current crisis, the Vincentian Sisters of Untermarchtal have initiated a prayer network that enables them to be present to people in a new way. They want to assure people that they are not alone. Yes, as church services are...
Vincentian Responses to Coronavirus Globally
At the Famvin Homeless Alliance we are hearing stories of how different parts of the Vincentian Family are responding to homeless and vulnerable people during the outbreak of the Corona Virus. We asked Fr Robert Maloney, former Superior General of the Congregation of...
Young and old, supported by the Daughters of Charity in Kenya
Vincentian women have been at the forefront of the Vincentian task of tendering for the sick and the poor. Since the time of St Louise de Marillac and St Vincent de Paul, the Daughters of Charity have been crucial to put words into actions. In Kenya, the Daughters of...
Diaries of a Vincentian: Rocco
I knew him as Rocco, his nickname. Every week, we’d chat. His ‘patch’ was outside Sainsbury’s, the main supermarket in Cambridge. He sat unimposing, legs crossed, greying beard. He always wore a woollen hat, even when the sun was shining. Rocco was up early and stayed...
Vincentians in Nigeria join the fight against homelessness
The Vincentian Family in Nigeria has decided to focus their work on homelessness after their annual meeting in Lagos last month. In the meeting, where six branches were present, the Vincentian Family decided to build at least one house for homeless people this year...