It is said that the Maltese have big hearts. I have experienced the truth of this statement in the past nine years since I left home to serve in the missions the Maltese Carmelites have run in Tarija (Bolivia) over the past 55 years.

The Maltese Carmelite presence in Bolivia brings hope by promoting human rights and providing dignity through projects that empower 60 per cent of the population by showing them how they can earn their daily bread. This was done by organising skilled workers into cooperatives, promoting higher education, building a clinic for the needy and giving people a sense of dignity. The missionaries in Tarija also embarked on evangelisation projects, among which organising pastoral centres with spaces for worship. The Maltese Carmelites built the first mission station and chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Tarija more than 50 years ago.

In recent months, experts evaluated the infrastructure of the chapel and advised that restoration is desperately needed if this chapel is to continue to serve God’s people. The budget to restore this building is €60,000.

I am calling on all Maltese and Gozitans who have the Church and Carmel at heart to show solidarity with their spiritual brothers and sisters in Tarija and help them raise funds to restore this sacred space. Restoring this chapel is of fundamental importance because it is a living monument to the first Carmelites who left their motherland to serve a faraway and needy Church.

Anyone interested in giving a donation can write to the Provincial Animator of Carmelite Missions, c/o Fr Jürgen Cucciardi O.Carm., Kunvent tal-Karmnu, Triq il-Parrocca, Santa Venera SVR 1261. Thank you.

Garvin Grech O.Carm

TARIJA

BOLIVIA