Cooperation embraces others
This year, instead of having a solidarity project to bring the entire congregation together, we have chosen to support the Benedict Menni Foundation (BMF) to collaborate on development projects at the various Sisters Hospitallers centres across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
‘I would like to conclude this message by announcing that for 2021, we will not be supporting a specific solidarity project; the donations from the communities and centres will instead go directly to the Benedict Menni Foundation (BMF), which will allocate the donations to the various existing projects presented’.
This is how the Superior General of Sisters Hospitallers announced that this year, instead of having a solidarity project that brings the entire congregation together, Sisters Hospitallers have chosen to support the Benedict Menni Foundation to enable its collaboration on development projects at the various Sisters Hospitallers centres across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
The Foundation invites us to collaborate on this new initiative with the motto: ‘Cooperation embraces others’. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we find ourselves far from each other and, in many cases, far from our beloved ones and feeling lonely. But there is always something to do; the Benedict Menni Foundation continues to collaborate, knowing that to cooperate means to embrace others. It means being with others when they need it the most, bringing them hope and working together to guarantee health, education, and opportunities for everyone, everywhere in the world.
The Benedict Menni Foundation ‘A commitment with mental health’
The Benedict Menni Foundation was founded on July 8th, 2004, with the support of the Congregation of the Sisters Hospitallers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with the purpose of “carrying out actions geared towards development cooperation and international and national humanitarian aid with a special focus on the most disadvantaged countries and people”. The Benedict Menni Foundation (BMF) specialises in cooperating with development in the field of mental health to prevent and improve the conditions of thousands of people experiencing marginalisation and exclusion across America, Africa, and Asia.
The Foundation’s objective is to carry out actions oriented towards cooperating with development and national and international humanitarian aid, with a special focus on the most disadvantaged countries and people.
The Foundation recognises the humanitarian principles of the United Nations’ world summits, the guidelines and policies of the European Union on international cooperation, and the 2030 Agenda. It strives to promote human development, considering all facets of a person, so that society can become an agent of change for justice. Moreover, with the support of professionals and volunteers, the Foundation carries out various collaborative projects, responding to the neglect that people with mental illnesses face.
