When he was an infant, a young child named Dennis lost both his parents to AIDS. At age 15 months he himself tested positive for the disease but he is now free of it. Rescued from the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, he currently receives loving care in a group home.
Another Jamaican child, Gregory, was found trying to give water to his mother who had been dead for four days. Ultimately this child did not survive but died after being tenderly cared for by his rescuers.
A third boy, Ramon, was found in a pigsty when he was five years old. He is now a bright child and progressing nicely.
These children and hundreds of others have been saved from the streets by Mustard Seed Communities, a charitable organization now celebrating its 25th anniversary. Working in Jamaica and four other impoverished countries, – – Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Zimbabwe – – Mustard Seed is dedicated to care of the world’s most helpless children.
Besides caring for these children, the organization in Jamaica sponsors schools and small business enterprises designed to relieve the poverty of the communities where it works. Caring, sharing, and training serve as three watchwords that indicate the top priorities of Mustard Seed.
AIDS poses a special challenge in Jamaica, a society that attaches a stigma to people who have it. In some regions of the island, neighbors will burn down your house if they discover you are infected with this disease .The Kingston facility is the only one in Jamaica that handles pediatric AIDS.
Mustard Seed follows the philosophy of its founder, Father Gregory Ramkissoon, a native of Trinidad. Seeing children with disabilities abandoned on the sidewalks, empty lots, and even trash cans, he was moved to reach out to them. “You have to care for somebody else,” he explains, “that is the way we are wired.”
“We make each child the cornerstone, instead of the rejected stone,” he says, using the biblical language that forms so much of his inner world. The name Mustard Seed itself comes from a parable spoken by Jesus who compared the Kingdom of God to the smallest plant that ultimately grows into one of the biggest.
At this time of crisis in their church, Father Gregory is convinced, American Catholics are looking for opportunities to serve others in need. Such people help to make it possible for Mustard Seed to rescue abandoned children. By giving money, providing needed goods, offering prayers, or perhaps coming to volunteer on site, not only Catholics but all others who wish to respond will be welcome.
Mustard Seed makes available a retreat house next to the main facility in Kingston for those who wish to see up close how the communities work. The organization runs weekend sessions for business leaders and others who wish to experience at first hand the work on behalf of destitute children.
Father Gregory sees the goal of these visits as twofold: to show Americans and others that the work of Christ is service to our brothers and sisters; and to enable the visitors to go back home and spread the word about Mustard Seed.
This priest is himself the best advertisement for Mustard Seed and its dedication to children in desperate need of help. Short in stature physically, Father Gregory stands tall interiorly, with a spirituality entirely devoted to service of Christ and the children. He reminds me of Mother Theresa who committed herself to dying people who had no one else to serve them in their hour of greatest need. Like her, Father Gregory attends to the souls of those he serves as well as their bodily needs.
Father Gregory knows how important are the lay people associated with him in Mustard Seed. The 300 people employed by the organization to care for children add great strength to his community.
In this country Mustard Seed has associates who help support the work. Among them is Mary Alice Fontaine, Director of Development, at 10 Bridge Street, Suite 203 in Lowell who can provide further information at (978) 446-0505.
I also recommend the web site at http://www.mustardseed.com, especially the brief video that shows the children with those who take care of them. To me, it is moving to see the loving way in which adults and children enter into contact with one another.
Richard Griffin