Palliative Care and Support

Palliative Care and Support

Palliative care is an important and specialised type of medical care that provides patients with relief from suffering or pain caused by long term or terminal illness no matter the diagnosis or stage of disease. Palliative care teams aim to improve the quality of life for both patients and their families.

Palliative care teams aim to improve the quality of life for both patients and their families.For many people, end of life care is difficult as the patient finds themself with little options. MMMs work to provide palliative care for people who need health services to cope with pain and to die with dignity. We work with people who have terminal illnesses like advanced stages of cancer or untreatable AIDS or who are very frail or elderly. Bringing comfort to people at this difficult time is something that we MMMs do with great care.

Much of what MMM does focuses on the ability to bring the healing charism to people in most need.

Economic and enterprise empowerment for young women

In many parts of the world it is difficult for young women to find employment that will support them and their children. Attending traditional training or education programmes may not be an option for several reasons. In complex situations, women are denied access to jobs and have no way to support themselves or lift themselves out of poverty.
MMMs provide training and enterprise skills to empower young women to be self employed. Giving women skills they can use to make money allows them to create an income to support themselves and their children for life. Skills like hairdressing, crafts, design, dress making, computer training and other abilities are taught as they are in demand in the areas where the women live.

Water regeneration, nutrition and agricultural projects

Poverty and starvation are serious issues for many people in the world. Rather than just feeding the needy, MMMs are involved in programmes which have taught thousands of people how to grow their own food.

Working along with the help of donors and assistance from other NGOs. farmers and people are taught better agricultural methods. Seeds, tools and fertilizers are distributed. Educational courses are offered to help people grow their own food. There are areas where MMMs are actively working that have or are impacted by famine due to war, politics, disease or extreme weather conditions.

Clean water is also another major issue for many people in the world. MMMs are involved in the science and technology of helping people regenerate water which is an essential part of life for any one at any age.

Pastoral care

MMMs offer care and support to members of the community who may need additional help in times of challenge or adversity. Providing Pastoral care involves enabling people to journey through difficulty and find healing and wholeness.

It can involve supporting a person who is in need of reconciliation or guidance. In providing pastoral care, an MMM is able to offer a new and nurturing perspective while supporting someone through a challenging process or time.

These services can be provided by an individual or as part of a community pastoral care team. Pastoral care can foster a culture of caring and nurturing to impact a school, hospital, home or neighborhood. It is an important part of the MMM ethos to provide pastoral care where it is needed.

We’re glad to hear from you! Whether you’re looking for more information on what we do or how you can get involved, please fill out the form below to be connected with the Medical Missionaries of Mary. You will be contacted by Sr. Sheila Campbell, Sr. Joanne Bierl or a team member soon.

Your data is always safe with us. We will only contact you in conjunction with your enquiry and your details are stored securely in the meantime.

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Sr. Sheila Campbell, Communications Dept., Beechgrove, Hardman’s Gardens, Drogheda, Co. Louth A92 XKX0  mmmcomm@mmmworldwide.org
Sr. Joanne Bierl, Director Mission Development Office, 179 Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA 02143-1515 USA – mdommm2014@gmail.com

We invite you to join us and meet some of our MMM Sisters and learn about them, their backgrounds, journey and impact on the world.

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 Handing On In Makondo – February 2018

Important aspects of our life as MMMs are ‘reading the signs of the times in a rapidly changing world’ and being ‘alert to new needs and opportunities’ (MMM Constitutions).

In 2015, after twenty-four years in Makondo, our Sisters began a process of discernment about the need for our continuing presence there. In what was previously an underserved area of great need, there had been great development, with shops, houses, schools, and other health facilities. The local government had trained village health workers. The government also wanted Grade II health facilities to offer a wider range of services, which posed a challenge for sustainability.

In the reflection process, the Sisters were guided by our MMM Resource Team and involved the diocese, the health unit management committee and staff of the Makondo complex, local leaders and the local parish. After considering the resulting reports, proposals and suggestions, the MMM East/Central Africa Area Team recommended to our Congregational Leadership Team that we hand over the Makondo complex to the Diocese of Masaka.

The Congregational Leadership Team responded positively and our Congregational Leader informed the bishop, Rt. Rev. John Baptist Kagwa, about the decision in August 2016.

Sr. Maria Gonzaga, the area leader for East/Central Africa, met Bishop Kagwa to discuss the steps in the transition and to fix the date for the official handover. He was asked to find a group to take over the management of the complex and the Daughters of Mary Sisters generously accepted. The resource team returned in September 2017 to follow up the planning with all involved and an assessment of the financial system was completed.

Time to say farewell
Sr. Maria Gonzaga wrote about the day of the handover on 27 February 2018.

‘It was a beautiful day, blessed with rain until around 9.30 a.m. We had arranged to have Mass in the open, so this delayed us a bit as we waited for those who had to travel over the bad roads.

‘Bishop Kagwa celebrated the Mass with Fr. Ssekabanja, the chancellor; Fr. Katabaazi,the diocesan health coordinator; Fr. Paschal, the parish priest of Makondo; and Fr. Henry,his assistant. Daughters of Mary Mother General, Sr. Noeline Namusoke, and her council also attended, with the Sisters assigned to the new community. Our Makondo staff were there,as were representatives of our partners. The parish choir sang beautifully.

