5th September 2005

Dear Friends,
Greetings of Joy, Love, Hope and Peace from Ahmedabad !

I have been wanting to write this letter for a while now and finally I have got down to doing so….

Late last May, I had the opportunity and privilege to visit Hungary once again. I am writing this to each one of you to tell you how happy and delighted I was with this visit and to thank you for it.

I was extremely touched by the efforts made by Simonyi Gyula and his family to help our work be made known to so many different people. There were visits to schools, Churches, interactions with the media and at the highest level of Government. Gujarat seems to have found a place in the hearts of the Hungarians !

I was equally touched by the efforts of Bisztrai Gyorgy and the Bokor group. I was impressed (as always), by the tremendous amount of sacrifice and generosity for our work in Gujarat. Very often, with the “thousand questions” asked, I really do not have readymade answers but it definitely helps me to think and to help make our work more cohesive and meaningful.

All in all, it was another great experience for me in Hungary. It was wonderful meeting so many of you once again and making so many new contacts. I am sure you will understand why it was not possible to meet all of you.

This letter comes to you as an appeal…..to spread the word about the ESP, to bring us new contacts and more help. Everyday, we face newer and greater challenges here and without your help and sacrifices, we would really not be able to meet all of them.

As always, we have once again been struck by a natural disaster….very heavy rains and severe floods struck several parts of Gujarat at the end of June and in the early days of July. We still have thousands of people, very specially the poor and the marginalized who have been terribly affected. However, our heart goes out also to the many thousands of others who have been affected due to natural disasters; for example, not far from Gujarat, in the city of Bombay and in the State of Maharashtra, it was too terrible for worlds. We are aware that parts of Europe (very specially Bavaria) were also badly affected by rains and flood and now as we write this, the ill-effects of the hurricane Katrina which has hit hundreds of poor people in New Orleans literally makes us wonder as to what is happening. We have not forgotten the Tsunami of December 2004. Yes, so much of tragedy….we pray for the victims all over….yet life needs to continue in faith and in hope.

On a personal note (and I am sure, that many of you who know him will share in this grief….) the gruesome murder of our beloved Brother Roger, the Founder of Taize on August 16th, is still difficult to comprehend. However, the Lord knows best and I think the only true memorial to this great human being is to follow in our daily life the ecumenism of reconciliation and healing, of love and sharing, which he gave to so many of us during his lifetime.

Today, we remember another great person and a very close friend of Brother Roger, that is, Mother Teresa. On this day, eight years ago, she was called to her eternal happiness. Mother Teresa will always be that eternal symbol of love, compassion and reaching out to the poorest of the poor. Today, in the heart of the city of Ahmedabad, we had a Chowk (Plaza) dedicated to her. It was really moving to have a Muslim woman Mayor and the head-priest of the Hindu Temple do the dedication and the unveiling of the Statue of the Saint of our times.

Our Chhatralayas are near to the end of the first term. This year, we have a tremendous increase in numbers and so the pressure in on looking after the children are even more. However, we believe in the axiom “the greater the challenge, the more positive and dynamic is the response”.

Thank you once again for your continued support, both financial and spiritual. We need much more of it. On our part, we assure you of a constant remembrance in prayer. Do keep in touch !

Love and prayers,

Your Brother,
Cedric

Please note our new contact details :
Tel: (91) (79) 55522333 and 27455913
Fax: (91) (79) 27489018 and 26301362
Email: [email protected]
www.humanrightsindia.in

Geographical place: Gujarat (India)

Persons whom it is about: Simonyi, Gyula

Groups, movements whom it is about: BOCS Foundation, Bokor movement, ESP India

Author: Prakash, Cedric SJ

Group, movement, tendency (wherefrom it comes from): ESP India