We have collaborated with MCYN & Segretarjat Diakonia for a series of posts leading up to World Day of the Poor. This series, based on Pope Francis's encyclical Fratelli Tutti, aims to raise awareness about the poverty around us. #worlddayofthepoor
We decided to ask some friends, family and colleagues what they understood by the word 'solidarity' and if they've seen or experienced an act of solidarity in the community. A few of these are in the video that we posted on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Here we're sharing with you all the stories we receieved. We hope this can shed a light on how we can all practice solidarity in our everyday life.
“Two elderly aunts live alone. An 87-year-old takes care of her 93-year-old sister. The elder sibling has lost the strength in her legs and slips to the ground. At all times two nephews are on call to support and assist the frail aunt. The act of kindness and solidarity is met with such gratitude from the eyes of the 93-year-old aunt.”
“A young man with a generous heart experienced a missionary experience in Cambodia. He kept in contact. An appeal was sent out and the young man together with his living parents reached out to others. People responded in generosity to these unknown persons on the other side of the world, because it is only God who sees what is shared in secret.”
“A friendly 12-year-old son who is known by his peers to have a heart of gold sees his parents passing through moments if great pain. The parents are no longer living together. The son reaches out to his father by visiting very regularly. The presence of a loving child soothes and validates the parent whilst the son respects both his mother and father. A living example of the 4th commandment.”
“A wife sees her husband and father of two children, falling apart. Besides seeking support, she stands beside him as they journey these moments of unknown and uncertainty. Prayer and supportive friends encircle the couple so that today they are in a much better place. One only knowns what love means when this is accompanied by a giving of self to the other.”
“It-tifel kellu jsiefer għal trattament għal 7 xhur u jien jew ir-ragel konna miegħu...oħti laqgħatna f'darha hemm u ħbieb, familja u anki nies li ma nafux, ġabru flus biex jgħinuna”
“Ir-raġel ilu ma jmur xogħol minn April minħabba Covid. Għalkemm qed jaħdem ftit għal rasu il-paga naqset ħafna. Ħuti qed jagħtu daqqa t'id bil-flus sakemm jerġa għan–normal”
“Persuna b'mard mentali u li tgħix waħedha sabet żewġ ġirien jgħinuha. Waħda toħroġ magħha u l-oħra ttiha ċempilha għall-kumpanija u tgħinha jekk tkun ma tiflaħx”
“Someone I know, in his community, is called 'kiesah' because he drives too fast etc. But what the community doesn't know about him is that when he sees someone in need, he is always ready to help.”
"A woman during COVID lockdown took the initiative to keep regular contact by telephone
with a 89 year old in a Retirement Home. This elderly person had no family. During
summer, when the measures of COVID were eased, the woman went to visit the elderly
woman in person. The woman describes how the elderly woman greeted her, a total
stranger, with such warmth. Solidarity gives birth to love and sincere love is life giving."
"A son stays by his mother during her moments of illness and frailty. The gift of life that is
given from the mother to her child is returned a hundred fold. Silence is what surrounds the
two as they stay with these special moments. Solidarity and God's grace empowers a
person to know when God-given moments are present and how one ought to respond."
"A man had a mental breakdown for a number of years. An old friend of his, whom he
hadn't met for some time, got news of this. Every day he would send a text message,
sometimes it was just 'Bongu' or 'Hello', but he kept it up. Eventually the sick man started to
get better and eventually came to appreciate the daily message of support from his friend.
Little acts of support and love can make one feel valued"
"I was driving down a narrow street. Two cars ahead of me, there was the rubbish truck. Two thin sweaty immigrant young men were running up and down the street picking up the rubbish bags and running behind the truck. We were there for a few minutes waiting patiently when the man in the car in front of me rolled down his window. OMG I thought, I hope he's not going to yell at them to hurry up. But what happened next was an example of solidarity to me. He shouted, 'Hawn siehbi!' and threw a bottle of water to one of those men. The young man was taken by surprise but he gave the man the biggest smile of gratitude. Small acts of solidarity build bridges."
"Minħabba li ma stajnhiex niltaqgħu, bgħatt rigal lil sħabi waqt li kienu għaddejjin minn żmien ta problemi."
"Konna nċemplu lil seħibna spiss meta kien pożittiv għall-COVID."
"Planning a wedding during a pandemic led to many change of plans and uncertainty. Our
friends were always ready to help and gave us the support we needed."