‘In his homily Bishop Kagwa said that MMMs are missionaries. After twenty-seven years the seed we planted has germinated, so it was time to take the Good News to other places. He thanked MMM for what we have done in Masaka Diocese, where we have been since we first arrived in Uganda. He was very proud of our contribution in the health sector. He then thanked the Daughters of Mary for taking on this big project at Makondo and promised to support them in any way possible to continue the work and even do more. He prayed especially for those who contributed to the work and have gone before us:  Srs. Benedicta Nannyondo,  Cate Nakintu,  Maura Lynch,  Dympna Hannelly, and Rita Hand.’

Stewardship: Sharing God’s blessings
‘After the Thanksgiving of the Mass the official signing of the handover report and the trustees’ agreement took place. The MMM Area Leader presented the bishop with copies of the handover report, 

the financial reports, and the keys to the buildings. Bishop Kagwa emphasized that MMM had not sold the property and assets to him but had given them free of charge and openly. He thanked us for the wonderful, well-written, detailed and transparent handover report they had given him and for the open and beautiful handover ceremony.

‘Representatives of the various groups spoke after Mass. Following lunch with the visitors there was a tour of the compound with Bishop Kagwa. When everyone had gone, we went back to the convent. Led by the parish priest, we prayed with the new Daughters of Mary community. We said good-bye to the Sisters and the staff, and freely left Makondo.’

 

Back to Footprints

 

Palliative Care in Uganda

‘Our work in palliative care in Uganda developed as a result of the HIV epidemic, which wrought devastating effects in that area. Many cancers are among the AIDS-defining illnesses and the palliative care team brought holistic care to those affected. The following report describes the services that MMM provided before handing over Mobile Palliative Care to local staff in 2013.

‘In Uganda, we have a very active Palliative Care Team, made up of Sister-Doctor Carla Simmons along with nurses Rose, Resty and their driver, Aloysius.  Nurses Rose and Resty are pictured here visiting the home of a patient with Kaposi’s sarcoma.

‘The Palliative Care Team is part of the home care unit, based at Masaka. It has a staff of twenty-two, including the staff who administer antiretroviral therapy.

‘The programme has more than 4,000 patients currently registered. Of these, 112 are in need of palliative care to relieve the severe symptoms of the advanced stages of disease.’

Sister Carla, pictured here with Nurse Rose, visiting another patient, said,

“We offer this service to our own patients in the AIDS Mobile Outreach Programme and also to patients with cancer referred from the hospital. While the purpose of our Mobile Outreach Programme is to care for people and families who have been struck with AIDS, you couldn’t have a service in an area as poor as this without it being available to anyone who needs it.”

“We are very fortunate in Uganda that morphine is available for treatment of severe pain. Because morphine is a classified drug, an opiate, a drug of addiction, there are very strict laws about its handling, use and prescription. In many African countries it is not even allowed to be imported. It is only since the growth of the hospice movement that the benefits of morphine in terminal illness have been appreciated fully.

“The beauty of the morphine we use is that it is oral, cheap, easy to take, and wonderful for pain relief, as everybody knows. It is also helpful in the control of severe diarrhoea that often accompanies terminal stages of AIDS. That gives tremendous relief not only to the patient but also to the family.”

See 2010 Palliative Care Report 

 

Back to Footprints

Sisters Mary, Catherine, Margaret Anne and Isabelle stand on the shoulders of other MMMs who helped to counter human trafficking: Sisters Blandina Ryan and Maura O´Donohue. 

 

Sister Blandina Ryan, working in Benin City, Nigeria was greatly preoccupied by the problem of young unemployed women being picked up and trafficked abroad for sex work. When our community in Nigeria reáflected on this problem, they felt the best form of prevention would be the creation of vocational training. It took a lot of planning and fundraising before the Mother Mary Martin Centre was eventually constructed on the outskirts of Benin City.

‘No matter how bitter it may sound,’ said Sister Blandina, ‘the truth is that a majority of the Nigerian young people are struggling to survive at all levels, including university graduates. A career in armed robbery or prostitution in Europe can have more appeal than the struggle to make an honest livelihood. However, we must do our best to offer young people the start they deserve and encourage them. That is why the Medical Missionaries of Mary embarked on the establishment of the Mother Mary Martin Vocational Centre. Our broad objective is to meet decent professional needs of the Ugbekun Community youth. That is our starting point.’

Sister Blandina is now retired in Ireland but the centre continues to educate young people and to alert them to the dangers of human trafficking.

 

Sister Maura O´Donohue (d. 2015) was a medical doctor who spent several years at grassroots level in hospitals and clinics in Nigeria, Spain and Ethiopia before going on to work with international organizations such as the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) in England and the Catholic Mission Board in New York.  She had an extraordinary talent for identifying emerging needs, had great vision while at the same time had good administrative skills.

In 2003, Sister Maura returned to Ireland, where she did part-time consultancy work for CAFOD and was assigned by MMM to work on human trafficking issues. The latter was done in conjunction with Caritas Europe.  She also worked with the Irish National Board for Safeguarding Children.

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